Hello everyone!
I’m really excited to share a project that allowed me to explore both my technical and creative skills. It’s called “Highlight Yourself” — a CGI campaign with a meaningful message about confidence and self-expression.
Here is the table of contents, which includes six main parts of this presentation, as you can see on the slide.
First, I want to give you an overview of my project.
The idea for “Highlight Yourself” came from a mix of two inspirations:
- First, the word “highlight”, which we use when we want to bring attention to something important.
- Second, is the role of highlighter in makeup, which enhances natural features.
–> I thought: What if I could turn that idea into a digital storytelling moment?
So, I created a CGI video featuring a massive, oversized highlighter interacting with real-world elements — paired with uplifting messages about beauty and confidence.
The goal was simple:
- To make something visually playful but also emotionally meaningful
- And to encourage viewers to “highlight” what makes them uniquely themselves
However, for me, this project wasn’t just a fun idea — it was also a strategic one.
Recent data shows that the demand for animated and CGI-based content in marketing is growing rapidly. Brands are using short, eye-catching videos on platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts to deliver their messages more creatively. So by using CGI and focusing on TikTok, I was placing my project in a future-forward, high-demand creative space.
TikTok especially is a great platform for this kind of content. With over 1.5 billion monthly users and an engagement rate of over 2%, it offers a strong chance for content to go viral.
To bring this vision to life, I used several tools in my workflow:
- Blender — to model and animate the giant highlighter. I designed its shape, motion, texture, and how it interacts with the environment.
- Premiere Pro — for editing, visual timing, and color correction. This helped me match the fast-paced and dynamic style of trending TikTok videos.
- CapCut — to add animated text, subtitles, and transitions. I chose this tool because it’s optimized for mobile viewing and gives content a fun, fast-cut energy.
- Viddy Scribe — a free website I used to generate audio descriptions to make my content more inclusive.
Each of these tools had a specific role, and honestly, I couldn’t have finished this project without using all of them together.
Next is one of the most important parts of this project: ethics, legal rights, and sustainability.
I was intentional about making this a responsible production:
- Everyone featured in the video gave their consent to appear, making sure their participation was voluntary and respectful.
- I included subtitles and alternative audio descriptions to make the video more accessible, especially for people with hearing or visual impairments.
From a sustainability perspective:
- I only used royalty-free or properly licensed assets — nothing uncredited or stolen.
- I rendered all the CGI using energy-efficient cloud services, powered by renewable energy, such as Google Cloud.
- I also optimized my models to reduce the amount of computational power needed — which helps lower the carbon footprint.
- And finally, since this project was 100% digital, I avoided any unnecessary physical production or material waste.
What really made this project stand out was the way I used CGI to tell a story.
Instead of just showing the highlighter statically, I made it interact with its surroundings — bouncing, moving, even giving a high five to a person in the video.
I wanted it to feel fun, magical, and a little exaggerated — like something straight out of a dream.
I also paid special attention to color: I tested different color grading methods to make sure the contrast worked for people with color blindness, so no one would miss out on the visual details.
To make it even more accessible, I added multi-language subtitles, including Vietnamese and English, so that people from different backgrounds could enjoy and understand it.
Now, here’s a quick demo showing the difference between the original footage and the version with the CGI highlighter added.
At the Sistema Festival, I displayed the demo video along with a QR code linking to a Google Form for audience feedback.
The responses were overwhelmingly positive. Viewers especially mentioned the CGI quality, sound design, and the playful storytelling as their favorite parts.
Based on the feedback, I made some changes:
- I added shadows to the CGI model to enhance realism
- I also adjusted the color contrast and saturation to make the highlighter “pop” more on screen
After finalizing the video, I posted it on TikTok, along with a supporting video using the popular “narrator trend.”
The reason I made that second video was to help bring more attention to the main video and increase its interaction.
And why TikTok? Because:
- It has 1.58 billion monthly users
- It has the highest engagement rate across short-form video platforms — 2.34%, compared to Instagram Reels (1.48%) and YouTube Shorts (0.91%)
- And videos between 30–60 seconds perform the best — my video was 42 seconds, right in that spot
I followed a posting timeline, as you can see from the slide, to stay organized and consistent.
The results were exciting:
- Main video: 54,600 views, 76 saves, 209 shares
- Narrator video: 18,700 views, 129 saves, 181 shares
This showed me that the visuals captured attention — but more importantly, that the message connected with people.
I also created a YouTube video showing the full production process, from filming to CGI to editing. I’ve linked it on my personal website along with other projects.
And here’s a breakdown of the TikTok video:
- Most of my reach was from Vietnam and the 18–24 age group
- And mostly female viewers, which was exactly what I expected based on the theme and style of the video
This project helped me build a wide range of creative and professional skills:
- Creative Independence: I managed the entire process from start to finish. But I want to say, I couldn’t have finished it without the support and feedback from my classmates and viewers.
- Reflexivity: I constantly reviewed my work and made improvements based on what I saw and heard.
- Team Direction: I worked with friends and I guided them on how to act with invisible CGI objects and helped organize the set.
- Problem-Solving: I learned how to adapt quickly to challenges, like fixing lighting issues, solving rendering delays, and even dealing with corrupted files.
- Time Management: I followed a structured timeline from planning to final release — and stayed on track.
Each step gave me valuable experience and made me more confident as a content creator.
This project fits directly into my career plan, and I followed a clear step-by-step process:
Basically:
- Week 1–2: Research trends, build the storyboard, and gather references
- Month 1–2: Learn Blender, create the 3D model, and test animations
- Month 3: Finalize editing using Premiere and CapCut
- Final Week: Publish across TikTok, YouTube, Instagram and my personal website
- Ongoing: Monitor feedback, interact with viewers, and reflect on what worked
Having this process helped me stay focused and will serve as a template for future projects.
I’ve added all my creative projects to my personal website, including group projects I did with my classmates.
One of the most recent ones was for The Podcast Show 2025. It was a fun and meaningful experience where we ran a booth to showcase our podcast work. We took turns managing the booth so everyone could attend talks and network. We helped each other out, communicated clearly, and supported each other when things got stressful. It reminded me how important teamwork is, especially in a fast-paced creative environment.
Having a portfolio like this is so important in the creative industries. It gives employers something visual and concrete to review, instead of just reading about your skills on a CV.
To wrap up:
“Highlight Yourself” is more than just a single video.
It’s a blueprint for how I want to work in the future — combining creativity, technical skill, storytelling, and responsibility.
It helped me create a workflow I can use again and again — whether I’m doing solo work or collaborating on a brand campaign.
I now feel more confident, capable, and ready to take on bigger creative challenges in content creation, digital media, or storytelling.
Thank you so much for listening — and I hope this project inspires you to go out and highlight yourself too.
And here is the video presentation I’ve made:
Moreover, here is the video with audio description: