Production Title:

Perfect Season

Mind Map and Idea Analysis:

My initial concept for the production was to work within my limits - that being time constraints
and production difficulty - that isn't to suggest that i have no ability in animation, rather that
high-quality work takes time. It's that which makes me focus on something simple, easy to
make, but effective.

With that i came to the concept of a running cycle; i came to this decision due to the running
cycle's generally small set of frames that can be repeated for effect. This wasn't simply a
bureaucratic decision; i do coin myself an artist and, as such, hoped to use such a simplistic
set-up to express subtlety within such limitations; focusing on the evolving states of the
running cycle in order to express character through just a silhouette.

From there, the idea of cycles seemed to implant itself, and the story was now a cyclical one
(Note the circle used within my mind-map) this presented me with many concepts to work
from, until reaching my concluding story - that of the developments of one's early life (between
six, and through to his early twenties) following the lost object of his childhood -- a red balloon
that often symbolises lost innocence within fiction.

How will you meet the requirements of your brief?

Luckily, my brief is fairly open - only specifying the medium, its format, and the rough length -
so i feel confident that this idea will work well with the specified requirements.

Are there any health and safety risks you may encounter?
Papercuts mostly, though using sharp objects like craft-knives brings the risk of small cuts
during production; the only precaution for this of course being careful use of the tools at hand.

Are there any legal issues you may face?

There is always this risk when discussing the music chosen, however, i am protected by my
rights as a student in education to use the songs for educational purposes such as this - not
that youtube's automated process of video removal will see that - but otherwise i am perfectly
defended legally to use the songs chosen. I am also avoiding plagiarism claims by not
plagiarizing anything, and whilst there might be mild aesthetic similarities to other works, it
isn't anything that would otherwise be legally reprehensible. And finally, my concept is both
abstract enough and clean enough as to not create difficulties with age restrictions.

Use of Possible Format:

Format:
Frame-by-Frame Paper Cut-out
Why am i using this particular format?
I am using this particular format because it expresses my skills in art without being too
simplistic visually for a full-length music video. It also makes parallax backgrounds far easier
to create and work with if i'm simply moving three-dimensional objects around a scene - no
need to worry about perspective when the perspective is literal.

What are the different possibilities i could explore using this format?
Experimentation, whilst not directly stated by my project's current form, is something that is far
easier to work with in 3D; - where i can use a variety of non-paper objects to animate with. I
do however think that the monochrome art-style would work better with a consistent material.

What are the limitations or issues with this format?

Several; for one, there's the heavy workload of doing individual frames; even considering the
doubles (16 frames-per-second) that's still thousands of frames for a single production -- this
can be lowered through the repeated animation that the production is planned with, helping to
lower the difficulty of the production. The animation is also limited in materials, i require a
large amount of durable card - at least for the characters - so hopefully materials are
calculated well for the production and no materials are lost or run dry during the later parts of
production. What imaginative or inventive animations have you seen that use this format?
My biggest inspiration is the ending credits to 'Eden of the East.' The animation's smooth and
wild nature despite the artstyle fits the aesthetic i'm currently going for, and by experimenting
with perspective and use of materials it creates unique shots and fun animations. One thing to
take from its example is of course the running-cycle; it flows and animates well as a
convincing piece of animation, and it uses the cut-out shadow of the drawing as a literal
shadow for the character - a technique i plan to derive inspiration from.

Another figure in animation that i follow great stylistic and thematic inspiration from is the
aforementioned Mikey Please, and his work on the polystyrene animated short 'The
Eagleman Stag.'

Mikey's work is notable in my production for its monochrome art-style - something i hope to
recreate in my work with paper-crafts. It also however follows similar thematic styles as mine;
most notably in the story's staging and focus on the lifetime of one person. The short - as well
as being a good source of thematic representation - also provides interesting examples of
paper/card backgrounds, often using large layers of card for grass or other thin vegetation or
objects.

Subject:

What will the subject of your animation be?

The subject of my animation will be the aforementioned protagonist's evolution through his
early life, and will primarily follow more abstract emotional experiences rather than specific
ones - the point of this of course to make it more relatable - the subject itself is simple, but
should be effective for the story.

Describe the storyline of your animation.

The story begins with our protagonist - a young boy - visiting the park with his father, before
losing a red balloon he was previously holding, transition to him aging through his early youth
(from kindergarten to 7th grade) until reaching secondary education running across a football
field - until spraining his ankle, We then follow through his education to college, and then
university - throwing away his graduation cap for a white-collar and briefcase; walking through
his office as the music mellows, then out to the streets where he walks through crowds of
people, eventually stopping as the music quiets fully. The camera continues on without him,
leaving him behind as crowds swarm the shot, leading to eventually reach the red balloon
once again. He goes into a sprint chasing it - running past previous parts of his live, as he
grabs onto the balloon once more, and we're brought back to the opening shot - the park.

