Creative Brief

The British Museum commissioned Little Shadow to create a short film that could clearly communicate the scope and significance of its long-term Masterplan, a transformative redevelopment programme spanning several decades. The film needed to introduce the museum’s strategic priorities, spatial changes, and cultural ambitions to a broad audience: from trustees and funders to the general public. Our brief was to make the complex accessible, the history engaging, and the vision tangible.

Our Approach

We developed a 3D animation that charted the British Museum’s journey from its founding in 1753 to its present-day structure, before looking ahead to the future. Beginning with a stylised historical overview, the film maps out key architectural evolutions over time, gradually introducing the next phase: the Masterplan’s Western Range project, BM ARC storage and research centre, and broader accessibility improvements.

Our pipeline combined Cinema 4D with compositing in After Effects to produce clean, architectural flythroughs, annotated callouts, and time-lapse transformations. Key design elements were kept restrained, neutral palettes, simple overlays, and smooth camera moves to retain clarity while respecting the museum’s tone and stature.

The narration was timed to align with animated transitions, guiding viewers through timelines and floor plans without overwhelming them. The challenge was to show scale and ambition while remaining visually digestible and formally elegant.

The Results

The final animation was used in internal presentations, public-facing updates, and as part of stakeholder engagement. It served as both a narrative tool and a visual roadmap for a once-in-a-generation redevelopment effort, helping align audiences around a shared cultural vision.