Our Animation

 Through using our knowledge of animations that we had developed throughout the module, we were given the task of creating out own stop-motion animation as a group using Zu3D software.Our group consisted of myself, Ceri Chamberlain and Bethan Thomas. We began deciding on our roles within the animation based on our skills. Due to Ceri`s artistic skills, she was placed in charge of creating the characters within the animation. Bethan was in charge of creating the script while I was in charge of sound. 

Planning our animation

Characters

 We decided to create an animation based on the theme of bullying, as we believed it was a topic that most people could relate to. We designed our characters based on their role within the animation. "Little Pinky" (the main character) was designed to look small to represent his lack of self esteem due to being bullied. His character grew bigger at the end of the animation to represent his self esteem growing when he confronted 'the bullies'. "The Bullies" were designed to be of average hight to emphasise how small "Little Pinky" was. On the other hand, the "Wise Man" was designed to be larger than the other characters to represent his power and knowledge, with the aim of making his character stand out from the others to indicate his large role within the animation.  

The Set

The set of the animation was created by using the mini theatre set which came with the Zu3D package, while matching paper was used for the flooring to extend the set. Cardboard was used to provide stability for the set, reducing the risk of movement while we were moving our characters. Clay props (such as a ball and a tree) were designed by Ceri to allow our characters to interact with the scenery.  

The Sound

A script was created by Bethan, which was then recorded using Audacity, a free recording software. Once recorded, I was able to manipulate the sound using the various tools on Audacity to create the voices of different characters. Sound effects and music such as birds tweeting, increased the animations believability.  Pharrel William`s Happy was used at the end of the animation as the theme of the song is about trying to be happy during difficult times, which we believed linked well with the story of our animation.

The Plot



The story begins with Little Pinky playing with his ball in a field. The young boy (Little Pinky) begins to be bullied about his size by two bullies who are slightly bigger than him. The bullies take the ball away from Little Pinky and begin playing with the ball in front of him in an attempt to tease him. Little Pinky begins to cry which draws the attention of the "Wise Man" who advises Little Pinky to confront the "Bullies". As Little Pinky confronts the bullies, his confidence grows, which frightens the "Bullies " away. 

Tips for Creating your own animation

When making your own animation, the best advice to follow is to always keep it simple. Some of the best animations have been made with the most basic of ideas. The more you put into an animation, the more you will have to control. This includes sound effects.We had many difficulties with our animation through trying to add the sound effects onto Zu3D as we had created separate files for each sound effect and voice over, making it very difficult to match the timing of the sound with the animation. 

   We also had difficulty with the lighting as it was a sunny day. Due to this, I recommend using the same time of day continuously throughout the filming process to avoid lighting issues.