ANIMATION EVALUATION

The animation that I have produced is a TV ident for Vibe Production

TV. The overall idea was to create an animation that showcased some
of the types of media that viewers would expect to find on Vibe
Productions TV channel. I made sure to include the main types of media
(Internet, Radio and Television) and briefly show what the audiences
would expect to be able to do. I also attempted to make it as relatable
as possible for the potential viewers (The age group of the Target
audience is the 16-21 group and its targeted towards both genders),
I did this by creating sets that resembled the inside of a real house
and then making it look fun and colourful (to make it look less
boring), I also made the character (Jojo) gender neutral which is why
you can see theyre not
wearing any clothes that
would make them depict
either gender.
My
animation
doesnt
exactly have a genre as
its a TV channel Ident
which
is
technically
advertising
the
TV
channel. But its a fairly
positive animation with no
signs
of
horror
or
anything else thats terrible. I really liked how the overall
animation turned out, with each room being a different style and
colour. And I also liked how each room contains different types of
media/mediums (theres the first room with the laptop, the second
room with the radio and the final room with the TV). I included these
in order to show the viewers the types of media thats available to
them through this TV channel. Its also relatable as not everyone has
the same tastes in media/entertainment, so showing more than one form
of entertainment would appeal to those looking for their preferred
form of entertainment.
The animation/ident starts off with the
character entering the building this is
to show that theyve been out all day
doing
things that
any
young
person
between the
ages of 16
and 21 would
be
doing
(socializing, getting on with educational
stuff or even working). This character
then continues through the building
(there are 3 rooms in total) where it
interacts with the devices it comes
across (clicking around on the laptop,
tuning the radio and sorting out the TV). I didnt want this TV ident
to be like any regular animated ident that youd find on any other

random
channel
(like
this
one
here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W060Ag0jig&list=PLqVgaKsN3icPMV3Tus5aUA9TeXOIkHFf9, where theres just
a single trail of colours snaking down to form the name of the channel
Yes this is showing the channels name and its pretty cool, but
its not that exciting and a bit too plain and simple.), I wanted
this ident to have a meaning and be a short form of entertainment
while the programs are transitioning. This will keep the attention
of viewers and keep them locked into the channel, without them getting
bored and switching over to a different one. Whilst making my
animation, I constantly tried to make sure that everything would be
understandable and as relatable as possible for the group that I was
targeting my work towards. I Looked at Tim Burton and in particular
his animation Vincent (https://youtu.be/HFg2lE7mFGA). Now Tims
work is dark and gothic compared to mine, which is colourful and
cheery. However, you can see how hes kept in mind the types of people
who are watching his animations (the audience) and hes added in thing
s that would seem familiar
from
his
audiences
perspective like in this
animation, hes added in
the idea of being a child
with a wild imagination.
This
may
seem
a
bit
exaggerated
in
the
animation, but this is
created by Tim Burton and
we can expect for his fans
to be equally enthusiastic.
Which is why they would be
able to relate to the boy
Vincent
and
his
dark
imagination.
When it came to the way my character moved I drew inspiration from
animations by HansSeg (https://youtu.be/eJlqQSMifqk) and Counter656
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=27&v=SWMgmWDQQVY).
I
paid close attention to these two animations in particular because
they used ball-jointed models (which was exactly what I planned to
use for my animation). If you take a look at the screenshots taken
from HansSegs animation, you can see the different types of movements
that
make the

characters personality/mood this is especially important when

using models that are ready-made characters (dolls, figurines,
mannequins etc.) as constantly changing facial expressions arent as
easy to pull off, like with plasticine characters. So to make up for
the lack of facial expression, I had to make the characters mood

obvious through the way it moved around. Looking at Counter656s

animation featuring a batman and joker figurine battling it out, gave
me a bigger insight on how to create the appearance of the character
moving
on
its
own
as
if
it
were
a
real
person.

