Planning an Animation (P3, P4, M2)

Learning Outcome 2: Be able to plan an animation to a client brief 

P3: Develop concept ideas and sequence for an animation to meet a client brief   

Location mood board


The location mood board I have created features locations such as the London Underground and tube service, St Andrews graveyard in Totteridge and Leicester Square. This is because the march will take place in Leicester Square, and the way most people get into central London is on the tube. Additionally, I would like the Zombies to come from a graveyard as they are dead. 

Character mood board

The character mood board I have created features cartoon, digitally animated zombies. The background is similar to colour scheme I intend to use. They look cartoon-like and unrealistic as it is not too scary meaning people will not be scared and turn the advert off. 


character sketch 1

My animation will be digitally hand-drawn with real footage as the backplates. They will walk with a human like style (being one leg in front of the other with regular joints at the knee and foot) however they will move their arms in front of them up and down as they move. This is so that they are not too human like and they have one distinct feature within their movements, separating them from the humans that will be in the animation. 
character sketch 2
character facial expressions

character props

                                                         
the zombie will have a mobile phone shown in the first scene to alert him of the march.

Storyline

  1. Zombie wakes up at the graveyard by getting an alert on his phone saying it's the ZombieFest
  2. He gets up and walks to get on the tube
  3. On the tube people are scared of him
  4. When he gets out the tube to Leicester Square, people scream in fear of him
  5. He runs away sadly
  6. He sees another zombie which is a girl and he falls in love
  7. He goes up to her and they stand together happily
Storyboard
Music



I will use this iPhone sound effect of the phone alarm going off in the first shot when the zombie wakes up. This is the default alarm on an iPhone so it is very recognisable, so audiences will understand the intention of the sound effect


This music by Fesliyan Studios will be played in the background of my animation. This is because it is dramatic and tense, but will not take away from the sound effects and voice over seeing as it is just an instrumental.

P4: Create a pre-production plan for the animation

Purpose

The purpose of my animation is to promote and inform people of the ZombieFest march by BrainGoo UK that will take place in January next year. This will happen as the narrative of the advert will feature a zombie as the main protagonist. He will act as a person people can identify with as he gets mocked for being different, which a lot of people can relate to. Another purpose of my animation is to entertain. This will happen in my animation as it will fit the comedy genre due to the satire and unrealistic storyline. This will allow viewers to remember this advert as it is unique, making them remember to go to the march and share it with their friends/family.

Script

Medium

The final animation can be viewed on various platforms and devices. The video can be streamed on the web via a laptop or tablet. The animation will also be optimised for a mobile phone app because the brief explicitly says that it should be 'an animated introduction for a mobile device app that will display as a full page'. 

Synopsis

In the beginning, the Zombie is excited as he awakens to the news that today is the ZombieFest. Excitedly, he leaves his graveyard and hops on the tube to Leicester Square. However, to his surprise, people are scared of him. This continues until he gets to Leicester Square, where everyone screams in fear at him. He runs away sadly from the terrified public and eventually stops. However his mood has totally finished upon seeing another beautiful zombie. The animation ends covered in green go reflecting the company, Green Goo UK, with dates and times featured on top. 

Target audience

The target audience for the animation will reflect the brief. The brief explicitly states that 'the animation is highly visible and engaging for an adult audience of dedicated horror enthusiasts'. Thus, my primary target audience will be adults aged 20-30. Furthermore, as the brief does not mention any specific genders, races or ethnicities, it will be targeting no specific gender/race/ethnicity. However it will target people located geographically in cities, specifically London or near because the march is taking place in Leicester Square. Furthermore, it will target an ABC1 demographic as firstly, the march is taking place in London which is one of the most expensive cities and so travelling into London and consuming products in London will cost quite a substantial amount. Additionally, as the march is promoting the mobile phone app, it should appeal to the ABC1 demographic because those will be the people with the most free time to spend on their phone and have the disposable income to have phones with downloadable apps, and enough free time to engage with them. 

