Looking at the movement of the cat

As many of the scenes include the cat walking, I researched into how a cat moves. This should add a realistic twist to the animation. I found this video as it is a slowed down video of the cat moving, including text saying in which order the cats legs work. This will come in really useful when drawing out my animation.

Test opening sequence

Before I started drawing and recording for my actual short story, I carried out another test sequence of the opening scene. I think that the animation in general works really well, however the main issue is that the colour is quite faint. To solve this issue, I am going to re-colour the sequence using felt tip pens to hopefully gain a much brighter more noticeable colour. The other main issue of the sequence is the overall movement of the cat. As it is going to be a short story mainly aimed at children the movement needs to be more exaggerated and comical. To achieve this within the sequence I will try and make the cat wake up, and then really stretch out like you see in many cartoons.

Instructions for istopmotion

As at times I will be setting up the equipment etc on my own, I searched the internet for instructions on how to use istopmotion and get the document set up with the correct settings, and link up the camera. This site: Instructions for istopmotion is really useful and takes you through the process step by step including keyboard short cuts etc.

How to Use iStopMotion Animation

 I have not used the program istopmotion before by myself, and for this reason I needed to look into how to upload the images from the camera, and set up the document so that the frames are at the correct speed. Unfortunately I was also unable to get first hand advice which meant that I had to find out how to use the program using the internet. I found that this video was quite useful in showing how a short sequence is recorded.

Animatic- test sequence

Before I start to draw out and scan in my final animation, I had to test out the equipment and carry out some test footage to make sure that it works. I made a very short animatic of the cat character sitting, then standing and walking. This sequence was made using about 30 drawings. Once the images had been uploaded , I exported the file to a quicktime movie and imported it into final cut. Here I cut the animation and looped it so after the cat stands up, it carries on walking for longer. I chose to do this so that I had more to work with, as I am going to add a small soundtrack to it. The drawings in this animation appear to be moving quite slowly, however this is because of the way in which it was shot. It has been shot with    less frames per second than I had wanted which means that it moves slower.  When making my actual film, I will shoot it with more frames per second to get a faster movement.

Frames per second in an animation

For my animated short story, due to a limited amount of time, I will only be able to have around 6-8 frames per second. However for different types of animation there are different amounts of frames. For standard quality TV animation there are 15 frames per second and for high quality TV animation or low quality cinematic animation there are 24 frames per second. High quality cinematic animations include anything from 30 frames per second. The more frames that there are per second, the better the quality of the animation and the smoother the movements. Animations which have a lower frame rate, can jump around a bit more and appear not to be as smooth. An example of this would be the animation Roobarb and Custard which was completed on around 8 frames per second. In contrast to this Walt Disney films can be anything from 30 frames per second.

Case Study- Joanna Quinn

Joanna Quinn, is a professional animator from Birmingham. She has always loved drawing and went on to complete a degree in graphic design which is the course which I am interested in. Through this course she was introduced many animated shorts including commercials for Charmin toilet paper and Whiskas cat food feature her distinctive drawing style of which her drawings are always rendered using pencil or pen. Her work is very stylized which makes it really original. I like the way in which she uses lots of detail in each drawing and even though this is very time consuming, I would like to achieve this in my animation. I also like the way that she uses colour to bring the characters to life. For more information about Joanna you can read her full interview/ case study by clicking the link- Interview.

Pitching ideas

After working out which brief we would like to carry out, we pitched our ideas to the rest of the class with a presentation. The pitch includes the genre of our film, examples and any other aspects which we could include.

Repertoire of genre elements

Settings and locations- The location of my animated short story will be within the house and garden of the pets owner. The mise en scene of the garden will be very stereotypical with a tree and a tall wooden fence around the edges. The house will also be relatively conventional, with simple rooms such as the kitchen and living room.

Characters- The narrative of my short film will feature two main protagonists (cat and puppy) which will be apparent from the beginning. There will also be a couple of stock characters, which will just be the legs of the owners (will be no dialogue).

Narrative structure- The narrative of my animation will convey a simple message about friendship which the audience can learn something from. The story line will be very simple, with the puppy trying to find different ways to get the cat to play with him.

Themes and ideologies- My theme will follow the codes and conventions as it will be a comedy cartoon, which will feature a message.

Iconography- My animation will include many iconic features. The narrative will include slap-stick comedy which is very conventional of short animated films aimed at children. It will also feature a happy ending where the cat will end up needing the puppy, but even after all the mean things that the cat has done to the puppy, he forgives the cat and helps her. A non-diegetic soundtrack will be played throughout which will help to re-enforce the characters actions and further narrate the film.

Styles- The style of my animation will be very similar to that of Roobarb and Custard, however will more colour and detailed. The lines of the animation will be less rough and therefore the animations movement more fluid. Only certain elements such as the characters and some objects will be in colour as I will have to hand colour each image which will be very time consuming.

