First Step

The NSPCC and Childline have really embraced the idea that animation can help tackle sensitive, upsetting or difficult issues. In 'First Step', an animation made to show that Childline are there for children suffering from sexual abuse, the use of written words on screen instead of a voice really strengthens the message that the calls are private and kept that way. The minimalism and use of text in this animation really draws you in and allows you to focus on the message and empathy in the conversation between the caller and Childline.

The Childline text is simple, clear and strong, emphasising the grounding nature a call to Childline can have for a child in need. In contrast to the occasionally unclear, fractured nature of the child's phrases, Childline's solidity and constancy is a visual metaphor for reassurance. The font itself emanates calmness and stability, without seeming cold - a very considered and effective choice. It's the small design choices that can make a big difference here, as these fonts are representing people in the absence of faces or voices.

I like the story arc of this animation as well. There is a clear progression through very limited imagery cleverly used to show the supportive effect of Childline. The words and phrases become more coherent and the imagery becomes more complex and less fractured. It's a beautifully subtle piece of animation that tells a story in a concise but very sensitive and empathetic manner.

Seems I'm onto something...

The NSPCC already have several animated films/documentaries to discuss difficult stories and highlight the help their charity provides for children in the UK. This must be an effective tool as there is a new one, Pete's Story animated by Daniel Bruson. Again it also seems that the hand-drawn, tactile approach is one that works very well for this type of subject matter as this animation took five months of hand-painting every frame in watercolour and then digitally compositing it all together. Perhaps this is because it make the viewer feel more involved in the story. I tend to think that even if someone is not an expert in art or animation, they can still tell that a lot of effort and time has gone into something like this, which holds their focus more, it generates a respect for the piece and I think it's important to have that when trying to get a message across. 

Pete's Story is visually STUNNING. I'm fairly certain that each individual frame could be work of art in it's own right, but the transitions and the fluidity of the animation is incredible. I really think the chiaroscuro technique works well with this story as it leaves room for some ambiguity in the scenes that are more traumatic, and highlight the darkness in Pete's life at that time. 

https://vimeo.com/channels/staffpicks/108303152

Notes on the film in it's vimeo account:

"Winner at D&AD Awards 2015. dandad.org/awards/professional/2015/film-advertising-crafts/24792/petes-story/

Pete's Story is a true account of a boy that suffered from his mother's violence over his childhood years in the UK. NSPCC and Lovers invited me to create this frame by frame watercolour ink animation to communicate the story’s haunting and delicate atmosphere.

NSPCC is the leading children's charity in the UK and is widely known for its long fight for childhood protection. The film was used to reach out potential donors and to create awareness among young people about child abuse and what NSPCC can do to help.

The idea was to convey a mixture of fear, solitude and the imminence of violence confined inside this labyrinthic house, in contrast with the green touch points that show potential (but unused, in this case) interfaces between Pete and NSPCC. I worked five months to create this watercolour animation frame by frame, on paper, and then compose it digitally in post production. I’ll be posting a making of soon.

Special thanks to Alex Ostrowski and Ally Carter for their trust, motivation and support."

The Reedy Boy

I'm currently working on something completely different to my uni work, which is being funded by Arts Council England and is a very exciting collaborative project with a poet and musician. We are creating a 4 part film using Andy Hickmott's poem, 'The Reedy Boy', for which I am developing the accompanying animations and Jay Birbeck is producing the sound and music. 

It's a really dark, folksy story about a man called Glen Fenny who falls foul of the Reedy Boy. 
Watch the trailer here:

Before Pooh there was a war...

E. H. Shepard is world-renowned for his delightful illustrations for A.A. Milne's 'silly old bear', Pooh, but before he became famous for creating the childhood symbol, he was an accomplished illustrator of difficult subject matter. During the First World War, Shepard drew his fellow soldiers far from home and their loved ones, and managed to capture not only the horrors of war with his draftsmanship, but also the camaraderie and humour shared by the men. Whilst I began looking at Shepard's work because of the themes of childhood and innocence in his Christopher Robin sketches as preparation for my work with a children's hospice, it is actually his war illustrations which have inspired me.

Over the next few months I will be tackling sensitive and challenging subject matter in my collaboration with Claire House, and Shepard's approach in his illustrations seems to me to be a balancing act. He weighs humour and tenderness against the sharp realities of war, which gives a far more insightful and rounded reference of his human experience during WW1 than if he had chosen to give either end of the spectrum more importance. I think my work will need to be about balance too. I want my animation for the hospice to be informative, but still display the joy and support that Claire House provides for its families. I want it to be heart-warming, but not sickly sweet.

