Sympathy, Empathy, & Compassion

In this follow-up series for the Compassion Research Lab, we set out to clarify the blurred lines between sympathy, empathy, and compassion, as well as dispelling common myths about compassion fatigue. Dr. Sinclair and his team’s findings challenge long-held beliefs and aim to educate the public and reinforce the importance of compassion in all aspects of care and everyday life.

The main creative challenge was reimagining how compassion could be visualized. We wanted to expand beyond the tone and style of the previous videos by showing a broader range of reactions and emotions from the characters. I achieved this through a mix of Limber-based character and hand rigs, parallax-enhanced 3D scenes, and frame-by-frame animation for more expressive moments. The “Sympathy, Empathy, and Compassion” video resonated widely with viewers, surpassing 160,000 views and continuing to serve as an accessible entry point into the lab’s work.

Learn more about other forms of compassion and how to measure compassion at the Compassion Theater.