Proposal / Report Task 5

Chosen Animation
The chosen technique for my animation idea is going to be done using stop frame, in which many
photos will be taken of a scene while the characters are moved around. This will then later be
animated together to produce my short video. I think that for this idea in particular, stop frame
would work the best because I can manipulate my characters round the set (due to them being
made out of play dough).

I didnt want to really do cut-out animation since, in my opinion, this technique limits you a lot more
and means that they cant be rotated 360 degrees because theres only a front and a back to them.
By modelling characters out of clay or plastercine, this defeats the problem of the characters not
being 3D and also means that I can manipulate them a lot easier. They can therefore be made to do
lots of different actions and movements without needing to be re-drawn or cut out again. Also, I
could quickly eliminate hand-drawn as a technique because personally, I think thats a lot more work
to produce a short video animation. I think this can be done a lot easier via stop frame and photos of
model characters on a set.

STORYLINE

My main storyline for the first idea will be based around an under-water theme. So I was thinking of
having characters along the lines of fish and turtles etc. This leaves it very open to me adding
characters and working with a set since the theme has many possibilities. During the short
animation, I could introduce a new programme and briefly talk about the adventures which my
characters would have in the sea.

CHARACTERS

The characters which I have chosen to use are fish with an underwater setting. Ideally, I want to
have around 2 different main fish characters and then maybe a dolphin or turtle as an extra third
character. Hopefully, these characters would all be animated to talk and introduce themselves and
each other. This is so that the need for animation is much less and the characters actually speak for
themselves. I do however, want to use animation to set the scene and introduce the programme,
along with at the end when the narration will give details of the programme etc.

The three characters which I want to include are two fish and then a third character which Im
thinking or having as a turtle. For my two main fish, I want to have a girl and a boy which hopefully
should mean that the programme is not swayed too much towards one specific gender. The female
fish will need to be made in a pink colour in order to make distinguishing one character from the
other much easier for the younger children. This means that the second fish can be made in a blue
colour, which again will make children be able to see more clearly which one is which.

VISUALISATION

In terms of visualisation, the overall idea which Im aiming to portray is the feel of an underwater
setting. I want to include fish and a turtle as characters which will highlight this setting and scenario.
TECHNICAL LIMITATIONS

When thinking of technical limitations, there are a number of different key things which limit what
we can and cant do within our animation. One of these is the time frame in which we have to
complete the project. Obviously, the longer time frame you have to work with, the more detailed,
complex and perfected the overall outcome will be. With our short time scale, we will need to make
sure that all of our planning and script work is completely finished before we start the actual
production since this needs to be done relatively quickly. Due to many people needing to all
photograph characters on one set, we will need to take turns at using it and therefore may only have
a day or a few hours with the set. This means that we need to have everything ready beforehand so
that we know exactly what we are doing when it comes to producing it.

Another limitation is the actual size of the set with which we have to work. The stage is only small
and this needs to hold all of the set, background and also characters/objects etc. This means that I
need to carefully think about exactly how many characters are going to be able to fit on the stage
and also more importantly how big they are since the size of the stage is a limiting factor.

FORMAT POTENTIAL

To fully exploit the formats potential, if I was to properly do this as a production, then I could for
example use a real fixed stage (as appose to the much smaller and more limited portable one which I
plan to use here). This would mean that I have more flexibility regarding what props and characters
fit on the stage and also what I can use as a background setting etc. Theres also much more scope
with this format to use much more complex modelling characters since the stage could be bigger,
there could be a much longer time-scale and even a bigger budget which could pay for detailed
models to be created.

STORYLINE

My main storyline for the first idea will be based around an under-water theme. So I was thinking of
having characters along the lines of fish and turtles etc. This leaves it very open to me adding
characters and working with a set since the theme has many possibilities. During the short
animation, I could introduce a new programme and briefly talk about the adventures which my
characters would have in the sea. Ideally, Id like each character to introduce themselves and for
one of them to briefly talk about the adventures which happen in the programme. Id like it to start
by each of them appearing on the stage and introducing who they are, then moving on to the
characters of Filly and Pedro who realise that Tom has suddenly gone missing. At this point, they
both briefly try to find their missing friend and then turn towards the camera and give information
about where viewers can watch the main programme and see what happens in the adventure. To
finish with, there should be some narration which will tell viewers what channel and time the show
can be viewed at. The characters will both wave goodbye at this point and the short animation will
end.

SET

Within my set, Id obviously have to have specific objects and backgrounds which link to an under-
water theme. So, as objects, I could use seaweed, small green plants which could be stood at the
bottom, pebbles and then also some other under-water props. This is so that the set and the
animation, makes it look like the animation is actually underwater. When thinking about a necessary
background, Id like to use a digital print-out of an underwater scene. Id need to make sure it was a
good enough quality and resolution to be printed out at that size and preferably itd be a panorama
shot, so that it fits the stage properly.

PROPS

For the props themselves, Im planning to either make these out of some green plastercine (to act as
plants under the sea) or even use some paper and card to make them stand up (so that Im not
wasting the plastercine recourse and also so theyre a bit more sturdy). If I do choose to make them
out of green card/paper then it will also provide a different material or texture for my animation.