Characters:

What characters will be in your production?

Characters are far more abstract in this piece than most - for one the protagonist is simply a
silhouette - however, there will be multiple designs for him as we continue through his life
(kindergartener, P.E. kit, office attire, ect.) Character designs will be featured further on, but to
specify; he is going to feature between the ages of 5 and 20, and will be male with shortish
hair.

What will they be made of?

The characters will be made of individual animated frames of Bristol Board (A type of card),
this material is useful for this production, as it's clean, sturdy, and i have a decent supply of it
(approximately 30 pages A4 and 30 pages A5.)

Movement of Character:

How will the characters move?

Frame-by-frame animation is the key form of animating the characters, and due to the music
video format, it's only logical to move to the beat; as such walking cycles will be calculated to
fit with the drum-beat of each part of the song. It's also important that the characters move in
an impactful way - long build ups to sudden jumps in movement help to create kinetic
animation, and should be effective in later parts of the video when the character builds into a
full sprint.

What is the purpose of an armature?

Armatures are used in animation as custom skeletons for clay or plasticine models to be built
upon - it is commonly used for model-based animation. Armatures are unnecessary however
for my production, as i am working in simple frame-by-frame cut-out animation.

Mood Board:

To work towards a common aesthetic, here is a moodboard of my aimed for visual style:
My backgrounds will be designed on a multi-layer system of paper cut-outs (similar to my
animated layer.) The material of these backgrounds will vary depending on the amount of
paper left from the animation, and the time constraints from the finished character animation.
The locations required will be as follows;
Park
Neighbourhood
School
Football Pitch
University
Office
City Streets
Hillside

Soundtrack:

What audio will you have for your animation?

My animation - being a music video - will only have audio from said music and as such the
sound list will be rather short; this is because i prefer to have movements match the impact of
sound and not vice-versa - i.e. using sound effects to impact movement.

Sound Table:

Production Name: 'Perfect Season'

Audience:
 Define the following characteristics of your audience;

Gender:
The target gender is nonspecific - seeing as it's a very general story aimed at a more general
audience - however, the protagonist is implied to be male, so that detail of gendering may
alter the audience's reaction slightly.

Age:
The expected age is approximately 'young adult' in nature (approx. 19) This is in line with the
band's own age-group and audience.

Interests:
Some forms of animation (most likely japanese due to the origins of the song.)

What forms of animation might they already watch?

As previously mentioned; most likely japanese animation, as well as other forms of
music-video animation from both the east and the west.

What images do you think they'd enjoy watching?

I believe the silhouette style of the video will appear to be quite modern and sleek - lending
well to the simplistic and modern sound of both the narrative and music - i also believe that
the audience the simplistic art-style for its relatability, and in being able to project themselves
more thoroughly.

What images might they consider obscene or distasteful?

Whilst i'd imagine my audience's understanding of both violent and sexual themes would be
fairly easy to rely upon, i find the addition both unnecessarily exclusionary and unnecessary
for the themes of the narrative.

How will you ensure your animation suits your audience?

My animation's style is designed first and foremost - as i believe the audience for such a video
is apparent through my research; i will however make sure to take precaution into the content
that i include (as previously defined in the 'obscene or distasteful' section above) as well as
keeping a consistent style so as to not alienate the audience's expectations.

How will they physically watch the animation?

My animation's designed for a online only release; this is important to keep in mind
before-hand, because the silhouette style of the animation could potentially lead for visibility
issues with a projector or other forms of exhibition. It's also important to go with this format of
release, because my audience simply isn't the sort to actively hunt down content like this,
rather they are more likely to run into content such as this in online spaces such as Youtube.

Storyboard:
Frame Rates:
 What is the duration of your animation?
Approx 3:45 (or 225 Seconds.) Meaning about 3600 individual frames of animation at 16
frames-per-second.

This may at first look like an impossible task for my animation - being a cut-out animation that
requires each frame of animation to be drawn individually - however, by focusing on a
repeatable walk-cycle i have lowered my frame-budget significantly and have created a lot of
leeway for me to both express myself creatively and cut time (such as parallax background
elements that act as the majority of unique movement rather than the actual characters.)

Lighting Details:

Where will you be photographing?

I will be photographing my animation in my dining room; this is because there's a lot of space
to take frames.

Does it have natural daylight?

Yes, though i understand the risk in this constantly changing lighting, and plan to cover up any
natural light with drapes and curtains. By not covering up any natural sources of daylight
however, i risk an inconsistent lighting scheme that will cause long shoots to clearly show in
my final video.

Do you have a constant light-source? And how do you plan to use them?
I have two non-studio light sources i plan to use; one in front and one behind my cut-outs -
this is to balance out the lighting so as to not create extremely harsh shadows with my
cut-outs, whilst still making the repeated appearance of white cut-outs easy to understand and
differentiate from one-another.