7) Animation Mind Map

4) Aardman

History 

Aardman was founded in 1976 as a low-budget project byPeter Lord and David Sproxton, who wanted to realise their dream of producing an animated motion picture. The partnership provided animated sequences for the BBC series for deaf children Vision On creating Morph, a simple clay character. Around the same time Lord and Sproxton made their first foray into adult animation with the shorts Down and Out and Confessions of a Foyer Girl, entries in the BBC'sAnimated Conversations series using real-life conversations as soundtracks. However, these two shorts were not actual Aardman productions. Aardman also created the title sequence for The Great Egg Race.

Later Aardman produced a number of shorts for Channel 4 including the Conversation Pieces series. These five shorts worked in the same area as the Animated Conversationspieces, but were more sophisticated. Lord and Sproxton began hiring more animators at this point; three of the newcomers made their directorial debut at Aardman with the Lip Synchseries. Of the five Lip Synch shorts two were directed by Peter Lord, one by Barry Purves, one by Richard Goleszowski and one by Nick Park.

Aardman Animations, Ltd., also known as Aardman Studios, or simply as Aardman, is an Academy Award-winning British animation studio based in Bristol, United Kingdom. The studio is known for films made using stop-motion clay animation techniques, particularly those featuring Plasticine characters Wallace and Gromit. However, it successfully entered the computer animation market with Flushed Away

Job Roles 

AnimatorsWith two feature films in various stages of production and development, we may need strong clay animators with proven high level experience. To help us push the boundaries of the art form, you’ll need an exceptional sense of various acting and performance styles. You would be asked for to submit a VHS showreel showing scenes you have animated and include a basic portfolio showing character designs and storyboards.Assistant AnimatorsOur productions demand artists who demonstrate animation, model making and sculpting skills to serve as assistants on our feature film projects. You would be asked to submit a VHS showreel showing scenes you have animated, and a basic portfolio showing character designs and storyboards. A knowledge of photography is also useful.Storyboard ArtistsAn Aardman storyboard artist should be able to effectively communicate emotions and feeling through staging, character design, posing and enthusiastic storytelling. You would be asked to submit a portfolio with samples of previous storyboards, character design and model sheets as well as personal sketches, which show your ability to convey a story. Strong traditional skills such as life drawing, sculpture, painting and photography are also desirable.

Layout Artists Successful layout artists are those who can see the forest and the trees. A cinematographer’s eye and a basic understanding of film-making are extremely helpful for this position. You would be asked to submit a portfolio including drawings, which demonstrate an ability for perspective, composition, lighting and staging. You may also include comic book or comic strip samples. Strong traditional skills in such areas as life drawing, sculpture, painting and photography are preferred.
CGI Animators CGI Animators utilise 2D and 3D digital tools to bring characters and scenes to life. Artistic sensibility in the areas of modelling, lighting and animation is preferred along with experience on high-end 3D animation tools. Traditional animation experience including overlap and follow through, squash and stretch staging and composition and primary and secondary action is a definite plus.

It is also appropriate for innovative and talented individuals who are interested in developing new techniques for modelling organic shapes from conceptual artwork. Appropriate experience would include high-end 3D computer graphic packages as well as such programs as Maya, Softimage, 3D Studio Max. A knowledge of PhotoShop is desirable.

Characters/Props/Sets
with the characters used in the Aardman movies you can see that it takes them a lot of time and that they take great care making the videos. The characters are made out of clay and it takes them a lot of time to make them, they often make different heads for the characters with different facial expressions so that they don't have to make the whole character so many times. The sets often are made life size and or just below, depending on the shots they are shooting. When people make props they have to dedicate a certain prop to one person so a lady made vegetables for a whole year and one lady made carrots.

Filming- Camera/Techniques 
Shoot everything on film at the moment. The 35mm film cameras they mainly use "Mitchells" and have, in most cases, been considerably adapted to our purposes. For example, they have video assist cameras which look through the lenses on our film cameras so the animators can see the picture that will be recorded on each frame of film.