You can see in this screenshot, how the animator has positioned the
character during the chasing scene. The characters legs are spaced
quite far apart, which suggests that hes traveling at a quick pace
and is trying to get as far as possible (away from Batman). My
animation is at a more relaxed pace, so I didnt have to make each
step the character took that wide. The steps that the character in
my animation took were fairly small as they werent in any hurry to
get anywhere (unlike the Joker in Counter656s animation).
After finishing off my animation and uploading it to YouTube, I had
to get other peoples opinions and feedback on how it turned out. So
in order for me to collect that feedback, I put together a small
survey with the following questions:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Did you like the animation?

What do you think this animation is trying to do?
Do you think its relevant to what its trying to do?
What do you think should be improved and why?
What do you think of the use of techniques?
What do you think of the overall appearance of the animation?
Are there any creative qualities that stand out?
The character (Jojo) is Gender Neutral. Is this obvious?

I picked these questions in order to cover the important areas that

I need feedback on the most, like: The use of animation techniques,
whether its appealing to the eye or not and what could be improved
on to achieve an even better animation.

The first question was pretty straightforward and most participants

said they did like the animation. Some saying that it was nice and
short but withheld enough activity which allowed for it to be
interesting. Im glad that this is the response for the first question
because if people disliked the animation, it would be a real blow to
all my efforts in trying to appeal to the audience. But since its a
positive start, Ill take it.
Question number two (What do you think this animation is trying to
do?) also brought on a good response since most people were on-point
when it came to the purpose of the animation. Some of the responses
were: Its trying to draw views to this channel and I think the
animation is trying to show us that this is a fun and unique channel
with different types of entertainment. These participants were
indeed correct about this because its a TV ident that is trying to
persuade the target audience to checkout Vibe Productions TV because
its guaranteed to provide them with the media/entertainment that
they want. It also helps that Ive included the Vibe Productions logo,
which is pointing the viewers to where theyd want to be. Because of
this, the third question (Do you think its relevant to what its
trying to do?) is answered with a Yes from every participant. Its
relevant because it features a few of the various types of
entertainment that the audience would definitely come across when
sifting through this channel (Computer/laptop music videos, the
latest internet trends, social media etc. Radio Live radio shows,
podcasts, radio dramas etc. TV Films, News, Documentaries etc.)This
is something that the brief made very clear to include.
I was very keen on looking out for areas of my animation/TV ident
that could be improved on, so the fourth question on my survey (What
do you think should be improved and why?) was very important. The
majority of replies mentioned the lighting and the movement of the
character throughout the animation. I definitely agree with this
because throughout the animation you can see how the lighting flickers
with each shot and as a sequence it looks rough or as a survey
participant stated The animation appears less professional. The
characters body language/movement was very important since Jojo
didnt really have a face so facial expressions were left out. So
every move that it made expressed its mood. However, I can see why
the respondents have put movements down as an area that should be
improved on. My animation does have a few sections where the movement
is jumpy and appears to strobe slightly, this may be due to the fact
that I struggled to render everything as there was an unknown error
within the software I was using. But still, thats no excuse to have
a character moving around as if theyre drunk.
For the fifth question (What do you think of the use of [animation]
techniques?) survey respondents said that the framerate was just right
the animations frame rate was 25 frames per second Respondents
said that this particular frame rate, suited the casual style of the
character (its movements didnt appear too slow or too fast and
frantic) and the background music went well with what was going on
in the animation. I also found that because of this frame rate, the
clip didnt appear too rushed (TV idents are normally quite short
anyway) which allows the audience to be able to digest whats
happening and tie it all to together to get the message that the ident
is trying to convey.

