We had the privilege to create the animation and graphic design for Anatomy of Lies, a gripping docuseries that unveils the shocking true story of former Grey’s Anatomy writer Elisabeth Finch. The series investigates how Finch fabricated key elements of her life, manipulating the empathy of her colleagues and using stories of trauma to her advantage. Over a period of six months, we worked closely with the production team to develop a range of high-quality shots and sequences. Our contributions helped bring this complex narrative to life, enhancing the psychological tension in the series.
Graphics Reel: Title, Emails, Articles, Text Messages, Photos
Emails and Text Messages:
To visually immerse the audience in the deception created by Elisabeth Finch, we designed a distinctive “close-up screen” aesthetic for her emails, text messages, and article posts.
The animation style mirrors the mechanical nature of her deception – each typed word building upon the fabricated narrative she constructed. This creative choice not only highlights her methodical manipulation but also draws a parallel to her career as a screenwriter, where she wrote not only fictional stories but also the narrative of her own life.
Photos:
For the photo sequences, we used two different styles to reflect the complexity of Elisabeth Finch’s life. Most of the photos were shown on a simple, blank background to highlight the emptiness behind the carefully staged moments. For more personal sequences, we designed the photos to look like they were part of a scrapbook or photo album, evoking the warmth and care that typically comes with treasured family memories.
These happy photos of Elisabeth with her loved ones, while seemingly heartfelt, carry a darker undertone once you know about her deception. The contrast between the loving presentation and the lies behind them adds an eerie layer, showing how she manipulated not only her words but also the images she shared to craft a false narrative of her life.
Articles:
To highlight the sensational nature of Elisabeth Finch’s stories and how quickly they gained media attention, we used fast cuts between bold headlines and text snippets .
Titles and Motion Design: Past Curfew
Design Director: Allison Brownmoore
Production Coordinator: Mark Hughes
Lead Designer: John Quinn
Animators: Kevin Smy, Sylvain Doussa, Callum Welch