The following are animations that are similar to the idea I want to go for with my animation, in terms of feeling and/or topic.
Video 1 is an animation released by Papyrus on YouTube. This has a similar message to what I’m aiming for with my animation. This video has the aim of educating people on the mental health and suicide rates in young people, with the hope that it can prevent it in the future. This video is using animation to communicate the decline of a young persons’ mental health through the symbolism of showing him sinking into the ground, eventually leading to show him go below the floor in an underwater feel. This relates to mental health in that it can often feel like you’re drowning and nothing can stop it. People with mental health issues often feel like they’re alone and this is shown in this animation when the main character falls into the floor into a black underwater abyss. The friend then dives into the water to save him, showing the audience how the help of their friend can lift them up to start the road to recovery.
With my animation I hope to evoke emotion with my audience in a way that this video does. I can do this by ensuring I have a clear message and that the viewer understands each scene, getting the full impact of my animation.
Video 2 is an animation that is showing lots of smaller concepts within one animation. This is what I hope to portray in my animation.
This animation has lots of smaller actions within the video which leads to the overall picture of the little boat getting beaten down and coming back with relevance to the surroundings. For example, in one scene the boat is floating in the water and you see a washing line with a t-shirt. The next scene, you see the same t-shirt has formed part of the rebuilding of the boat.
Within my animation, I hope to do something similar in that there are lots of small scenes that lead to an overall picture/message.
Video 3 is an animation on YouTube that is similar to what I want to do in terms of using simplicity to convey a story.
The main purpose of this video is to entertain. This video uses short clips with different stories that have a comedic factor. It uses 2D simple drawings at different angles to in some cases give a 3D style effect, and different sound effects (including voice) to give the audience a funny, entertaining animation.
This animation has a similar style of design to what I want to use for part of my animation. After the initial zoom at the beginning of my animation I will be using simple characters in just black and white (similar to this animation) to portray my message.
References:
Mad Artist Publishing CGI & Films (2012) 2D Animated Short Film “LITTLE BOAT” Inspiring Conceptual Animation by Nelson Boles & CalArts [Video]. Available online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oB6hiF1zrno
PAPRYUS Prevention of Young Suicide (2021) Sinking Feeling [Video]. Available online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKU1OLrvOn4
TomSka (2009) asdfmovie [Video]. Available online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYnsfV5N2n8