Stuxnet: Anatomy of a Computer Virus “An infographic dissecting the nature and ramifications of Stuxnet, the first weapon made entirely out of code. This was produced for Australian TV program HungryBeast on Australia's ABC1”. Patrick Clair created the motion graphics behind this very intricate kinetic animation. Patrick from Sydney, Australia specializes in information design and visual storytelling. His videos focus on combining striking imagery with effortless viewer comprehension, he has worked on a variety of projects from TED talks to Ubisoft.

Stuxnet is a highly-sophisticated computer virus and that has an array of capabilities varying from controlling large scale industrial facilities like power plants, dams and waste processing systems.

Patrick took a whole month to create the 3 minutes of animated graphics. A lesson that I’ve learnt throughout my undergraduate studies and even through personal life is to have an appropriate goal in terms of time management and always leave time for error. As one gets more experience you start to get a better grip on how long a project will really take.

“Anatomy of a computer virus” was created using primarily after effects for most of the project. Maya was also used for occasional 3d model and animation such as the microscope. The animation was very complex yet at the same time very clear and used a similar aesthetic to “What Barry says” by the knife (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rlas5Wm0ZYM).

There was a lot going on within the background but the viewer was still able to focus on the intended subject matter. To say the least it was amazingly put together and flows so well.

It can be hard to just watch graphics flying at you for such a long period and still take in the information; I think Patrick and the team at HungryBeast did well in terms of keeping the audience interested and not constantly fatiguing.

Overall an amazing piece, Patrick has added an extra dimension to kinetic animation and told the story of stuxnet pleasantly.