Final NHS Child Safety Video

After I had finished my parts of the video another member of the group put all the animations together to create the finished film. I think that the message is being put across that we wanted to achieve but I think that we need to continue to edit the animations so that they have a continuity to them. The first two rooms have a different ending to the other rooms and I think that they then stand out. But this is something that we can then work on with the client.

The animations I did put together with the music.

Child Safety Project - Animation

Opening Scene

For the this scene the door on the house opens and the camera zooms in to see the bear waving in the hallway.

This is a video that I made of the door opening, I next need to overlay the house on top and then have the animation of the bear waving behind the animation of the door opening.

To create the door opening I used a cut out of the door and moved it frame by frame using the transform tool in Photoshop.

I have made the house to overlay the video of the door opening.

Added colour for the windows.

Overlaid the house image on the video in After Effects.

Turning the bear into a puppet and uploading into After Effects, the arm and head movements could be keyframed ready to place behind the door.

Adding the bear behind the door.

Putting the hallway behind the bear.

Zooming in on the bear waving.

I next animated the book that one of my group members made opening.

Then using the image of the house to rotate and move forwards out of the book, changing then into the video of the door opening.

Finished first scene.

I think that towards the end it is quite jumpy with the zoom, and there is part of the background missing.

Updated first scene.

It is still slightly jumpy towards the end but I am happy with how this scene has turned out, with some extra time I will probably be able to make the transitions smoother.

Bathroom Scene

The next scene I made was the bathroom scene, this scene was easier to make than the first one because it was made by just using the bear as a puppet in After Effects.

This is the opening of the scene, showing the bear walking in, slipping on the soap and then falling into the toilet.

 I will next have to create a thought bubble in photoshop and use a screen shot of the bear stuck in the toilet to put inside the bubble. I can then use the bear puppet in After Effects to shake the thought away by lowering the opacity of the thought bubble.

The finished bathroom scene.

Bedroom Scene

Using the puppet technique again I have created the bedroom scene.

Upstairs Hallway Scene

For the upstairs hallway seen I used the walk sequence to lead the bear to the top of the stairs and then the cut out of the bear to make it start to fall.

Final Scene

This scene contains all the further information for the viewer.

I worked with the client to gather the information and logo's.

This is what I came up with.

I then added sound and the 'thudding' imagery to make the final scene.

I've edited the videos that I animated together with the music to create my own version of the finished video as I was waiting for other members of the group to finish their scenes.

Child Safety Project - Backgrounds

These are the backgrounds for video. I have tried to keep them as simple as possible so they don't detract away from the animation.

These are just quickly done to discuss with the group and to get feedback on positioning of the furniture.

Hallway

Living Room

Kitchen

Upstairs Hallway

Bedroom

Bathroom

After discussing these backgrounds with my group, I have decided to make the rooms more homely.

I have also added other hazards in the background that the character wont interact with but whoever is watching can see that the hazards we are showing in the film aren't the only ones within the home.

Hallway

Living Room

Kitchen

Upstairs Hallway

Bathroom

Bedroom

The backgrounds have been updated so they have a less hand drawn feel to them, The doors have also been removed because as the group decided they weren't necessary for the animation because they wont be animated.

The hallway has been flipped so it is facing the same way as the upstairs hall image.

Upstairs Hall

Bedroom

Bathroom

 Kitchen

 Livingroom

Overall I feel that these new backgrounds work with the animation, but I think they look quite flat in comparison to the bear looking more 3D.

I prefer the hand drawn look of the previous backgrounds but I can see how they could have distracted from the character animation.

Meeting With The NHS About The Presention

Points to improve on:

• Provide more visuals to show the view what room the bear is in. Also to add a number on the front door.
• Shorten the leaving the kitchen and going up the stairs sequence. It isn't needed as the next sequence will be in the bedroom.
• We are going to remove the bed suffocation sequence as this is a topic already covered in detail by the NHS.
• We will instead include a burn sequence including a kettle or straighteners.
• Add other dangers in the background of the scenes, this way after it has been presented the audience could be asked if they saw any other dangers in the video.
• The music needs to be improved as it is too repetitive. (we are already working with someone to improve the music.)

Points that worked:

• The colour choices reflect a typical house and also make the bear gender neutral.
• The music is a very good contrast to the baby crying at the end of the video.
• The dangers are illustrated in a way that doesn't distress the viewer, but doesn't tread too lightly on the subject.
• Over all the video isn't too long and holds the viewers attention.

Child Safety Project - Storyboards And Animatic

Animatic

The sound is only to help with the atmosphere of the story and to show a contrast with the final scene.

We are working on a longer, less repetitive song to run through our video.

Developed Storyboards

I added colour to the storyboards made by another member of the group so that the action of the bear can be seen clearly from the background.

Early Storyboards

Drawn by another member of the group.
These will need to be further developed to show camera angles and adaption of the story.

Synopsis

Following a bear that experiences the potential dangers in the average home. This video will aim to get new parents to think about home safety with a child.

Walk Cycle Test

This walk cycle was made by another member of the group.
I like the way the bear moves, it's similar to how a teddy would be made to walk by a child, with the anchor points being used like hinges.

Child Safety Project - Design And Colour

Teddy Design

Inspiration and reference images

A member of the group used these images to reference his character design.

He then further developed it into this image.

As a group we then tried different colour combinations to see which worked best for our animation and audience.

We chose this colour design because it has both complimentary and contrasting colours with the house backgrounds in the red book.

House Interior Backgrounds

Watercolour Tests

Referencing the colours from the house in the red book I did some watercolour tests.

I then applied these colour tests digitally into a scene.

I think the more pale, neutral colours work best as they compliment the character but also don't distract away.

Having paler tones also sets a more calming mood for the audience to view.

I also think that if I scan the watercolour images in to use as backgrounds would visually look better than digital ones as they can be more of a wash of colour rather than quite vibrant, which the digital ones seem to show.

Child Safety Project - Developing Ideas

We liked the idea of having a teddy bear showing the child all of the hazards in the home. We weren't sure on how this would work without the video being patronising to the parents so we looked at what the information in the Red Book that is given to all new parents had on home safety.

We thought we could include the house that is in the book and animate it with information and dialogue explaining each hazard.

The group then had a better idea that would combine the first two ideas and have the Red Book open up and the house lift up like a pop up book and the camera zoom into each room and have the teddy experience the hazards, in the least graphic way possible. For example he could be swinging from a blind cord.

In the end we would see the teddy trip and start to fall down the stairs, to which the screen would go black and the sound of the bumps of falling and then stars appear with the sound of a baby crying.

After this we would put a message up saying something along the lines of children are not made of cloth and stuffing, Is your home safe for exploring?