Drawing inspiration from editorial illustrations, Boston-based director/animator Rohan McDonald develops a minimal yet warm and engaging collage treatment for the animated segments of the documentary Admissions Granted.

Rohan Mcdonald: “Affirmative Action in higher education admissions programs was struck down in 2023 by a conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court. Admissions Granted tackles this hot-button issue head-on and explores what led to the landmark case ‘Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard’, in which Asian American plaintiffs went up against Harvard University’s race-conscious admissions program.

“Directors Miao Wang and Hao Wu approached me about creating animated portions of their film, specifically the court room scenes from these landmark cases. We developed a collage style that could be fun and light while still being able to handle dramatic moments. This blossomed into creating animated overlays and graphics as well.”
 
 

 
Client: Miao Wang, Hao Wu

Director/animator: Rohan Mcdonald
Additional animation/clean up: Sacha Lusk, Axel Kinnear, Eric Larson, Sam Powell