Audience response- The response from the children who watch my animation will be of laughter from the comedy elements; however they will also hopefully learn something from the message/ moral of the story.

Target audience- The target audience for my short animated film will be children as they are the main viewers of cartoon programs and films.

Issues and problems

During the initial planning of my short animated film, I came across a few problems. I found that the Mac I was to use, did not have the program that I needed to colour in my drawings. This meant that I was faced with the decision as to whether or not I was going to have a black and white line drawing animation or colour in each image before animating it. This also meant that I will not be able to carry out the initial idea that I had of creating a full colour animation like Tom and Jerry. I would have to just use limited colour like that in Roobarb and Custard as it will be very time consuming for me to colour in every image. I will try however to still make the images as detailed like Tom and Jerry, to make it my own style so it will be sort of a hybrid between Tom and Jerry and Roobard and Custard.

Chosen character colour testing

colour characters, a photo by HarrietASmedia on Flickr.

After carrying out my initial drawings, I decided on my favourite for each charcter and did some colour testing. To view my comments on the drawing click on the image above.

Initial character ideas

cat and dog ideas, a photo by HarrietASmedia on Flickr.

The next step for me was to start to come up with some ideas as to what the characters could look like. I drew a couple of different styles of the characters, which will help me to decide which would be most appealing to my target audience. To view the tags with my comments, click on the image above.

Story Ideas

I started off with a few ideas for possible narratives for my short animation. I have chosen the 3 best, ideas which I believe have the biggest scope.

1. •A character, goes out for the day on a visit to the local zoo. Whilst there, it meets a number of the animals. The character would meet a giraffe which could lean down towards it, an elephant which squirts water, penguins which slide across the ice and at the end could be watching the tropical fish tank, which then a shark could swim across and frigthen the character which then goes home. The genre of this would be adventure, with some comical elements. The main character from this story could go on different adventures which would mean that there would be scope for there to be more than one episode/ story.
2. •A bird learning to fly. The first time it tries it falls, so it comes up with different ways of trying to fly eg with a parachute made from a leaf. The bird could also hold on to a helicopter seed pod, which then spins the bird all the way to the ground, which it then becomes very dizzy. This story would be very comical and the characters (3 chicks) presented in such a way that they have their own personalities, eg one could be very lazy and fat, whereas another could be thin and 'geeky'.
Owner of a cat buys a puppy. The puppy would be scruffy, yet cute and would be stereotypically very energetic and playful. It would take a liking to the cat which is just not interested and gets annoyed by the puppy keeping pestering it. The cat on the other hand would be the opposite to the puppy, as it would be very posh, dainty and clever which is the stereotype of a pet cat. The puppy will always try to be friends and play with the cat, however with the cat not being interested, it trys to get away from it. For instance, the cat could entice the puppy outside through the cat flap then block it so it can't get back in. At the end of the story, the cat would finally accept the puppy as a friend.
After dicussing the ideas with some friends, I decided that I would take forward the 3rd idea (highlighted) of the story with the cat and dog, as I belive this would be the most appealing and successful.

Target Audience

The target audience for my short animation, will be children from the age of 6. The narrative of the film will carry some sort of message to do with friendship between the two characters. The genre of my animation will be comedy so will probably include some 'slap stick' within it as this is the style of comedy that appeals to the younger audience. If my animation were to be shown on the TV then it would be aired at the end of the childrens programs session, just before the adult programs start. This would mean that my target audience would already be tuned in, but also adults may end up watching it, as it is on just before their program. As my film will also be reasonably traditional and conventional, it may also appeal to the older audience just like animated programs such as 'The Simpsons' do. The audience response for my short film will be that the children who watch it will and laugh as well as also learn something from the morale/ message of the narrative.

Production, Distribution and Exhibition

Production-
The production of any type of animated short film is a very time consuming process. Animations used to only be completely hand drawn, meaning that each and every movement had to be drawn out, resulting in hundreds, often thousands of drawings. Most animations that are produced now tend to be more 3D and are made using special computer programs. This is still a very time consuming process though and is much more expensive. Financially, animated films can be expensive to make due to the amount of time they take to produce, and also the programs that they use to edit.

Distribution-
Many animated short film/ programs that are seen on TV are made by small independent companies. They are often just shown on TV however the more popular ones are now being released on DVD and are available to buy on sites such as i-tunes, along with a range of ancillary products. Short animated films are often produced by large film conglomerates such as Pixar and Disney. These are often distributed as an extra on a DVD with a relevant feature film. Some are also distributed to cinemas and are shown after or during the end credits of the film.