The other camera that they still sometimes use which is more affordable is the 16mm Bolex. Failing that, you’d have to be thinking about super 8mm. Peter Lord’s book ‘Cracking Animation’ goes into these issues more thoroughly.


Aardman Animation Techniques 



Bibliography
http://www.telepathy.co.uk/aardman/culture/faqs.html
http://www.edenproject.com/blog/index.php/2013/02/how-to-animate-stop-motion-tips-from-aardman/

6) Chartiy's for animation

We have been given the task to pick five different charity's that i could do an animation for, here are my five chosen charity's and why i think they are a good charity.

1) Make-A-Wish; this charity is about making a memories for little children who have a serious illness and the wish could be the families last chance to see their child have a great time. The target audience for Make-A-Wish is young children and families with children who don't have long left to survive. Make a wish don't have many adverts they haven't done any animations but I think that the charity is one that you could make an animation for as it is to do with children. 

2) Cancer Research; this charity is one of the most well known charity in the UK, that is because they have done so much research to find out about the cure for cancer. The charity is known especially for their 'Race For Life'. For cancer research the target audience will be everyone of all ages because anyone can get cancer of any age. Cancer Research has a lot of adverts none of which are animated. Cancer is common in lots of young people as well as older people so an animation could attract the younger animation and shows that anyone can have it and that you can try and help people get better.  

3) Children In Need; this charity is run by the BBC who help children through difficult times and people who get to be awarded for what they have done. This is a massive TV event on BBC and they get as many donations as they can running the programme from about 6pm-6am the next day. The target audience for children in need is the public who watch the TV show and want to help for the various problems that occur throughout the show. Children in need use a lot of animations as it is a childrens programme so if i was to do an animation i would have to find a way to help change it.





4) CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young); This charity helps to know that heart conditions are not always in the older people it is common in the younger generation too. The charity sets up screening clinics so you can get tested so that you can find out how healthy your heart is. The target audience is children to ensure that they understand that as healthy as they are they need to check their heart out as it is as common in someone older as a younger person. CRY don't have any adverts but i think because they aim to help younger children a animation would be perfect to be able to do a animation as you could use a lot of ideas.





5) Great Ormond Street; This charity is to help people who have young children who are very ill, they help to make the process easy for the families and make the children feel safe. By people raising money for this charity it helps them to make bigger wards to be able to have enough room for a family member to stay with the child. The target audience is anyone and everyone who feels that they should help young children be able to stay with their parents whilst they are ill. GOSH has adverts where you can see what it is like inside the hospital I think that an animation would help explain it to younger children rather than scare them.

I have decided to choose Make a Wish Foundation as my chosen charity. As I said above Make-A-Wish is a charity helping children with terminal illnesses to have their last true wish granted. Make-A-Wish is supporting children so there target audience is often parents, either parents who's children are/have been ill or parents who have luckily never had this happen to them but would hate it to happen to their children. 

5.) Lesson Plan

Clearance Letter

Orchard Cottage,
Holwood, Westerham Road,
Keston
Kent
BR2 6HB

1325 Avenue of the Americas

New York 

NY

10019

To Whom This May Concern, 

I am writing to you as I would like your permission to use your song 'Survival' for my Year 12 Media Project. 

Firstly I would like to introduce myself, I am Olivia Griffiths, I go to sixth form in London and I am studying media. I am currently shooting my music video and I would like to use your song 'Survival' as I feel that it has meening behind the video and I would like to recreate your own video with the story I think that the song portrays. 

If the video I make becomes successful I think that it would make you more relatable as an artist and I think that it would help you to get more sales in the future more than you have now and I know that is quite hard seeing as you are such a well known artist. 

I hope that using your song isn't too much to ask. 

Yours Sincerely 

Olivia Griffiths 

Ravens Wood School 

Shot List

Call Sheet