Alex Kielesinska ← Back to work

Warner Bros. Discovery · Localisation · [YEAR]

What Am I Eating?
with Zooey Deschanel

GFX localisation · Package audit & rebuild · After Effects · Photoshop · Illustrator · Partial package supplied

RoleGFX localisation & rebuild
Scope8 episodes
LanguageFrench
Source filesPartial - inconsistent structure

Overview

What Am I Eating? is a graphics-dense food factual series built around near-constant on-screen illustration - labels, animated 3D product packaging, handwritten signs, info cards, stat graphics, character sequences and a full title treatment. The French localisation was supplied with a partial package of project files, but the assets had been built without versioning in mind: inconsistently structured, largely undocumented, and not intended to be modified by an external team. For most elements, the practical outcome was equivalent to working from reference alone.

The project required a full package audit before any localisation work could begin, followed by selective rebuilding of unusable files, typeface matching throughout, and layout restructuring to accommodate French text expansion. The title itself required cultural adaptation rather than direct translation.

English title WHAT AM I EATING? alongside French LES SECRETS DE MON ASSIETTE
Title card - the French version, "LES SECRETS DE MON ASSIETTE" (The Secrets of My Plate), is a full cultural adaptation of the title rather than a literal translation. The illustrated typographic treatment was rebuilt to match the original.

Package audit

The supplied package covered most assets in theory, but the structure varied significantly between elements - many files were unlabelled, layered inconsistently, or non-functional when opened. The original typefaces were not included. The first stage of the project was a full audit to categorise each asset: usable as supplied, salvageable with restructuring, or requiring a complete rebuild from reference.

The variety of graphic styles across the series - each with its own construction logic and visual language - meant that no single approach applied to the full package. Each element type was assessed and handled individually.

Graphic variety

The series uses a wide range of distinct graphic systems across its 8 episodes - illustrated set labels, animated 3D product packaging, handwritten signs, full-screen info cards, stat graphics, animated character sequences and transition elements. Each type presented different rebuild and localisation requirements.

In-studio cereal store with multiple illustrated label graphics, English original alongside French rebuild
In-studio cereal store - multiple illustrated label graphics positioned across a physical set, each rebuilt and localised independently.
Produce section with eight simultaneous illustrated labels, English original alongside French rebuild
Produce section - eight illustrated label graphics present simultaneously in a single scene, each rebuilt individually to match the hand-drawn style of the originals.
Milk scene with six simultaneous hand-lettered sign graphics, English original alongside French rebuild
Six simultaneous hand-lettered sign graphics in a single frame - each rebuilt and localised independently within the same composition.

Typeface matching

As no typefaces were supplied, every font used across the series had to be identified from reference frames and matched with available alternatives. Given the show's deliberately varied, hand-crafted aesthetic, this involved a large number of distinct typefaces - from printed label fonts through to animated handwritten styles. Where a close substitute was not available, weight, spacing and size were adjusted to compensate for visual differences between the original and replacement.

Where typefaces differ from the originals, the rebuilt graphics match the visual intent - weight, scale, colour and layout - rather than the specific letterform.

HIGH IN PROTEIN handwritten box label English original alongside French RICHE EN PROTÉINES rebuild
Handwritten-style box label - typeface matched by style and weight; layout adjusted to accommodate the longer French text.
Character names Sweety and Whole Grainy alongside French Miss Sucrée and Miss Complète
Animated character names - "Sweety" and "Whole Grainy" required cultural adaptation to "Miss Sucrée" and "Miss Complète" rather than direct translation.

Text expansion

French text consistently runs 20-30% longer than English. On a series where text functions as a visual design element - sized, positioned and animated as part of the illustration - this requires layout restructuring for every affected graphic, not a simple text substitution.

Positive Effects of Nostalgia info card English original alongside French rebuild showing increased text length
Full-screen info card - the French bullet point copy is significantly longer than the English equivalent, requiring the layout to be restructured to maintain legibility and visual balance.
Stat card showing $393 MILLION IN 2019 ALONE alongside French 393 MILLIONS DE $ EN 2019
Stat graphic - the French currency convention places the dollar symbol after the figure, requiring a compositional adjustment in addition to the text change.

3D product graphics

A number of elements in the series are text applied to 3D animated product packaging rather than flat graphics. Rebuilding these required matching not only the typography but the perspective, surface treatment and animation of the original 3D renders, working from flat broadcast reference frames.

3D animated cereal boxes with SUGAR CRUNCHOS English original alongside French CROC' SUCRE rebuild
3D animated cereal packaging - product name text rebuilt on 3D assets to match the perspective and dimensional appearance of the originals.
OAT MILK carton with vertical type layout English original alongside French D'AVOINE LAIT rebuild
Vertically-arranged product label - the original uses a specific typographic layout that was maintained in the French version.
Eight milk carton labels English original alongside French rebuild
Eight individual product labels in a single scene, each with a distinct typographic treatment - rebuilt and localised independently.

Delivery scale

Across 8 episodes of a graphics-dense series, the volume of distinct graphic elements - each requiring individual audit, rebuild and localisation - made this one of the more complex localisation projects in the series run. The range of illustration styles, typeface matching requirements, text expansion issues and 3D elements meant that each graphic presented a different set of challenges.

Credit

Original package design: Warner Bros. Discovery. Designer unknown.
My role: GFX localisation, package audit and partial rebuild at Warner Bros. Discovery.