Exhibition-
Cartoons/ animations considered to only be for children however some appeal to adults as well. When cartoons such as Tom and Jerry were and Looney Tunes were on they appealed to a wide target audience as the were broadcast at a time which was suitable to most people. These cartoons were often shown at the end of the time when children's programs were shown, just before it changed to adult programs for instance the news. This meant that adults would often tune in just as the cartoon was on so that they didn't miss the start of their program. However the cartoons that were shown at this time were more appealing to adults as many had the combination of perhaps an every day task that working people carry out and also comical elements to appeal to the younger audience.

Mood board of images

To get an idea as to the different characters and themes of animation, I created a mood board with a range of images. The styles of animation have changed greatly over the years from the original black and white Mickey Mouse cartoons to the comic book style of the Simpsons. Audiences have also changed as animations such as Family Guy are directed at adults and contain adult content, whereas animations are more stereotypically aimed at children. The use of colour has also changed from the more washed out colouring like that used in the Snowman to bold solid colours used in Looney Tunes. The overall shapes and images used within animation have also changed from being reasonably simple to slightly more detailed.

Genre

The genres of short films can be similar to those used in normal feature length films. However the most popular genre is comedy. This probably because it is very easy to make a short film funny as there is less time to fill with the rest of the story. Many short films are included alongside feature length films, such as Pixar made a short narrative to accompany the film 'UP' (Pixar short). This means that a lot of the short films produced today are aimed at the younger audience, perhaps whose attention span is shorter.

Short films are becoming more and more popular in portraying important social messages such as don't recycling or road safety (stop, look, listen hedgehogs). Genres can however differ from comedy and social messages to things like horror, however these are less known and are mainly shown at specialist places such as film festivals (specifically for short films).

Why is genre important?
In relation to audience, genre is important in helping them to decided on whether they will like the film. By the audience identifying the genre of a film, its a way of them seeing whether its their sort of film. One way that genre is expressed is through the actors/ actresses that star in the film. For instance if you liked Hugh Grant, and saw that he was in a new film, you would assume that it would be of the genre romantic comedy, as this is tha main style that he acts in. This is useful for the institution or industry producing the films.

For the film industry, genre also helps in the marketing of films. If genres have recognisable visual motifs, they can be used as advertising to give an idication of what sort of film is. Making films in genres makes it easier to plan production. Certain sorts of sets and costumes could be used time and time again. A studio could invest in certain types of actors if it is specialised in a particular genre.

Codes and Conventions of short films

Just like feature length films, short films also have many conventions. These are quite similar to those of a feature film. The main convention would be that short films only tend to have one or two main characters. This is because there is not enough time to introduce a whole cast, meaning it would become too busy and confusing having lots of characters. The storylines are often very simple and can be anything from simple everyday tasks (bus journey, shopping) to a story about friendship or an adventure. The majority of short films include a soundtrack or sound effects rather than dialogue. Again, in a short film, there would only be a limited amount of dialogue which is why producers find that music illustrates the film better. By having no dialogue, it means that many short films are and can be shown in different countries as they can be understood by everyone. The most conventional genre of a short film would be comedy as it is very easy to make a short film funny, as you would not need to worry about filling out space, or having a strong story behind it. Other genres are also used such as romance, however most short films do tend to have some sort of comical element to them. Some short films are also produced to show social messages such as the high way code (Stop, Look, Listen). Short films last anything up to 5 minutes long.

Animated Short Film

I really like this short film, as I find the simple concept really appealing and the actual animation is quite good. It is a bit shorter than most short films, and it does not really show a full story which is not conventional. However the story is about an everyday task carried out by a cat (which is also the only character- conventional), which is a conventional feature of short film genre. Again, the film features no dialogue, but features music and sound effects. Through looking at different short animated films, I have found that they work better with a soundtrack/ effects rather than dialogue as the story can be told easier and helps create a comedy element to it.

Animated short film

This animated short film is quite conventional. The genre is almost sort of romance however it does have a comedy element to it as its target audience is still children/ young people. The film features no dialogue and the story is told completely by the characters and the music. The music plays consistently throughout, changing during scenes to make the story understandable and easy to follow. The plot of the film is very simple with the male cat falling in love with the girl and trying to win her over, with it ending happily. The whole film lasts just under 4 minutes including all of the credits etc.  I really like the simple concept of this story, and believe that it works really well.

Pixar Short film

The genre of this short story is comedy/ adventure with the same target audience as the film (this short film was produced by Pixar as an extra to accompany the film 'UP'). The animation, although it appears detailed and colourful is actually very simple. The mouths of the characters do not move when they are speaking meaning that you are just watching a still image. In my opinion this is not as effective as if their mouths were moving as sometimes it gets confusing as to which character is actually speaking. The movement in the characters is also quite limited. The story does however feature a range of quite effective sound effects which help make up for the lack of movement from the characters. The short film does feature some conventional features though. The film is based around 2- 3 main characters, with a simple problem/ storyline that becomes solved at the end. Many sound effects are also used to accompany the dialogue (dialogue is not a conventional feature).