Extended Practice: Statement of Intent

Today I presented my Statement of Intent for Extended Practice which I was really nervous for as I didn't know how people would take my project idea and concept art. Also the presentation had to be ten minutes long which is the longest presentation I have ever done so I wanted it to be interesting and exciting and not bore the class. As always, I wrote what I wanted to say down so that I would be clear and concise. 

I began with my idea generation and how I knew that I wanted to create an advertisement, but what for? I talked about my struggles with finding a topic, but illustrated how Mike gave me several animations to look at (The Tufty Club, Joe & Petunia, Dumb Ways to Die), as well as a thesis by Kerry Drumm which I found extremely useful. The thesis concluded that animation is persuasive and effective in advertising, because it can use humour and emotion to override anything serious or graphic. This way people remember what they see and hear, so it is compelling to watch. From this, I came up with an idea to create a series of 30 second animations on road safety for drivers, not pedestrians as there is already enough content for that area, and also since I have began to drive myself, I have found that there are so many risks people take without knowing the dangers and consequences they cause. I would like to perhaps use my own experiences, or ask several people for theirs and use them to drive the narrative of my animations. I would like to use humour and good visuals to make these dangers stay in peoples minds, as the poster campaigns, I feel, are useless. I want to submit my adverts to festivals if possible.

I then showed my concept art to illustrate the aesthetic I want to go for, which is 2D and uses several angles as I need to experiment with composition more if I want to be a good animator. I then finished with my time management, saying that I would rather use a daily journal than a spreadsheet chart as this is what works for me, and what I find to be motivating. 

I was happy with what I presented and I also got some great feedback. Annabeth and Mike advised me that when I start animating or have made one 30 second animation, to contact a company that is relevant to road safety, or even a charity, as they would be more than likely to want to work with me or show my work if it is good enough. This did not cross my mind at all, but would be truly great if I was able to contact a company like that and work with them. This will become one of my big aims throughout Extended and I will really try to make this happen. Mike also advised me to pin down a topic for each animation, for example, one could be for drink driving, another for texting and driving, etc. This way I can storyboard and script write if I am going to have a narrated voice. He also said to maybe ask motorcyclists as this is another area of danger that many people don't immediately think about.

Overall despite being nervous, I am feeling motivated for this project! I am excited to start it and develop it further as I have received some great feedback and goals. Now I will begin to think of some narratives to pin down and get storyboarding!