SCENARIO

With regards to a scenario, my short animation will introduce the show in which different
adventures will occur under the sea with my three characters (Filly, Pedro and Tom). The scenario
for my small advertising animation will be very simple and will introduce / describe an adventure
which will occur in the main programme its self. So the scenario in this short animation will consist of
the characters talking about Filly getting lost (which is the main adventure of the main programme
which this short animation will be advertising).

AUDIO

In terms of audio assets, I will actually be using a number of different sources. Due to me wanting all
of my characters to each speak, Im going to need a voice-over for each one. This means that I will
need a young female to play the voice of Filly, and then two boys to play the role of Pedro and Tom.
Preferably, these voice-overs will be done by young people since I think voices which sound young
will be easier for my target audience to relate to. Another audio element which I will want to use is a
sound track which I want to fade in at the beginning and then fade out at the very end. This is so that
as the animation starts there is a bit of quiet music, and also when it ends (and some narration
about the times the programme is being shown) has some short music. The last thing I will need to
think of is someone to do the voice-over for the end narration which is aimed more at the parents of
my target age range of 5 year olds.

TARGET AUDIENCE

When thinking about my target audience, I will be aiming my short programme at 5 year olds (young
children) so I need to keep in mind some very important factors, including the fact that obviously
this age group cannot necessarily read anything. This means that no text can be used without audio
narration and also no complex storylines or language. I have set my programme to target both males
and females, so its not restricting my viewers to just one gender, its set to appeal to both. In terms
of level of interest, Im guessing that most under 5 year olds have similar interests and that my
theme of underwater fish characters should appeal to all. This information is based on the research
which I carried out earlier based on the programmes of pingu and 3rd & bird.

PLANNING

When thinking about planning, I will be producing drawings of each of my different characters
(Pedro, Filly & Tom) a background idea (for the backing of my set) and also some of the set props
which will be used. In addition to these, I will be producing some storyboards which will give more
information regarding each different animation which is occurring during the production, the
amount of frames which I will need for each and also a small picture drawing of what I want it to
look like. This gives extra detail about camera positions etc to provide readers with a real in depth
idea regarding what the animation will look like.

ANIMATION

Characters will move throughout the animation in individual frames which capture small
movements. This will enable me to take lots of images and finally merge them together to create a
fully working animation. To enable this being as smooth as possible, I will need to make sure that I
only make a small movement to the characters between each frame/photo and therefore it wont
look jumpy when its all put together.

I have decided within my animation to use 12 frames per second, therefore for each 12 frames
shown, this creates 1 second of viewing time for my animation. So if I wanted something to show for
10 seconds, Id need 120 frames/individual photos. I will need to do this small multiplication when
thinking about my storyboards etc. Using 12 frames per second creates the perspective that the
animation will run but the eye may be able to register the movement between each frame and it
wont look flawless (this is achieved by using 15+ fps). However, 12 is a relatively high number so it
wont look immensely jumpy.

Planning what soundtrack I will use is quite important since I have planned to use a sound track both
at the beginning and at the end of the animation. This means that its quite important and will be
shown quite predominantly and will be linked to the programme. This means I have to carefully
choose a track which will relate to my target audience of under 5 year olds.

In terms of point of view, I have decided that I mainly want my camera to have a full view of the set
and this will not change much. The only thing which will change in terms of camera perspective is
that I may have the camera zoomed in on some of the characters at a few points and then working
back out to having it as a full view again.

I will plan out the background carefully and this will be drawn on a storyboard to show exactly what I
want to use. Ideally, at the moment I think I want a printed background of an under-water scene and
therefore I will need to do this on a computer. There will however be a storyboard to show a rough
design idea of what I want to use.

As far as lighting goes, I just want a basic light which will illuminate the set and the characters. A
simple spot light or lamp will work fine and will stay in the same place throughout the entire
animation. The lighting wont be playing a main part in my animation and therefore, I wont have to
consider it too much as an element since Im not working in different moods/shadows which lights
are often needed for etc.

SCRIPT

Animation starts with the stage with the sea set. Tune is playing to open the animation and then
fades out (lasts 2 seconds)

Tom enters stage (lasts 2 seconds)

Tom (looking at camera): Hi everyone, Im Tom and I live in the sea with my two best friends.
Hmm... Where are they? Then, he shouts: Pedro? ... Filly? (lasts 8 seconds)

Pedro enters stage (lasts 2 seconds)

Pedro (looks at Tom): Oh hello Tom He turns to the camera and says: Hi there everyone, Im
Pedro (lasts 5 seconds)

Filly enters stage whilst Tom exits (lasts 2 seconds)

Filly (looks at camera): Hello there, Im Filly (lasts 2 seconds)

Filly (looks at Pedro): Oh... Wheres Tom gone? (lasts 1 second)

Pedro (looks at Filly): I dont know Filly (lasts 1 second)

Pedro (looks at camera): Do any of you know where he went? (lasts 2 seconds)

Filly (looks at camera): Come back and see us again to see if we can find Tom! (lasts 3 seconds)