Documentary
/
Maps
/
Titles
PBS: Troubled Water
/ About the project
Troubled Water is a feature-length adventure documentary following two friends on a 425-mile stand-up paddle journey through the Great Lakes, joining the fight to shut down Line 5, one of the most threatening oil pipelines in the country. The production needed a graphic package that felt modern and information-first, without falling into the dark, ominous aesthetic that tends to follow environmental documentaries. I was brought on by director Davis Huber to build the cartographic pipeline and full motion graphics package from scratch.
/ Credits
Client:
Independent / Dir. Davis Huber
Role:
Lead Motion Designer & Cartographer
Scope:
Cartography, Motion Design, Visual Effects
Tools:
After Effects, GeoLayers 3, Mapbox Studio, Premiere Pro
/ Year
2023 (Broadcast on PBS 2025)
01
Custom Cartographic Pipelines
Bridging Data and Design
The core challenge was building maps that felt modern without going dark or dramatic. I developed a custom pipeline to translate raw geographical data into a cinematic visual style.
Mapbox Integration: Developed custom map styles in Mapbox Studio, using their API to pull live data into After Effects via GeoLayers 3.
Advanced Luma Matte Workflows: Engineered a dual-map system by exporting a high-detail map alongside a black-and-white luma matte, allowing independent styling of land and water textures directly in After Effects.
Efficiency at Scale: By linking custom styles within GeoLayers, I eliminated redundant steps and made it fast to iterate on complex journey lines and topographical labels.
02
Editorial-First Workflows
Empowering the Post-Production Team
One of the filmmakers' specific requests was a "Journey Update" format that combined live map animation with phone footage in a single shot. The solution was a floating "Journey Cam" window composited over the map, with the paddle route drawing on in real time around it. Rather than rendering these as locked-off VFX shots, I built the whole thing as a modular After Effects template with an integrated alpha channel.
For an indie production without a dedicated VFX budget, this mattered. The editor could drop in new phone footage, adjust timing, and swap clips entirely within Premiere Pro without looping me back in. The map animated, the journey path updated, and the Journey Cam window just worked. Once the template was handed off, the production had full editorial control over every journey update in the film.
I also built a responsive MOGRT suite for lower thirds and titles using the same approach, keeping all text revisions inside Premiere Pro.
03
The Outcome
A Unified Documentary Language
The graphics package gave the film a cohesive visual thread from open to close, grounded, nautical-inspired, and deliberately distinct from the ominous aesthetic that dominates environmental documentary work. Davis and the team felt it was right for the story. The film went on to broadcast on approximately 80% of PBS stations nationwide, reaching an estimated audience of several million viewers, with additional support from Patagonia. It has been available to stream free on the PBS app since October 2025.