Exoplanet
3D Animation
Project Brief
Create a short animation about a chosen exoplanet, exploring various details and facts pertaining to it.
Process
1. Script
Title: Kepler-22b, the Water World
Synopsis: Survey of the exoplanet known as Kepler-22b, and its comparisons to Earth.
Intro Scene:
Show: Fade from black with tittle occupying left halph of screen and hemisphere of Kepler-22b rotating along right side of screen. Fade title sequence to pan camera over to have the planet rotating on its axis on the left side of screen.
Scene 1:
Show: Continue on the rotating Kepler-22b before a fast zoom out with a dot representing 22b on the left, a dot on the right representing Earth, and an extending line between them to illustrate the massive scale of the distance between the two planets. Crossfade.
Say: Kepler-22b is an exoplanet that orbits within the habitable zone of the Sun-like star, Kepler-22. It is located 640 light-years away from Earth within the Cygnus constellation [9s]
Scene 2:
Show: Crossfade to a diagram of the star system with the star Kepler-22, 22b's relation to its star, and the habitable zone highlighted in blue.
Say: Kepler-22b was the first exoplanet to be discovered within the habitable zone of a Sun-like star. This means that there is a chance that liquid water exists on its surface. And where there's water, there's the possibility of life. [8s]
Scene 3:
Show: Transition with the same shot by having Kepler-22b making a full revolution around its star with the number “290” written along the highlighted revolution path.
Say: It takes just under 290 days for 22b to make a full revolution around its star. [5s]
Scene 4:
Show: Zoom in moderately to show a detailed artist rendition of the planet’s surface: a planet of oceans with clouds.
Say: 22b was first observed on May 12, 2009, by method of transit and its discovery was confirmed on December 5 of 2011. Its mass is unknown, as is its composition, but an Earth-like composition has been ruled out. It is believed to have volatile-rich core with a liquid or gaseous outer shell. [16s]
Scene 5:
Show: Crossfade back out to show Earth and 22b next to each other to scale, split each, and pan above to see cross section of each planet with a line measuring the radii of both planets. Fade to black to show sources/credits. Then fade again to complete black.
Say: Despite not knowing the mass, we do know that the planet’s radius is just over two times the size as Earth’s. [5s]