Episode structure

Usually childrens Tv programmes are due to start after kids finished school and has up to 12 series. Each episode lasts at about 5-15 minutes long so that the children don't get bored. this tactic also encourages the child to continue watching more episodes and creates a routine. I think that my Tv programme will start at 5pm and finish at 5.05pm including advertisment breaks. I want to make the episode so short that the episodes are more of a lesson to children than an enjoyment. I want to make the episode extremely fun for children but have more of an outcome than just enjoyment. Alot of the time in present day parens let their children watch TV as a treat. I want children to watch it as if it was compolsery so not only do the children enjoy the episodes but also the parents think that ts very beneficial for their children.

Animation process - flow chart

Animation Process

1. The very first thing that you should be thinking about when creating an animation is your idea for the story. Brainstorm your ideas within a spider diagram and decide which idea has the most positive feedback from other co-workers. You need to make sure that you have a set target audience so that you can work towards making sure that the material you are developing successfully hits the audience criteria. (If making for children make sure there is no explicit material)

2. Decide on your characters. Draw up a few sketches and make a final decision  which character looks best and make sure you're meeting your target audience with the designs.

3. Start story boarding. Once you've decided on  your character, story board your ideas into an effective narrative that would appeal to your audience. this can be from 10 storyboards up to however any you feel does this effectively.

4. Animatic storyboard. To do this you need to get your hand drawn/ digital story board and use a film making software to do so. In order put each story board on screen for how many seconds you want it to be seen for. Also add sound effects to give yourself an idea of what sort of time you want sounds and test which sounds are best. Dialogue is also important. If you want your characters to speak, add the casts voice in to give you yet another idea of where you want it and how good the sound will be.


5. After you're animatic you need to start thinking about how you're going to achieve this animation successfully. Start designing your characters and scenery into photo shop and making them look to the best you can.

6. Now you can start making them move. You can do this by stop motion- taking a picture of paper cut outs every time you want your character or the scenery to move.

7. Once you've finished editing you're ready to publish your video.

For more information I found a 1-10 step from disney on how to create a successful animation.

1. A storyboard is made, all the animators and directors come together to discuss the entire film.

2. The storyboards are presented as the story

3. Once the story is laid out, the dialogue is recorded. This is done before animation, so the animators know what the characters will say.

4. After the dialogue is recorded, the animators can make rough sketches of just the characters. Usually these drawings are quite messy, there is still no color, or background. Some animated films have used over 50,000 individual drawings.

At most animation studios, the best animators only sketched a few animation drawings, leaving gaps in between. Later on, a person called an "inbetweener" would finish the scenes, by drawing in between the areas that the animator had left.

5. Once the entire film has been drawn on paper, the animation drawings go to the inking department. There, the inkers copy the animation drawings on to a clear celluloid acetate, sometimes called a Cel.

6. After the outline of the characters has been made, the unfinished Cel's go to the Painting Department. The painters flip the Cel over, and paint the colors on the back. They paint on the back so the characters appear crisp, and have an outline.

7. Before the Animation Cels get photographed a background must be added. Because a Cel is clear, and it only has the painted character on it, if a background is made, it will show through. Usually backgrounds are painted with Tempera or Water Color paint. Although, in some Disney productions, the background was painted on glass, and combined with other glass painted backgrounds to create the illusion of extreme movement. (This technique is use in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.)

8. Now all the combined elements (the Cel and the background) can be photographed. Although, the final product is not filmed with a normal projector, or camera. A special device, with a lens mounted facing down on to a table top captures each frame of the animated feature. Usually, the background is placed into a special mount, then covered with the Cel, then covered with a large piece of glass, then photographed.

9. After all the drawings have been filmed, the dialogue is added. Sometimes the film is edited at this step.

10. The animated film is released, and the general public may view it.

( http://www.justdisney.com/animation/animation.html )

BBFC research

"In order to protect children from unsuitable and even harmful content in films and videos and to give consumers information they might need about a particular film or video before deciding whether or not to view it, the BBFC examines and age rates films and videos before they are released. This independent scrutiny prior to release ensures the highest possible level of protection and empowerment.

We watch films and videos all the way through and award an age rating and insight to each one. We reach an age rating by applying the standards and criteria contained in our Classification Guidelines which can be downloaded below.

Typically, two examiners view a film for theatrical release. In most cases a Senior Examiner will confirm the examiners’ recommendation. But if the Examiners are in any doubt or fail to agree, or if important policy issues are involved, the work may be seen by other members of the Board up to, and including, the Director and Presidential team. Occasionally we need to take specialist advice about the legal acceptability of film content or its potential for harm.

The same process exists for DVDs and Blu-rays though generally these are seen by one Examiner. However, opinions from other Examiners may be required for more difficult works.

We look at issues such as discrimination, drugs, horror, dangerous and easily imitable behaviour, language, nudity, sex, and violence when making decisions. The theme of the work is also an important consideration. We also consider context, the tone and likely impact of a work on the potential audience.

The release format of a work has an impact on classification. Our decisions on the age rating of DVDs and Blu-rays can occasionally be stricter than at the cinema because there is a higher risk of underage viewing in the home and a greater potential for watching scenes out of context."

(bbfc.co.uk)

Trends in animation

After research i have disovered that most animations today are usually based on geometric shapes depending on the mood within the animation itself. For instance if the animation was to be based as a scary topic the character which is meant to be scary will be shown as triangles and have pointy elements. A christmas carol is a perfect example of this.
As you ca see The features on his face look mean. His nose is pointed along with his chin. The audience is threatened by this as pointed objects are usually a threat to us, (knives/dangerous objects_

Another example in current animation is happy characters being rounded which gives the audience an idea of feeling happy because it reminds us of friendly objects and childhood maybe- (bouncy balls/friendly objects) A perfect example of this is Noddy. From this picture you can see that everything in noddies features and clothing is rounded making the child watching feel comfortable and safe.