Finalising the Little Prince

So after the basis for the animation was done, I used it as a guide while finalising the animation. Basically I have rigged the characters assets into separate layers so as to not loose proportion. And animated the bodies according to the sketchy version. One hing I realised once the animation was done, is that I forgot to colour the fox according to the character designs (black paws, black ear tips and such). But I realised this once it was already done, I did consider going through all of the frames and colour it in, but it would have given it an inconsistent and fidgety look, disrupting the  flow of the characters movement. I gave some secondary action to the princes hair as well as the foxes tail. It gave the characters a bit more life. Basically I am rally happy with the final out come:

Animating the Little Prince

After stryboarding was complete i went on to start animating. I focused on the scene where the fox approaches the little prince because I thought that was a key scene for multiple reasons- it is where the characters show some personality while interacting with each other; in the story it is a crucial moment because that is where the fox teaches the little prince how to tame someone. The idea behind the whole test is to test characters in animation. Ideally I would have had time to test the animation on a focus group, and survey them afterwards, but unfortunately I was a bit too ambitious with what I set out to do originally. As for the animating, I broke the fox down in two parts- the front and back to make it less confusing while making a walk cycle. The prince is only following the fox with his eyes, but to give it a bit more life and make him more dynamic. I am rally happy with the results so far, and I am especially happy that I have managed to animate a four legged character without reference. Heres the result:

Storyboaring the Little Prince

Recently I have done some story-boarding of a scene from the Little Prince. I picked the moment the main character met the fox. The reason I have picked this part is because it stuck out to me the most when I first read the book when I was kid. When I re read this book for the purpose of using it as a practical response it still was the part that seemed the most interesting. Granted the whole book is full of great stuff that would be a great script for an animation short. Actually, I was thinking it would be a great premise for a series. How the Little Prince travels around different planets and learns new things, the reason this would be good for an educational kids program is that there was a part of the prince visiting the businessman planet, who counted stars, this would make an episode about maths and numbers. Later on in the series the prince could visit, for example, a literacy planet and learn the alphabet. Well basically my idea was to create characters for animated series based on the Little Prince. So here is the story boards of the scene the little prince meets the fox:

Further development of practical response

The whole purpose of the research conducted throughout this written body of work was to create a solid and effective theoretical basis for the practical application of this dissertation. The initial idea was to create an animated response, as in an educational animation and test it with a focus group. However throughout the research, the field of interest has shifted towards character design instead of a whole animation, and this is due to me finding my field of interest within the animation industry and finding useful applications for the knowledge gained through this process. Even though the main focus of this project is the character design, a significant amount of thought has been given to the animation they would appear in. The main question that came up during the theoretical research process was “To what extent do children learn from animation?” or in other words “can you learn more from animation than other forms of learning, like listening, reading and such?” The essence was to test the theory of animation communicating a more complex level of information. This would be tested in showing one animated scene from the Little Prince and reading out another from the same book. Afterwards a questionnaire would be conducted to assess to what level of complexity the information was understood from both demonstrations. The reason Little Prince was picked is because that even though it is a children’s book, it has more than one layer of meaning in it. Also it works with the theory of parents being involved in the viewing of animation to make it more effective for the child, as the Little Prince is a well known book beloved by adults as much as children.
The character design is based on this research; using simple shapes, so as to avoid making them look confusing for the target age group. Light colors, simplistic style and a relatable curious young character, all of these factors are found in any given successful kids show. The protagonists almost custodian relationship with his planet and the rose he looks after, teaches kids about responsibility, love and nurturing. However the focus point of the Little Princes story is his interaction with the Fox. It is one of the most interesting points of the story as it teaches about friendship and the things that are the most important in life, or as the fox put it “And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.” For this reason the characters have small eyes demonstrating their ability to see important things in life without vision. Big foreheads and small mouths symbolize their tendency to internalize information. The triangular shape of the foxes head represents illumination, proportion and in really loose way- wisdom. The round shape of the Little Princes head symbolizes curiosity and innocence The main attempt was to bring the characters to life by animating a small scene of them interacting with each other

How research has affected my practical outcome?

My research influenced my practical working in a number of ways. The analysis of different soc-psychological theories and the cognitive abilities of the pre operational stage helped me understand my target audience in depth as I research how they process information and what they find engaging, what helps stimulate their curiosity. The case study on Sesame street and its characters helped me understand what makes a successful kids program a what makes a character appealing for my targeted age group. After all successful characters can go as far a being role models for children, but most importantly they should guide a child through the learning process in an entertaining. The whole purpose of the research conducted throughout this written body of work was to create a solid and effective theoretical basis for the practical application. The character design is heavily based on this research; I used simple shapes, so as to avoid making them look confusing for the target age group. Light colors, simplistic style and a relate-able curious young character, all of these factors are found in any given successful kids show.
Overall this research really was mostly driven by my work from last year about the educational system, however then I struggled to find relevance with my work as an animator. However this time I was driven by the intention to find out what makes a successful kids show, that helps children learn and influences them in a long term, positive way.

Blog Task: Has a Text changed or affirmed assumption or subject?

The Interview with Francessca was highly insightful into what children like and need to learn. . Even though children might respond well to play like education, it can be really difficult to control their behavior without teaching them how to sit and listen. “Younger children learn best through play; one of the best ways to maximize their learning is to encourage interactive exploration of objects and ideas. Moreover, children need opportunities to get involved in learning; first-hand play for young children is exciting and therefore facilitates learning and makes it more memorable for them.”(Fernandes F. 2016)
Fernandes underlines the importance of interactive education, and how an entertaining approach to education can help facilitate a more embedded learning experience for the child, however she believes that teachers who choose one over the other cannot provided the best possible education for their classroom, as discipline and the ability to conform is an important aspect of adult life. This notion from Fernandes interview affirms Focaults theory of power and discipline being a productive and in some aspects a pedagogical tool within society and so children are brought up to it in educational facilities. Foucault challenges the perception that power is wielded by people or groups by way of ‘episodic’ or ‘sovereign’ acts of domination, instead he sees it as dispersed and pervasive, but in terms of social constructionism he questions where discipline and power is placed within the social development. Foucault is most notable for recognizing that power is not just a negative repressive sociological occurrence that forces people to do things against their wishes, but can also be used as a necessary, productive and positive tool within society

 "We must cease once and for all to describe the effects of power in negative terms: it ‘excludes’, it ‘represses’, it ‘censors’, it ‘abstracts’, it ‘masks’, it ‘conceals’.  In fact power produces; it produces reality; it produces domains of objects and rituals of truth.  The individual and the knowledge that may be gained of him belong to this production" (Foucault, M. 1987). 

(Most of this blog content is taken from my dissertation work) 

Requesting interviews

Since one of my methodologies included primary research I decided a good way to go about it would be to request some interviews from practitioners within the industry through LinkedIn. So I reached out to as many people as I could find relevant to my subject (kids show producers, researchers, writers and such). All I managed to get was a few replies with personal emails, which I sent out the questions to. However I did not manage to get a reply. The thing I have learned from this is to do it more in advance, because these people are busy and take time to reply.

However I managed to land a few interviews with teachers, Francessca was really helpful and replied really quick, she works with children up to 8 years old which was very beneficial to me, so she had a lot of insight into how children process information and how animation assists in their learning. Liam, even though  works mainly with teenagers, was really helpful as well in providing some insight into how media affects kids as well.