Unit 32 Research

Audience
Age & Gender
When doing my research, I need to consider the age range I will target at. The age I will be
targeting is 5-18 year olds. I have targeted this age range because I feel that the props and
storyline for the animation will be suitable for that target audience so therefore I will ensure
that all the features in the animation will cater towards that age range. The most popular
animation films and programs are presented on the CBeebies channel, which is targeted at
the younger age so I think that mine will be similar to them. In the CBeebies programs such
as Arthur are the most common on the TV channel and is very popular because it generates
a lot of views and is on before school time. This age range will be covered because of the
popular demand and also there is animation programmes that are targeted towards an
older audience so thats why I chose to put the target audience 5-18.
Gender
The gender of my animation will be aimed at both male and female. I have chosen this
because I think that the content in the animation is suitable for both genders so therefore I
will be targeting at both. The reason why I think it will be a good idea to target both genders
is because if I do decide to target one gender it could have effect on the ratings that and I
feel that by targeting both genders it will benefit the animation more. There are programs
that cater towards both genders and they are really successful for example the program
Pingu. This show is targeted at both genders and has been for many years which made it the
most popular animation show for kids.
Production ideas

Storylines
Storylines for kids programmes are normally are quite basic because they need to ensure
that the kids follow the storyline and make sure that the storyline isnt too complex. For
example the animation sequence Pingu is a British-Swiss stop-
motion clay animated children's comedy television series created by Otmar Gutmann and
produced from 1986 to 2000 for Swiss television by The Pygos Group. It centres on a family.
of anthropomorphic penguins who live at the South Pole. The main character is the family's
son and title character Pingu. The storyline to this program is very basic and easy to follow
the program is set in Antarctica and centres around penguin families living and working
in igloos. The main character, Pingu, belongs to one such family. He frequently goes on
adventures with his little sister Pinga and often gets into mischief with his best friend, Robby
the Seal.
For my storyline I will make sure that its very simple because my target audience is very
young so therefore I will need to ensure that the storyline is easy to follow.
Other storylines are basic for example the program Shaun the sheep. This programs
storyline is Shaun the Sheep thinks and acts like a person in a barnyard, which usually gets
him into trouble. The farmer's sheepdog, Bitzer, tries to keep Shaun and his friends out of
trouble. The farmer is oblivious to the humanlike features of his flock, who are like one big,
happy family. The storyline is very innocent and caters towards the same target audience as
mine.
Sets
The set for these type of shows is normally consistent throughout with very little alterations.
On the pingu episodes, the set includes two holes in the ice where Pingu goes fishing a seal
character, which joins him part way through the episode, some fish and the icebergs, which
play a part as some props. The set is very consistent and does not change much because
that is what makes the episodes so unique and the program is always based in the
Antarctica.

Background
For the background used in Pingus episodes, it is mainly just blue sky and then icebergs,
which form the main, land mass in the programme. The scene is based in Antarctica so
therefore the background is normally white or blue. The background is always consistent
throughout the different programmes and this is the same with other programmes such as
Arthur. This programme also features the same kind of background however, there is
different scenes throughout. The different backgrounds are clearly computer generated so it
is a lot easier to change the background rather than the one in Pingu because the
background is not computer generated.
Normally in animation programs, the background stays the same because the amount of
time it takes to redo another background.
As you can see in the background, the scenery is very consistent throughout and the colour
scheme is white because the background is based in Antarctica so it will be obviously white
and blue because of the ice and water.

Scenarios

In these episodes on pingu, there is main characters that are consistently involved in the
episodes.

Here are the characters in the program

Pingu is the main character of the series, a typically playful, sometimes naughty, curious
little boy penguin. He is strong-willed and mostly well behaved but prone to making
mischief and throwing occasional tantrums.
Pinga is Pingu's younger sister. She resembles an emperor penguin chick, as do other
infant/toddler penguins throughout the show. Like all toddlers, she is happy and playful
but very sensitive, and is often a target for Pingu's practical jokes.
Mother and Father are Pingu and Pinga's parents; their actual names are not revealed.
Father is a postman who uses a non-smoking pipe in the early episodes, but quits later.
He has a motorised sledge to deliver the mail, sometimes with help from Pingu. Mother
is a housewife who spends most of her time cooking and cleaning. Mother sometimes
gets help from Pingu and Pinga, and she always gives them a cuddle when they have
learned a lesson.
 Grandfather is Pingu and Pinga's paternal grandfather, who first appeared in the
episode "Music Lessons". He is an expert accordionist, as he demonstrates to Pingu in
that episode, and is a former professional weight lifter.
Grandpa is Pingu and Pinga's maternal grandfather who appeared in "Grandpa is Ill" and
"Pingu Cannot Lose", in the latter of which he is shown to be good at bowling.
Aunts are Mother's sisters, Pingu, and Pinga's three maternal aunts. In "Pingu Goes
Away", Pingu goes to stay with one of his aunts. In "Pingu the Babysitter", he cares for
another aunt's twin chicks whilst she and Mother go out, then in "Pingu Makes a
Mistake", he cares for his other aunt's egg that is due to hatch.
The Twins are Pingu and Pinga's cousins who appear in "Pingu the Babysitter" where
they are cared for by Pingu when their mother (Pingu's aunt) goes out with Mother.

For this scenario the creators of Pingu has done this scenario however mine will be quite
similar but it will only contain 2 characters and a prop which will be the football.

For my program, there will be two main characters will be the same kind of characters in
pingu however there will be just two penguins.

Audio
For the audio on the pingu, episodes are very subtle because there is not a lot of talking
involved, which makes it very original to any other TV programs. There is more action than
speaking because the different actions make it to not need any audio. There is simple voices
that the penguins say such as hello and bye and this will be the same for my animation. I
think that if there is audio involved it could get annoying and distract the audience. There
will also be music in the background to make it more entertaining.
Generation of concepts

Characters
The characters, which I have chosen to use, are two penguins setting. Ideally, I want to have around
two different characters however because it is set in Antarctica. I hope that these characters would
all be animated to talk and introduce themselves and each other. I will make them speak to each
other but it will only be brief because I do not want to spend a lot of time doing voiceovers. 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.

Both characters will be the same colour however they will have distinctive signs that will be make
the individual.

Visualisation
Visualisation is very important to the animation for this project because I want the
animation to look aesthetical pleasing to the viewer and it to be successful. The whole
visualization of the animation will be based in Antarctica with scenery of snow, ice and
water. I will include all the aspects of the animation into it and use the resources wisely

Awareness of technical limitations

For my technical limitations, there is different parts of which I can do the animation. If the
frames are longer, it will take more time to shoot the individual frames so therefore it will
take longer than usual. With the time I have I need to make sure I have plenty of time to
shoot the animation and by doing this I will follow the ILP which will help me plan my time
and keep me on track. There is many other students who will be shooting the animation as
well as me so I will need to ensure that when my time is to do the animation I can do it in a
efficient way for me and other students. I have created storyboards, which gives me an idea
of what the script of the animation will be and what frames/ time it will take me to finish it.
The size of the set will also be needed to take into consideration because I only have a
limited space to take pictures so I will need to use the space wisely. There is 2 characters so
for the space I have I'll use it to my advantage to get every frame.
Exploitment format potential
For the animation, I have limited resources so the animation will not be up to scratch with
all the other professional animation films but I will make sure I try my best with the size of
the stage I have and the characters I produce. The potential for my animation could be
really high however I do not have a lot of time to produce professional work but with the
time I have I will need sure that I fulfil my potential. I will have some time to create the
characters and the background of the set so for me to do this well I will make sure I spend
more time creating the characters because they are the most important factor of the
animation.

Planning
Before creating the animation, I need to plan the structure of the animation so I can make
sure that the assignment will go smoothly. I will also need to look at other animations to get
an idea of what mine will look like and I did this by watching animation videos such as Pingu
and other programmes. As well as this, I have looked at background and the base, which will
feature in the animation. The base will be mainly white due to the snow so I do not really
need to focus on that however I will need to search backgrounds animation. It will be based
in the Antarctica. I will also have an ILP, which will help me guide the time I have to plan and
then take the pictures for the animation. I will do this by completing a table that will show
what I did that day and then the next day I can see what I did the previous lesson so I can go
back.
Storyline
After doing some research and looking at different animations, I have the chance to look at
the storylines to get some ideas for my own. I know that I cannot copy any of the other
storylines however; I can get some inspirations because that could benefit my animation.
After looking at some storylines, I have decided to create a similar style of animation to
pingu but my own ideas and characters. The main characters will be a penguin, which is the
dad, and then a little penguin, which is the son. The storyline will be them 2 in the
Antarctica and playing around in the snow and water. It will be very simple because I want
to make sure that it is easy to understand because my target audience is very young.

Sets
The set of my animation will be very simple because I do not have a lot of time to spend on
creating the set however, I do think that the set will look professional. I will include props to
the set, which will make it more realistic for example snowballs and ice because of being in
the Antarctica. The theme will be based there so it will consist of a blue and white set with
the characters on stage. I will use my space wisely because I know that I have a lot of room
to move my characters so I will do this by making sure I have many different frames.
The set is very important to the animation because if the set is not done correctly the
animation could become not produced well so therefore I will need to ensure I include
everything in the set.
Background
The background for my set will be quite simple but I will use an image from the internet
then print it out so it will fit the set size. The quality of the image will need to be high
because the size of the set is big so therefore it will need to be stretched which may loose
the quality of the image. The colour of the background will be white and blue to fit with the
whole colour scheme and to match the Antarctica so it will need to be realistic.
In addition, I need to make sure that the background is not copyrighted so I will ensure that
I have rights to use the image. I will use a print tool, which enables me to print the image
out to fit the set. The image will be a panoramic view so it will be quite big.

Audio
For my animation, I think that I will include some audio in there because it will be very
boring if I did not. Due to my target audience, I will need to ensure that the words or audio I
include is very basic because the target audience is very young. I will also do a voiceover for
the characters, which will include simple words like hello" and "bye" which are very easy to
do and I will do them for each character so I will need to change the tone of the voice to fit
the different characters.
I will also include some music in the background, which will make it entertaining rather than
just voiceovers.
Soundtrack Design
For the animation, I have already stated that I will include audio in the animation however I
will also include a soundtrack, which will be played behind the voiceovers. My target
audience is quite young so the soundtrack I think should be upbeat and sound fun so it will
engage the viewer. I think that having a soundtrack will make the animation more enjoyable
for the audience so that is why I will include one. In addition, I will make sure that the audio
is not copyrighted because if I do use copyright music I will have to ask for permission
before using it.

Lighting
The lighting for the set is very important to the animation because I need to make sure that
the lighting is on the right part of the stage because I want to ensure that the camera picks
up the characters features. I know that the cameras are not that good quality so I will have
to compromise and try to get the best shot using the lighting.

Script
Animation starts with the stage with the sea set. Tune is playing to open the animation and
then fades out (lasts 2 seconds) penguin enters stage
Penguin 1 (looking at camera): Hi everyone, Im (insert name) and I live in the in Antarctica
with my son.
Penguin 2 comes in (son.
Hi my name is Freddy nice to meet you.
Penguin 2 waves to camera
Penguin 1 Dad talks to son
Penquin 2 kicks football
Penguin 1 kicks football back

Task 5
Computer animation
It is the creation of moving images (animation) using computer technology. Computer
animation is broken down into two categories. Computer-generated animation where the
animation is designed solely on the computer system using animation and 3D graphics
software, and computer-assisted animation where traditional animations are computerized.
An animator's job is to take a static image or object and literally bring it to life by giving it
movement and personality. In computer animation, animators use software to draw, model
and animate objects and characters in vast digital landscapes. There are two basic kinds of
computer animation: computer-assisted and computer-generated.
Computer-assisted animation is typically two-dimensional (2-D), like cartoons. The animator
draws objects and characters either by hand or with a computer. Then he positions his
creations in key frames, which form an outline of the most important movements.
For my animation I will not be needing to use a computer to create my animation because I
will be taking pictures using stop motion however I will be using it to import my pictures
into a editing program such as flash to create the animation.

Television
Over the years, television has become very popular due to its capabilities to show great
movies and programs. In addition, advertising is one of the most popular parts of television
programs because that is how the channels make their money. Animation has played a big
part in the advertising industry because of its new techniques to engage the viewer.
Animation is much more pleasing to watch than just ordinary imagery so when people see
animation it can engage the viewer, which is the most important part of advertising. Most of
the popular adverts are animation, which shows that it is more popular than any normal
adverts.

Web
Web animation is illusion of motion, when applied correctly, is what tells the users that they
have actually done something. They have successfully interacted with the interface, and
have caused something to change. Animation is just a series of still images shown in
sequence, so the most obvious way to add animation to a Web site is to post a series of
bitmap images that the user's browser displays in sequence. This sort of animation, called
GIF animation, or GIF89, was the first Web animation to catch on, and it is still very popular
today. Flash is now the standard format for rich animation on the Web and Shockwave is a
very popular format for presenting more complex animated content. Unlike Real Player and
QuickTime files, Flash and Shockwave movies actually appear as part of the Web page and
include a high level of interactivity, just like a straightforward HTML page. The Shockwave
player not only plays animation, but also recognizes user input and then controls how the
browser responds.

Task 4 & 5 Use of possible

Stop frame techniques
Stop motion describes the process of making a sequence of pictures play in order a speed
that creates an illusion of movement. A well-known example of stop motion would be
Wallace and Gromit. The basic process of animation involves taking a photograph of your
objects or characters, moving them slightly, and taking another photograph. When you play
back the images consecutively, the objects or characters appear to move on their own.
The technique of using multiple images viewed in rapid succession to suggest motion is
called animation. To better understand animation, try this: Imagine yourself holding a book
where each page features a photograph of a cup sitting on a table. You notice that every
picture is different, as if the photographer rotated the cup slightly before capturing each
image. When you flip rapidly through the pages, the cup appears to spin. This is a basic
example of animation.

Plasticine animation
Clay animation or Claymation is one of many forms of stop motion animation. Each
animated piece, either character or background, is deformable made of a malleable
substance, usually Plasticine clay.
"Freeform" clay animation is an informal term referring to the process in which the shape of
the clay changes radically as the animation progresses, such as in the work of Eliot Noyes, Jr.
and Ivan Stang's animated films. Clay can also take the form of "character" clay animation,
where the clay maintains a recognizable character throughout a shot.
My animation will be plasticine animation because I am going to create my characters using
plasticine and other materials.