It's the small gestures that gives Shepard's work it's authenticity, like the other illustrators and animators I have researched, he finds that nod to a person's character, such as the tilt of a head or the position of their feet (even if that person's a bear).

This war illustration is my favourite I think. The soldier on the left has been blinded and is asking the other to read the letter from 'his girl' to him. There's friendship here, a tenderness in the thought that he is loved back home, and also humour in the request that 'as it's rather private will you please stuff some cotton wool in your ears while ya read it?'

The Iron Man

Isn't it funny how the Iron Man has more humanity in him than the flesh and blood inhabitants of the society he crash-lands into? Ted Hughes explores a lot of issues we have as a society with inclusion and acceptance, and the story is full of what it means to be human. I love this story regardless but Laura Carlin's illustrations for it bring the 'human' element to the fore I feel. Her crowd scenes manage this particularly well, because there is so much to look at and Laura focuses on the small gestures in her work. 

I have also noticed that she adopts the 'visual list' approach like William Grill in one illustration of the Iron Man's various parts. This style seems very effective with children's literature as there's so much to look at (maybe that's why the Where's Wally books do so well...)

Carlin's printerly style in these illustrations would be something that could be a very suitable style for animating with. It shares textural and block colour elements with Jonathan Hodgson's work, but I think the key is that it has character.

The Man with the Beautiful Eyes

This man's eyes are so beautiful that you never see them. You wouldn't be able to cope. 

'The Man with the Beautiful Eyes' is an animation by the RCA legend, Jonathon Hodgson. I love everything about this; the tone, the materials used, the elements of text and abstraction, the unusual fields of view and 'camera' angles, the tone and timber of the voiceover in relation to the imagery. It's a very considered and beautiful animation, and has a strong emphasis on the analogue style of hand-drawing. 

The characterisation and scene changes are what I really love about this film and find inspiring. The fluidity of imagery is flawless. Patterns on a whiskey bottle become smoke from a cigar, mirrored in the lines of stubble on the man's neck, which become the curls of his hair; a full physical description captured through simple abstract lines, colour and pattern. It's so clever, imaginative and enthralling. 

Slaves - an animated documentary

Looking again at how animation can be used as a tool to tackle difficult or sensitive issues, I was urged to watch this animated documentary by David Aronowitsch that discusses the incredibly difficult topic of human slavery and trafficking that still exists in our world. The animated element of this documentary is useful on so many levels, the first of which I considered as a way of protecting the identities of the vulnerable children being interviewed about their experiences of slavery. The human element and sense that these are true stories isn't lost in the animated form though, as the discussions of sound tech at the start and the various little coughs from the younger girl and accompanying camera flips to her face when these occur gives a sense of place, as though you are present in the room as the viewer.
It seems as though the technique for editing this film (digitally painted rotoscoping?) gives the documentary credibility and authenticity, as every subtle gesture and look is captured, giving it a very 'real' quality despite the screen-print stylisation of the characters. There is also a sense of realism achieved in a dream-like abstraction of the cutaway scenes in the stories told by the children; these scenes have a very illustrated feel to them, which I think adds weight and realism when you are brought back to the interview room.
All in all, this is a very sensitive and thoughtful animation, but I think for my own work, I would prefer to use a less digitised, sleek format. I thought that the more illustrative, abstract sequences were very captivating; although the idea of a framework in a slightly different, more defined animated style is interesting.

https://vimeo.com/58632132 - Slaves - an animated documentary.

Modern Love

The New York Times started a column based on essays of examples of modern love several years ago and it has been a roaring success across the world. The stories themselves are hand-picked from a HUGE influx every week (apparently it is a lot harder to write a 'good' story about love than you would think) and are then published, often accompanied by some gloriously simple and sensitive illustrations by Brian Rea and other talented illustrators. Occasionally the stories are beautifully cinematic enough to be made into an animation. MOTH collective, the wonderful animators behind Sarah's Story for the NSPCC (previously posted about on here) are responsible for some of them. Again, it's gorgeous work, celebrating the human condition and finding love in the modern age. 

A Millennial's guide to kissing

How a kitten eased my partner's depression

Taking a break for friendship

I've included this as part of my research, partly because I adore Brian Rea's simplistic and witty style of drawing; something that is inspiring me for my animation characterisation and compositions. (Someone needs to collab with him, because his doodles are simply crying to come to life as a cute, witty animation... or maybe I just want everything to move!) The parred back colour schemes and textures are definitely things that I am starting to use in my own work and loving, but Brian's work is very subtly textured which gives it a tactile, real quality without being overpowering.

