Lego Movie Illustrates 182-page Toll Road Plan
Another SBS customer has been recognized for innovative work in the media industry.
Reporters from the Tampa Bay Times wanted to tell the story of how the plan to fix Tampa Bay’s most important bridge fell apart. They understood that readers may not be willing to wade through a long story packed with bureaucratic jargon, Reporter Caitlin Johnston told Editor & Publisher.
“Transportation is a complex subject but it can also be a fairly dry one. Despite the fact that transportation policy affects all of our readers—after all, everyone has to get from point A to point B—most shy away from reading a 30-inch story about roads,” said Johnston, who was the main writer for the project. “That’s where creative storytelling comes into play. The Lego format allowed us to visualize the story for our readers in a fun format.”
Suddenly a topic that seemed dense and complicated became simple and entertaining. Data and Graphics Intern Eli Zhang spent several months creating the 336 handcrafted stop-motion frames. The project was a hit with Times readers. “We had several readers comment that they wished every political policy was explained with Legos,” Johnston added.