The secondary target audience will be a younger demographic, of 10-20 year olds. This is because the brief gives no specific age requirement for who can attend the march. Therefore, children or younger siblings of the primary target audience will be targeted. This is reinforced as the advert is quite simple with an uncomplicated storyline. However, unlike the primary target audience, all social classes will be targeted as anyone from any class can enjoy the app and the ZombieFest. Similarly, all genders, races and ethnicities will be targeted within the secondary target audience. 

Equipment required

A computer with Photoshop on will be needed to help animate the characters. Additionally, Final Cut Pro will be needed on the computer to edit backgrounds and add text. An iPad with Procreate will be needed with an apple pencil to draw the characters and animate them with the animation assist tool. A digital camera will be needed to take videos of the locations for the characters to be animated into. A microphone will be needed so the actor can do the voiceover for the characters.

Personnel required

A camera operator will be needed to photograph the locations that animation will be done on top of. Similarly, a lighting manager will work with the camera operator to ensure the lighting is correct for the locations. An animator artist will be needed to draw and animate the characters on top of the video backgrounds. A voiceover actor will be needed to voice the characters in the animation. Actors to act in the animation will also be needed to perform the scenes provided in the script. 



















Model release forms must be signed by the actors to get permission to be in the animation.

Risk assessment

















Running order for the production

  1. research
  2. moodboard
  3. create the storyline
  4. sketch characters
  5. create the storyboard
  6. source the locations
  7. write the script
  8. source equipment
  9. find voice actors and other crew
  10. create the risk assessment
  11. start drawing the animation
  12. apply the location backplates
  13. apply the audio dub and sound effects
  14. export the animation
  15. conduct user testing
  16. submit the animation

Backplates

I will use footage from the two videos below in my animation. They have been sourced from youtube.


These are the backplates I intend to use for the background of my animation. All images have been sourced from Google. 



The backplates I have chosen to use are real pictures. This is because it allows for the iconic landmarks in London to be easily recognisable and illustrate an idea of how the march will take place in Leicester Square.

Gantt chart











M2: Complete a SWOT analysis for the intended animation for the client

SWOT Analysis

Strengths
  • One strength of my animation is that it entails a clear and simple narrative. This is a strength as it allows for a wide audience to view it and gain insight about the zombie march. It also means no one will be misled and it won't draw attention away from the main purpose of the advert, which is to promote ZombieFest. 
  • Another strength of my animation is that it is easily accessible to view. This is because it will be featured on a mobile phone app before the content of the app loads. The ONS (office of national statistics) found that 82.9% of the UK population in 2019 have a mobile phone and 51% use social media every day. Thus, having the animation on a platform that is popular with the primary target audience gives the animation a chance to be interacted with the most amount of times. 
Weaknesses
  • One weakness of my animation is that it may attract an audience that is too young. This is because animation is often associated as being for children, so the primary target audience of adults may disregard it.
  • Another weakness of my animation is that it may be too simple. This is because the storyline does not have a complicated narrative. This is a weakness because it may be forgettable and people overlook it.
  • Another weakness is that the hand-drawn technique of animation is very time-consuming because each frame must be drawn individually. This tedious task means animators may take too many breaks, and fail to meet the deadline.
Opportunities
  • One opportunity of my animation is that brands that have the same target audience may sponsor the app or animation, and want to act as a synergy. For example, the clothing shop Urban Outfitters may decide to sponsor the ZombieFest event as they also have a primary target audience of young adults. This brings in a large revenue and allows for a larger audience to be informed of the animation and festival. 
  • Another opportunity for the animation is if the event is successful as a result of the animation promoting it, BrainGoo likely will decide to continue working with me to create animations for them in the future. Moreover, they may decide to host more events on a larger scale with more animations, such as hosting the ZombieFest globally. 
Threats
  • One threat of the animation is that competitor companies hosting similar events to ZombieFest may also use animations to promote their overall product. This is a threat as the physical product of the animation is something many competitors use as a promotional tool, therefore it will no longer be a (unique selling point) to BrainGoo, giving them less of a brand identity.
  • Another threat is that BrainGoo dislike the animation that I create. This could mean that I need to restart the entire animation, causing extreme delays to the process and not getting the revenue that should be gained for the appropriate time spent working. They could also decide to just use another animator, meaning time and money was wasted.

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