BBC Winter Olympics animation by StudioAKA

I love this animation, so glad I found it on YouTube :)

Inspire | Features and Opinion | Storytelling in Animation

Inspire | Features and Opinion | Storytelling in Animation

Excerpt from a D&AD feature about storytelling in animation:

Marc Craste is a partner in StudioAKA. He is the recipient of two Baftas and the Cartoon D’or among others, and once came within spitting distance of an Oscar. He is currently working on his first feature.

Here he discusses the creation of large, intimidating worlds and the small characters that inhabit them.

BBC Sport – Winter Olympics Storyboard

Silent characters

There are many challenges in commercials, the greatest of which is conveying information that is engaging, entertaining and memorable, in a very short space of time.

The commercial work we do often features voiceless characters, and as a result there is a reliance on other visual elements to fill the gaps. All the information on the screen counts.

Oddly enough, when making a short film free of commercial considerations, the first thing we did was populate it with silent characters. Jojo in the Stars confirmed the importance of design and staging in the telling of a story, proving that the setting can often be as much a part of conveying the narrative as the character’s performance.

A real face with its infinite subtleties can absorb an audience and tell them all they need to know. It’s not so easy with animated characters, which often need help from whatever else is filling the screen.

Sometimes the character and the world they inhabit become so inextricably linked it’s hard to differentiate between the two. Jojo is an example where the world was integral to the story. Soon after we completed that film a commercial followed similar in spirit.

Animate Projects - Apocalypse Rhyme

I just love this typographical animation. I saw it at the Bradford Animation Festival in November and I was blown away.

LIAF

How lucky was I to have half term coincide with the London International Film Festival! I did work half of the week, but I went straight from work on Tuesday evening (29th October) to watch the International Programme (3). I booked tickets for the 'Horse Hospital', which turned out to be a quirky little venue! I thought we had gone into the wrong door initially, as I stumbled down a sloping corridor into a very small screening room. I had rushed from work (because I left later than I should have... usual scenario), and was running to each train link because I did not want to be late... as soon as we arrived, and had a glass of wine, I quickly wound down in the calming atmosphere.

I enjoyed quite  few of the animations screened. It is difficult to choose a favourite from Paula, Moirai and Coffee - they were so good, but there were also some others that caught my attention.

This is Paula by Etienne Simard (2011), one of my favourites from the screening that I viewed on the evening at the Horse Hospital.

My continuing creative journey Part 2

Following on from the previous post - my creative journey continued and I then found myself teaching on BTEC Level 3,  FdA & BA Animation courses and thought I should top up my HND to a degree in order to update my skills and I was expected to be at a higher level than I was teaching, so I enquired at Hertfordshire University and they persuaded me to jump straight to an MA because of already having a teaching qualification - this was very scary and I had to do this part time as I was teaching full time.... which was tough going, but I achieved an MA in 2D Digital Animation, helped by an amazing tutor (Alan Peacock) and also Ivan Phillips at Herts. What really surprised me was that I found a real love for the research and essay writing during my time studying for my MA. I stumbled across some really inspiring stuff and thoroughly enjoyed reading papers and books on the subject of animation and digital media. I adore reading anything by Lev Manovich, he is so inspirational.

Back sheet of my final project for my MA

A few years later, I find myself totally overloaded by my job and craving for some creativity for ME! I feel starved at times. The good thing about studying for the MA was that it kept my creative glow burning. I have been doing some sketching during the summer break, but my mind is partly distracted by the fact that I should now be planning for the new academic year.

My eye was caught while out shopping last week when I saw some wonderful prints by Kelly Rae Roberts. I recognised the style because I had purchased her book last year, when I was trying to do an e course with Traci Bautista while working and really fell in love with the mixed media art style. (A link to Kelly Rae's book is below). I have previously attended scrapbooking workshops and created some visual journals and this was really captivating me, but I still have not been able to sit myself down and create something. I went straight home from seeing the wonderful prints in the shop, and looked up Kelly Rae to find her blog and loved her story. I could relate to the beginning of her new journey, before she went part time from her job and began creating art. I purchased part one of her e book series and I really do have a dream, but I cannot verbalise it yet until I have it sorted in my head.....

My creative journey part 1

My creative journey has meandered into varying paths along the way and I started out loving art, always drawing when I was young. My art teacher wanted me to be an art teacher.... I would have loved that, but Mum said NO. At the time there were a lot of teacher strikes and she did not think that it was a worthwhile job. Although my Mum has now found her own creative path in sewing and creating beautiful cushions, bunting, handmade bags etc., she did not understand my creativity when I was younger. I wanted to do an Arts degree, but the answer again was no, simply because she never saw any credibility in extra education and did not see any future in anything creative. I did find a job doing 'window dressing' which apparently is now called 'visual merchandising', which was quite creative, but then was persuaded to work in an admin role (where Mum worked), when I wanted to get a mortgage - becuase this was the more stable environment. I lasted 4 years working my way up within an office environment to be an administrative assistant and met some great people, but it wasn't really for me.

When my son was young, I took the opportunity to go back to College and did a Foundation course and I loved it! When he was not at School, I was able to take him along with me, which was great. I did ceramics, photography, graphic design, life drawing, still life - a whole range of creative topics and I enjoyed everyone of them - it was a perfect course and it made me feel so vibrant and happy and was one of the best things I ever did. From there I did an A Level art course, but could not finish it due to complications at home. I went through a tough break up, which was pretty tumultuous, but through thick and thin, I was determined to stay on the creative path (it really was my saviour). I then took a graphics course and I loved typography and motion graphics and fell in love with a programme called Director, where I could create art with  motion. I then found another course doing Multimedia and I found myself helping a lot of the students with the software and when I completed the course I was asked by the tutor if I would come in and help out with classes. I then went part time and then gradually full time - it worked out very well with my sons education as I was there for him by working part time and by the time he was older, I started working full time. The mystery to me is how I went from art to digital - when I started the graphics course I did not know my way around a computer and here I was teaching web design, motion graphics and animation! I had evolved into a digital creative.

Creating outstanding layout effects in InDesign CC and Photoshop CC