For this project, I set out to fulfil my brief to create a 68 second narrative

animated short, that fits into the genre of horror, suitable for boys aged
14-21. To this end, I wrote a dark science fiction story, with strong visuals
that I feel are at home in the medium of animation. The brief is for a
competition, so it was also important that this work be of a high technical
and aesthetic quality.
I negotiated that my film will be exactly 68 seconds, rather than 30. This
was because of my strong artistic vision not being suitable for just 30
seconds, and my deep love of the number 68.
I also had it written into the brief that the animation will be delivered in 24
frames per second, shooting in doubles and sometimes triples, as the
original did not specify frame rate or shooting style. I asked for this
amendment to clear up something left ambiguous in the original brief - if
frame rate or shooting method turned out to be a deal breaker, I wanted
to know before rather than after producing the animation.
Because of the short form of only around 1 minute, I decided that my
narrative would have to be a very simple and easy to understand one. I
settled upon the voyage and return structure, in which the protagonist
ventures into the unknown, and returns to the starting point having
changed as a result of their journey. Because of this requirement for
simplicity, as well as animation being such a visual medium, I decided that
there would be no dialogue, only music. My choice of music (Omen
Reprise by the Prodigy) was influenced both by my genre and by my
target audience it is a scary sounding track produced by an edgy band
that holds appeal to teenage boys. In my survey, the response was that
the music was extremely well suited with it helping the story and
suiting the wireframe aesthetic.

My decision to make a bulk of the animation in the side-scrolling format

was as a result of my desire to depict a large amount of traveling, with
only a small set. The popping, bright colour contained within it were a
result of me wanting to have a very strong aesthetic contrast between the
starting point and the unknown in the voyage structure.

The response to my sets was very positive, with commenters saying that
a lot of thought had clearly been put into the scenery, they had a nice
handmade look, and there was a clear difference between the two, so
I feel that the sets fulfilled my intentions to communicate the plot clearly.
On top of this, comments also noted the original idea which they liked.
Again, the sets were part of the audiences understanding of the narrative,
as they made it clear hes in the other world.
Also on the topic of good aesthetic quality, I asked in my survey what
viewers thought of the lighting throughout the animation, which people
thought was great with various different uses [which made] it
interesting to watch. Other comments again linked this technical aspect
back to the clarity of my narrative, something that was integral to the
brief, with comments saying it made a clear difference between the room
and [the] game.
One implicit part of the brief was that my video should be to a high
technical quality as an animation. In my survey, I asked how people
thought that I did, and received very positive feedback, with most
responses citing the smoothness. One said walking animation is hard,
[but it was] pulled off. To achieve this smooth walking cycle, I tilted my
set backwards, so that my puppet could lean against it and be posed into
positions in which it could not be left freestanding, as in the rest of the

video.

Through a combination of leaning against the set, and strategically placed

cocktail sticks, I was able to keep my puppet standing while also
minimising the number of frames needing to be de-rigged in postproduction. Some still, however, needed to have this done to them, as
either cocktail sticks or my hands were sometimes in shot propping Jeff
up, they had to be painted out, frame by frame, in Photoshop.
Though most of the questions in my survey were very specific, I left two
totally open, asking simply for what people liked most, and what they

liked least about the video. Here, many things popped up again from
earlier in the video, with comments mentioning everything from the idea
and creativity, to the clarity and technical quality of the animation. And
then, on the flip side, I asked for peoples least favourite aspects, to which
I was told the story could have been longer or had more structure. To
some, parts didnt make sense, like what attacks the character near the
end.

This is a failing that I somewhat predicted, as a minute isnt long to

develop a story in nuanced or intricate ways. I feel that the evil blob
glitches inside the virtual reality simulation were not seeded enough
throughout the story within the short time frame. Typically, for a plot
relevant event, especially one that is intended as a surprise, you still want
to have established the threat, and reminded the audience of it at least
once, before it comes into play, to ensure the audience are not confused
or alienated. While my intention was for it to be established clearly before
happening, it is clear that I didn't quite accomplish this.
To analyse my video, I have found some similar films which I can compare
it to. In some cases, they used similar techniques, in others their finished
product is quite similar to my intentions, but not very much to what I
accomplished.
First of all was Sonics side scrolling adventure which uses the same side
scrolling style, as well as the same technique to achieve this, of having a
character puppet stay mostly stationary, while objects move past it to
create the illusion of moving through a large environment. I feel that when
comparing my work to this example, I actually exceeded the quality of it,
in terms of convincingness of the illusion.

As well as this, I looked at another internet short which used a mute

plastercine character, which emotes mostly from body language, rather
than detailed facial movements, and also who doesnt speak at all. I feel
that the short blue man does a better job of creating a sympathetic
character who the audience roots for. Whereas my decision for my
character Jeff not to have any facial features at all greatly inhibited what
I could accomplish in this respect.

As well as films with simple common elements, I looked at two films

belonging to the same genre. These horrors are very different to mine, but
achieve the same effect on the audience that I intended to in mine.
First is Operator

This semi-professional horror employs a slow, building sense of dread

rather than shocking imagery. Like I intended to, it uses music to achieve
this. However, it is much more successful than what I accomplished, which
is partly because of the short length of my animation, as well partially of
my focus on creating a narrative, which I did to fulfil the main point of my
brief.
The most professional film that I have looked at for comparison is Junk
Head. It shows, to me, that there really is a massive difference between
my work and professional films.

From this image alone, the difference is clear not just in production value,
but in genre elements and in having an effective monster for horrific
effect. The imagery is cartoony, like mine, but truly horrifying.
If I were to make another animation, I would do a number of things
differently, which I have decided after looking at what would have been
better if I had done it differently this time. My three point plan would be
to create more complex sets, to set aside more time for shooting the
animation, and to use an interval meter or external button for taking each

image, as pressing the standard button, as doing so created wobble

frame-to-frame.
I dont think that I am suitable for industry, as too much of my process
was based upon improvising the finer details. So while I am suited to
small, independent stop motion films, or to projects for non-professional
use/distribution, I do not feel that I would be able to integrate myself in
industry. On top of this, I do not feel that I have the right skills for
animating to a professional level, nor could I improve myself. That being
said, for the brief for this project, my skill level was optimal certainly,
those surveyed were very impressed with the technical quality of it.