How do you make a 200-year-old wooden figurehead interesting to a 10-year-old?
That was the challenge the National Museum of the Royal Navy gave us—and it’s the kind of brief that makes creative work so rewarding.
Our task was to develop engaging digital content around the museum’s historic figurehead collection to reach younger audiences, particularly through platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and the Bloomberg Connects app.
The result: a quiz-style animated video series bringing figureheads to life with storytelling, humour, and interactivity (see final videos here).
My Role
I worked across several roles throughout the project, including:
Project Manager: I organised our production timeline, liaised with the museum team, and ensured we hit our deadlines.
Scriptwriter: I scripted the animated quiz videos, making sure the content was historically accurate but also accessible, playful, and fun for our 5–13-year-old target audience.
Director: I directed both the voiceover recordings and the live-action promo shoot, guiding tone and performance to make sure they matched our educational and creative goals.
Editor: I structured the final video, matched visuals to narration, and selected music and transitions to support the story flow.
Workflow
We kicked things off with moodboards, style references, and scripting workshops to define the tone: part Horrible Histories, part ventriloquist dummy, part TikTok quiz. Think torn-paper textures, wiggly animations, and talking statues with oversized personalities.
Styleboard
Our team held regular check-ins to adapt to shifting timelines and production needs. The quiz videos were shot on location at the Dockyard, with close-ups of the figureheads designed to be cut out and animated. We recorded playful voice-overs in a homemade sound booth using blankets to absorb noise, then edited and cleaned them up in Premiere Pro.
For the promo video, we filmed a walkthrough of the museum experience. Since the animated quiz wasn’t ready at the time, we shot a phone with a green screen, and I replaced the display in post using Mocha motion tracking in After Effects. It was a workaround that taught me a lot about compositing and After Effects in general.
Before
After
Outcome
The museum was delighted with the final outputs and plans to integrate the videos into their public-facing Bloomberg Connects app. The project demonstrated how digital storytelling can make heritage feel hands-on, engaging, and fun, especially for kids (and the adults bringing them along).
Showing the final video to the museum team.
Reflection
This project gave me hands-on experience in balancing creative storytelling with historical interpretation, especially for a younger audience. One of my biggest takeaways was how crucial tone and pacing are when writing for kids. It’s not just about simplifying facts—it’s about making the material feel alive. Giving the figureheads a voice, character, and personality turned abstract history into something memorable and fun.
Another key learning was the importance of keeping collaboration alive during solo stages like editing. Early feedback helped shape the videos in the right direction and kept them aligned with the tone we’d set together.
I also gained valuable technical experience, particularly in After Effects, where I learned to motion track and replace a phone screen with animated content. That’s a skill I didn’t have before this project, and one I’ll definitely carry forward.
Most importantly, this work reminded me that history doesn’t have to feel old. With creativity, humour, and the right digital tools, even a 200-year-old wooden figurehead can become a storyteller and spark curiosity in a whole new generation.