Within the video there is going to be a range of animation techniques, although I don’t want to over do it with the animation as I am aiming for a simplistic feel but I also want the video to tell a story and connect with the audience on an emotional level. There will be different types of animation used however which will be carefully placed into the correct places within the video. One of the more time consuming techniques will be stop motion animation. I plan on taking screenshots from a piece of footage and drawing over them within Photoshop (Ps) and then putting them back together within Premiere (Pr). Although this will take some time it gives a great effect for the audience, I will have 2 different themes to the stop motion animation as well, one being a random effect. This will be where I draw over the images however very randomly and none of them really linking together. The second will be where they do link, where something will be drawn out and made whole like a gun or just an illustration. For them to link I will have to connect them in the right order and when drawing them make sure nothing is out of place. Below are some examples of the stop motion animation I have been working on:

After having a day of obtaining the footage I needed I wanted to start piecing it together to get a rough idea of how parts of the video where going to look however as said previously I wanted to video to be random so it wasn’t predictable for the viewer and to try and show a glimpse of what the mind of someone the depression and or anxiety looks like. There were 2 clear locations with my footage, the beach and a fun fair. The reason for this was to connote the happy and sad places, the beach being the sad place, the place of no return for the protagonist and the fun fair being the happy memories. This allows me to flick back and forth between the two to show how quickly the mind can change. I was going to be quite literal with some of the footage, what I mean by this is when the song has lyrics like “running to the sea” there will be a girl running to the sea, the sea being the end game, the place of no return for the protagonist. By her running to the sea its her giving up hope and not being able to carry on with the daily struggles that depression and anxiety bring. Having the footage is the first step to completing my goal and allows me to begin playing around with different ideas.

According to The Secrets of Songwriting, “every song communicates something to an audience, and not everyone will necessarily pick up the same message.” This is something that is so important for my music video as I want the audience to truly connect with the lyrics, especially if they are sufferers of depression, anxiety or any other type of mental health.

Below is the song lyrics from ‘Running to the Sea’ by Royksopp:

In a conscious attempt to ensure that my project is not single-cam but a combination of two modules: single cam and digital media, it is important to include some digital aspects to the music video and this shall be done through the form of various animation techniques. This post is to discuss animation techniques in general:

There are five types of animation and these are:

• Traditional animation
• 2D Vector based animation
• 3D Computer animation
• Motion graphics
• Stop motion

Traditional animation

This is one of the oldest forms of animation and this is where the animator draws every frame one by one in order to create the animation sequence. Disney’s older films are a prime example of this such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Due to my interest in all things modern and digital, I do not think this will be a route I take but it is definitely one that sounds good and one that I could possibly use however not for the entire video.

2D Vector based animation

This is a modern version of animation and is perhaps the most modern of today’s animation. It can be done on Adobe Flash and Adobe AfterEffects, AE is the programme that I shall be using throughout the project alongside Adobe Premiere. It is based on vectors being put into key frames on a flat surface and ultimately shall dominate my music video.

3D Computer animation

This is dominated by claymation in which the animator uses figures of clay/Plasticine/other malleable material to create stop-motion animation. This is a very lengthy process and because of this, it is probably not a technique that I shall be using within my Media Project 2.

Motion graphics

This is a technique in which is mostly associated with commercial animation such as video, film and TV. One of the most popular animators of motion graphics is graphic designer Saul Bass who’s work has inspired me for many years. For this project I have researched his work alongside looking at other pieces of work which can be found here. The notion of motion graphics is still graphics that look like they are moving over time, creating the illusion of motion. Due to their nature within multimedia projects, I think it is extremely important that I incorporate motion graphics into my music video.

Stop motion

Finally, stop motion is an animation technique whereby a series of photographs are collated into a video. It is arguably one of the simplest forms of animation yet one of the most lengthy as well. Due to my planning for the project and the elements that I plan to include, I believe it to be a necessity to use the form of stop motion animation within my music video.

According to The Secrets of Songwriting, “every song communicates something to an audience, and not everyone will necessarily pick up the same message.” This is something that is so important for my music video as I want the audience to truly connect with the lyrics, especially if they are sufferers of depression, anxiety or any other type of mental health.

Below is the song lyrics from ‘Running to the Sea’ by Royksopp: