Development Research Blog

In this post the author will analyse three different animations that are all related to the topic of the animation being designed for this assignment. Although it became apparent that finding an already existing animation that matched the subject entirely would be difficult, three alternatives that sit within the genre of this subject have been chosen instead and the focus will be on the presentation and overall thoughts of these three examples. The first example, titled Save the earth, delivers itself with a chosen audience of children, this is apparent in the initial view as the colour palette and sound design already fit that audience. It offers a simplistic and stylistic view with simple cut ins and asset movements that fits the audience that it is trying to reach. The final feeling is that the animation comes across as more of an animated infographic rather than an animation piece; with the final voiceover not fitting with the rest of the product, the art style is simple but does not let it down, rather the motion of the set and pieces fail to lift this piece up to its maximum potential.
2022 Mango Animate “Save the earth” Environmental protection animation for kids. Video. Youtube Mango Animate
2019 The Like Minded “Environment Awareness Animation – The effects of Deforestation” Video. Youtube The Like Minded
The second animation provides a more stylised approach to the topic; following the journey of a deer as it moves through its home forest, very reminiscent to the style of the Disney™ studios animated motion picture, Bambi. Immediately this comes across as a more aged up presentation of this topic, the focus appears to be primarily on the visual. With art and scenery a big part of this animation it expects a lot of its message to be carried on its shoulders, the voice over becomes almost less important as the message remains the same. The author wants the audience to sympathise with this animal and uses that guilt and emotion to try and trigger a response from the viewer. This works well and in an ideal situation as similar art style would be used within this assignment animation, however due to a lack of talent there needs to be some smart decisions to be made, a great influence is taken from this piece with how the imagery should be present and important.
The final example proceeds as a personal view of an improvement upon the last two, it follows the journey of a male character as they navigate and interact with different animals and aspects of the environment. During each interaction everything but the man becomes the victim to his whims and decisions, and as the user continues to watch they begin to associate what they are seeing with various aspects of life that happen; Hunting, fishing, product testing, traffic, and pollution, to name a few. All while accompanied by a piece of recognisable music; In the Hall of the Mountain King by Edvard Grieg. The animation follows the rhythm and beat of the music piece and combines all its audio/ visual elements together into a final product that manages to deliver its meaning and purpose to its audience without having a single line of spoken dialogue. In this example the target audience feels less than clear, as it seems designed more to provide a quirky stylistic view into someone’s emotions rather than explaining or delivering information.
2014 Steve Cutts “MAN” Video. Youtube Steve Cutts