The appearance of the animation/sets/character/props are fairly

important. I didnt want everything to be bland and boring, itll
make people switch-off and possibly change the channel. But, I also
didnt want it to be too over-the-top as this may distract the viewers
from the actual message of the animation and It might turn out looking
like something for a kids show. My target audience are 16 to 21 year
olds, so I opted for something fresh, yet civilised and casual (no
rainbow walls and sparkles). I tried to make the sets like places
young people would like to hangout in plus theres the whole
different gadget in every room idea and how all the young, hip and
cool folks are down with modern technology these days (or so they
say). Question six (What do you think of the overall appearance of
the animation?) was my way of getting their opinion on what I
perceived to be a relatable set. And according to the survey
participants everything appeared nice and bright and happylooking. This is great that they seem to like the appearance of the
animation as most of the survey participants are right within the
age-group that Im targeting which means the ident is working quite
well.
The seventh question (Are there any creative qualities that stand
out?) was answered with people saying that the sets that I had made
and used were pretty cool. I struggled to decide what materials to
make the set out of, my first idea being to use wood as its a sturdy
material that would make it easier to stand the mannequin on. I then
realised that this wouldve taken me ages to plan and then create,
so in the end I stuck with cardboard, it. I needed three cardboard
boxes to make each room (1 box = 1 room)and then I created the rooms
to make them look unique and interesting to look at, I also wanted
to make sure that they looked like the inside of an actual house (So
I added things like windows, furniture, props bags, lamps and
decorations etc.). Another thing that stood out to the survey
participants was the fact that I had used a ready-made wooden
mannequin as the main character. I decided to use a mannequin rather
than make one out of clay because I find it difficult move the
character around without defacing some part of the figure or losing
a limb. I also wanted both genders to feel represented, which is why
I avoided giving the character clothes or a name suited to only one
gender. This leads onto the final question that I included in my
survey (The character (Jojo) is gender neutral. Is this obvious?),
unfortunately the fact that the character was gender neutral wasnt
clear enough to the viewers as most of the survey respondents were
pretty convinced that Jojo was male. I can understand this as it is
pretty boyish-looking and theres nothing to represent its feminine
side. So I completely understand that that is the overall idea that
its giving people.
With the opinions/feedback Ive received I now understand what I could
do next time if I were to improve my animation. First off, I would
use a different source of lighting because the lighting I used was
quite dim and I found that natural light was seeping through the
curtains. This resulted in the flickering effect that was visible
throughout the animation. I would also probably make it clear that
the main character is gender neutral by making it wear things that
both male and females wear, Id keep the idea of the character being

gender neutral as it represents individuality which is what the brief

wanted in a TV ident. The movements (of the character) were quite
stiff and in order to make it better, Id use a higher quality
mannequin with more flexible joints that would aid its mobility.
The brief that was provided to me said the following things:

The ident must be animated

I achieved this requirement because I made the ident as a stopmotion animation, using a small wooden mannequin as the
character and cardboard boxes/card/plastic to make the three
rooms.
and represent individuality and creativity.
To achieve this, I created the character to be gender neutral.
This represents the fact that theyre not a stereotype and dont
portray a specific gender (male/female) making them different
and out-of-the-norm. The use of various materials and colours
is how I included creativity in this ident. I wanted to make
each room look completely different and unique from one another,
so I used clashing colour schemes to make them appear bright
and exude positivity. I also created miniature furniture and
props to make the sets appear more realistic.
It must be obvious from the ident that Vibe Productions produce
moving image for documentaries, music videos
Just like what Ive previously talked about, I made sure to
include in the ident; the 3 main mediums (Television,
Online/internet and Radio) in order to show the viewers that
there are various forms of media available to them on various
devices.
It must be a minimum of 20 seconds long"
In the end my animation was 48 seconds long, which is great not
only because I followed the brief but also because it allowed
me to add in more detail. This means that theres more visual
information for the viewers to take in, aiding them in
understanding what the ident is trying to show.

I feel like Im quite suited to the animation industry because: Im

good at thinking of unique ideas, I have the ability to make use of
objects/models that are available and my artistic skills aid me in
making models/sets which I enjoy doing. Stop-motion animations
require a fair amount of creativity (especially when doing something
like a TV ident which can be generic and boring) and I feel like I
have brought that to my animation with my use of various materials
and textures to bring my set to life. I also found it fairly easy to
think of an idea that caters to the target audience of the channel
which means it is able to do what its supposed to do without copying
a channel ident that already exists. Ive also made use of a small
mannequin which is normally used in art to depict the human body
and movements I used this because it was basically a ready-made
armature. This meant that I didnt have to build my character from
scratch, saving me time and helping me to meet the deadline.