I also think that this caught my attention because of the massive popularity of the column. It clearly speaks to people on a personal level and provides comfort. Sharing stories seems to still be the way that we grow closer to each other, and sharing stories of heartache and love discovered, found or prevailing is something that crosses generations and cultures. This is reiterating that I need to focus on the personal stories of Claire House when I make an animation for them, because facts and figures mean very little to people, but generating an empathetic response can work wonders!

Public Health Information Films 1947 vs Modern day

It seems animation has been a long serving member of the public health information broadcasts, so the idea of art helping to pass on social messages has long been accepted as the norm. This example from 1947 is full of 'great' advice for the public on staying happy and healthy. It seems a bit ridiculous now but there does seem to be a tendency towards humour as well, which has prevailed in the modern-day counterpart campaign, Change for Life. 

Art and healthcare? Not such a crazy combination after all!

Dementia & Imagination

I've just applied to work as a filmmaker with this AMAZING research project, Dementia & Imagination. (Fingers crossed I get it, but regardless this is brilliant research to compliment my dissertation on whether art can enable social change). 

Dementia & Imagination is a project aimed at examining the power art therapy and creative workshops can have on people suffering with dementia and their carers. They are working across the country with a huge range of specialists from a variety of different disciplines in the arts, sciences and social sciences. The project seems to be step in the right direction for healthcare. By not limiting the care of our increasingly ageing population to facts and figures, there is the chance to provide a better quality of life for those suffering from dementia and for their families and communities in general. Involving the arts and humanities in solving social problems isn't a madcap idea, it's an ingenious one that has inexplicably been overlooked in that past. 

Art can make a difference for people with dementia - like a call to the brain, a connection, helping people come alive again. How does it do this? And are there wider economic, social and community implications? At a time when all parties agree dementia is a priority this project is looking for answers to some important questions.

Baroness Sally Greengross

Chair, All Party Parliamentary Group on Dementia
 

The Man Who Planted Trees

Environmentalist animation at its best. Frederic Back's pastel animation has a natural, evolving quality that compliments the subject matter of this story perfectly. This film reflects the animation style of the time, a soft, artistic approach that many would recognise from The Snowman, and is slowly making a return in children's literature. I hope that this will extend eventually back into animated film, as many animators who worked or grew up during this time have fond memories of this more expressionistic approach. Of course it is arguably more time consuming and less productive than digital animation, but the level of investment is obvious to the viewer and I think this makes it more attractive to the viewer. 

The Promise

Children's books are excellent ways of educating the next generation about important social issues. The Promise by Nicola Davies, illustrated by Laura Carlin is a beautiful book teaching children the power they hold over the environment and the impact of industrialism. The book is heavily influenced by The Man Who Planted Trees, a French story first published in 1953, and since animated by Frederic Back (incidentally some of the most gorgeous hand-crafted animation I've watched, I will make a post about him soon!).

Written to help 'create a new generation of tree-planters', The Promise is a shining example of how illustrations can help evoke change.

Here is the story, read by the author herself:

Laura Carlin talks about her process in this interview:

Cookie-tin Banjo

This animation has a lovely children's book quality to it that I had to link and talk about. The combination of a story, music and art really stood out for me, every quality compliments the rest so beautifully. It reminded me slightly of Ted Hughes' Iron Giant when they were walking across the fields, and really captures that special bond between and father and son, and how music brings people together.

https://vimeo.com/99612902

 

(Unfortunately, it seems that you can't embed a vimeo video into this blog post.) :(

Jon Klassen - Stolen hats and Thinking caps

Jon Klassen is an illustrator and artist I have only just discovered but wish I had known about all my life. He is the 2014 Kate Greenaway prize winner and produces the most beautiful, minimal but gloriously textured illustrations for children's picture books. His stories have so much wit in them too, they're just off the wall enough. Take the bear in 'I want my hat back', his facial expression and posture barely change in the entire book, even when he is lying down he has the same stance just horizontal! It's such deadpan humour that is really appreciated by adults reading his books to their kids, and the limited facial features actually allow the kids to project their feelings onto the character.

Sometimes simpler is better. His use of blank space makes his illustrations feel really contemporary and uncluttered even though the areas of illustration can be very textured and layered. There is still plenty to look at.

"Now we see the little fish at last. Now he's looking right at us. He's getting more and more confident, he's like: "Look I'm going to talk to you guys." You know what he's feeling because the eyes are a symbol of the feeling. I don't really like drawing complicated acting as much. I was in animation for a while before I started making children’s books and I have always looked for symbols of emotion. How do you really draw someone who’s devastated or happy? I can't draw what a guilty fish actually looks like so I have to make a symbol of it." - Jon Klassen in an interview with The Guardian.