Brief: Save The Children Tutor: Tracy Lannon, Nick Deakin, Jay Payne Course: Graphic Design College: University of Huddersfield
Creative Challenge
The creative challenge was to inspire and motivate our target audience of dads to read to their children for just 10 minutes every day. The aim was to have every child a confident reader by the age of 11. The creative output could take any form such as print or online advertising, a video or campaign etc. But it must leave dads with an understanding of just how much of a difference 10 minutes a day reading with your child can make.
Initial Idea
The initial idea for my campaign was to use both film and animation to inspire dads to read to their children, and build encourage their imaginations. The idea behind my campaign video being that just 10 minutes a day can make a huge difference and for dads to think about and encourage where their child’s imagination can take them. Along with the video I thought of creating and app and interactive posters.
Campaign Idea
The video would start in the real world, with a dad and child (played by my niece Emily who is 5) reading together and then Emily being placed into the books, using her imagination to become a part of the story. The idea was to show how important to dads being able to read with your child is and where their imagination could take them. I wanted to show that anything was possible. The animation section of the video would last 10 seconds per scene and there are 5 scenes, one for each day of the week (excluding the weekend). The video was to end with the closing of the book and for Emily to be asleep in bed, having fallen asleep signifying the end of the week and the end of the video.
Alongside this video I wanted to promote an app, which would hold a database of interactive books- with the user having control of certain aspects of the story, and being able to manipulate certain aspects of each page, engaging the father and their child, whilst they spend time together. This was so that not only is the child listening or reading they are involved in how the story progresses and how fast it progresses. The idea being that the child and the dad have control over what they see and read, whilst also being fun and interactive with the audience. This could then be aimed for all ages and at both genders.
As a special bonus feature of the app that makes it different to apps that are already around that are similar, are the posters I created to go with some of the stories. The idea being that for stories for all genders and ages, there would be posters out in public areas such as train stations, bus stops and town centres that would have QR codes, which the app would decode and animate the posters in some way. This could make children encourage their fathers to buy the app so that they can unlock the bonus content and read on the go, wherever they are. This would also mean that because they can read on the go it will be easier to make time for reading because there wouldn’t be the need for the dad or the child to have to carry a physical book at all times.
Alice in Wonderland Animation/App
The first story I picked was Alice in wonderland, which I think has characters and a story that can appeal to both boys and girls. The aim was to start the animation with story that could link to the outside world, like if Emily was in the park reading with her dad, and this would make the transition from video to animation flow more natural.
Pocahontas Animation/App
The second story that I chose was Pocahontas, and I wanted what was happening in the scene chosen from this story to flow seamlessly from the first story. I wanted for each story to read almost as one story even though they are all different and I wanted the stories to change showing that you don’t have to finish the book, the important factor being that you start it.
Aladdin Animation/App
The third story I chose was Aladdin, which again appeals to both young boys and girls and like the first two, and is a well-recognized story that most children have seen or heard of. Most children and there parents probably know the parts of the story already and so would feel confident when reading the story together, so even if they make a mistake, they know that it isn’t a problem and they will feel comfortable reading these stories.
Peter Pan Animation/App
The fourth story I chose was peter pan, because it is also well known and appeals to both genders of all ages. I chose this story along with the others because I know that Emily (my niece) owns theses stories and has read them and also because even for those who don’t own these books they are fairly easily borrowed from the local library. I also thought that these stories could be incorporated into the outside world through dress-up, and makebelieve games.
Snow White Animation/App
The final story I chose was snow white, and unlike the first four I didn’t choose the Disney version, because I thought this version was more fun and interactive than the Disney version, and because it’s a pop up book and could be aimed at the youngest children more effectively. I also wanted to try a completely different illustration style. Emily owns this book also and that made it an easy choice. I tried to keep all of the illustrations as close to the original as possible and credited the original illustrators at the end of the animation. I felt that this way the stories would be the most recognisable to children of all ages.
Animation Idea
Scene 1
Scene 2
(Beginning)
(End)
My initial idea for my campaign video/animation was for there to be footage starting and ending the video of the my niece Emily and her dad reading together. The first scene was to show them outside together and was to be at the beginning of the week and the second scene was for the book to close and for Emily to be asleep in bed, with the dad kissing her head, and closing the door, and for this to signify the end of the clip, and also them end of the week. The video is still a work in progress however the Motion Graphics animation was completed and so I created a front and a back cover to complete the animation, and will also be incorporated into the whole video once the footage is complete.
Animation These are stills from the final animation and the way it progresses through until the end. I added a page turn effect so that it seemed like a complete book and so that the transitions made sense and fit well together and this effect was also used because I wanted the books to seem like one book altogether. The main sound of the video would be background sounds and the fathers voice reading to the child.
The overall finished campaign video will have sound and music that will be designed and produced specifically for the background of my video, (current music: http://www.bensound. com) and it will have a voice over of the father reading the story, this shows him also becoming part of the story and being a part of the adventure. Also a filter effect was added to make the scenes look like they are coming to life, as they become brighter as the animation starts each scene in the story.
App Proposal Animation/App I created a prototype of the app and animated the basic idea of how it would work and how the uses could interact with the story. I took one of the scenes I had already illustrated and animated for my campaign video and re-animated it, as it would be used and with more user control. I used the hands to represent the child and the father reading together and wanted to show how the scene would look visually imposed into a different type of media. I have included the animated video in a folder with the campaign video and the bonus feature animation.
Bonus App Feature Interactive posters Revealed The first series of posters that I designed are the posters when revealed through the app. The name of the character is also revealed so it can be like a guessing game for the children. This gives the app something more specific to this app above another that could be similar.This also adds an element of fun to a regular poster, making it more engaging and interesting. These posters are also originally illustrated by Š Disney. Re-illustrated using Illustrator.
Animated using After Effects.
Bonus App Feature Interactive Icon Posters The second series of posters that I created were the how the poster would look when it was imposed into its everyday setting. These are what everyone without the app would see. I decided to keep them as minimal as possible to create mystery and intrigue from both children and their parents. However I included the story name to make it a little easier for the children to recognize the characters from the stories and I included the logos to link the posters back to the companies so that the parents could find out more easily form the website. (Width- 110cm)
(Height- 180cm)
App Proposal
I created a quick and basic animation of something that the posters could do when the app was used. I wanted it to be simple yet different, however everything could be changed or modified to become more exciting in the future.
Prototypes
(Height- 180cm)
(Width- 110cm)
Brief: Save The Children Tutor: Tracy Lannon, Nick Deakin, Jay Payne Course: Graphic Design College: University of Huddersfield
I then decided to round off the project with some display boards showing each stage of my project.
App Final