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1. CT6MAJAN
REACT Charity Campaign
UP736065
2016

2. Our brief for this project was to create an
animated advertisement for the charity REACT.
The campaign was to be a maximum of one
minute long, preferably thirty to forty seconds,
and should aim to increase both awareness of,
and donations to, the charity.

3. REACT was created to help refugees fleeing conflict access education.
When forced from their homes young people no longer have access to
proper schools or textbooks. They often become excluded from their
national curriculum and are therefore unable to gain necessary
qualifications for most professional employment later in life.
REACT strives to support refugee teachers and students by providing
educational resources.
They also aim to provide shelter and medical aid, but I wanted to focus
my campaign on their educational provision as it is not something I was
aware of refugee charities providing this extensively.
They have recently set up three libraries for refugee children in Greece
with donated books in the children’s native Arabic, and sent over 5000
textbooks to over 60,000 Darfuri refugees in Chad.
http://reactweb.org/

4. So what makes a good charity campaign?
I have little experience with good charity adverts – often they invoke guilt in
the audience they want to donate to them, or use emotionally manipulative
imagery or circumstances to push people into giving. This tends to put
people off giving, as do depressing campaigns. From my research, the
audience wants to feel that they are doing something worthwhile and
positive, so need a positive video to persuade them of this. Humour is often
a good tool.
A good advert will be something different, something fresh. No statistics or
numbers to bore the audience, who probably have little desire or ability to
comprehend them.
A good campaign:
• Has a strong narrative
• Is a conversation starter
• Creates an emotional connection
• Has a clear call to action – website, phone number for donations etc.
• Shows thinking outside the box

5. Initial ideas:
Focus on
books/education
They construct buildings –
schools, hospitals, etc. out of
books. The people we want
to donate are there handing
the books to them.
They build the future out of books?
Literally?
They use the books to build the
future in their imaginations?
Unsatisfying
Show donation  book?
Show effect education has
on recipient’s future
Someone posts money into
letterbox/machine and a
book pops our the other
end to the refugee child?
Use the pictures and diagrams in
the books to project a new future
over their ruined past?
Like a hologram
See the collapsed structures rebuilt
better – like watching the destruction
on rewind, but it gets improved on
what it was before.
They make the pictures come off
the page and out into the world
– they then become real things
Or start with successful future and tell
story backwards so we see the impact the
education had but in a less expected way
– makes it a little different.
Take these two forward

6. • Young (around 8) refugee girl sitting in a camp
• Drawing pictures in the sand? With a stick?
• Book magically pops into existence in front of them
• Is curious – opens book – book glows, lights up face etc.,
look of amazement!
• Over-shoulder shot so we can see the book?
• Draws pictures from the book in the air – leaves glowing trail like magic spell –
solidifies into real things – buildings, plants etc.
• We see this become a real future?
• Do we see the donation become the book? Otherwise how do the audience
understand the connection?
• Is a weak idea. Lacks some clarity. Doesn’t really make sense unless you understand
the charity’s work already.
• Will not go forward further.
- Making pictures appear out of the book
into the real world:

7. • Begin with shot panning shot over nice futuristic city
• Clean and sustainable energy and materials, happy people. Schools, roads, libraries, parks,
families and groups of friends together in these spaces.
• Camera comes to rest – we are in front of a new hospital that’s being opened.
• Zoom in on one member of assembled staff. They look excited and happy.
• Flashes back in reverse chronological order to points in their life leading up to this
moment. Helping an elderly patient – interning – graduating – exams – research –
textbook work – hand up in class – taking notes – studying diagrams.
• Suddenly stops.
• Small tired child sits on ground in refugee camp looking defeated.
• A gift-wrapped book pops up in front of them. Surprised, they open it, and their face
lights up in wonder.
• Over the shoulder shot – the environment changes to a temporary classroom, and the page
of the book turns. It has the same diagram they were studying before.
• Goes to black; sentences fade in and out to each other: ‘you can help’ – ‘provide textbooks’
– ‘provide the future’. Then brings up React’s logo and donation pathways – phone,
website etc.
- Successful future and tell story backwards:

8. First storyboard:

9. First storyboard:
• No.
• It feels a little strange, a little too precise, almost. Too focused on one
person.
• Very weak. Would make terrible campaign.
• Include others from the expositional shots? – the photographer,
business man, surgeon, architect, reporter etc.? – would make it too
heavy, complicated and overdone. No time or necessity for it.
• Splice nice city & opening of new school/hospital/library etc. with old
city falling apart around them? – focus needs to be on textbooks,
though.
• ‘we will rebuild’ – ‘you can help’ – React – donate – etc. ???

10. As I was struggling with my story, I thought it would be prudent to
start visual research instead. I had no intentions of changing my
core character, and her environments would likely not be differing
much either. I hoped this would help inspire me, and also when I did
pin a story down, I would only have to refine my designs.
An important factor for any advert is identifying your target audience, so you
can tailor the ad to appeal to them. Also in this project, as it is half of my final
major project, I need to tailor it towards what I want to do professionally in the
creative industries.
I have a great interest in sci-fi and fantasy, so am considering altering my story
to be more fantastical. This would have the added bonus of narrowing down my
advert’s market for me, as not everyone would find this appealing.
When I enter the industry professionally I do not want to be an animator. My
interest lies in directing and visual development paths. Because of this I want
my advert to be low on animation, so fairly simplistic in design, whilst
remaining visually interesting. Excessive design should never distract from a
core narrative.

11. Visual Research:

13. One of the visual inspirations I had in mind for this
project was the video game ‘Journey’ created by
.
I like its minimalist colour palette and simplicity of
design. Its environments are especially important for me,
as they’re very beautiful and evocative without being
particularly detailed. This is something I would like to do
with this project. Despite being low on detail, the
environments have a soft, natural, organic feel that I like.

14. The simple shapes, and focus
on light and tone give the
game an ethereal feel;
something which would link
nicely with my fantastical
approach to my advert’s
narrative.
I will experiment with
environments designed
digitally, like in this game,
because you can achieve a
certain softness whilst
retaining clarity in a way that
is exceptionally difficult to
replicate in traditional
materials. However, I shall
experiment with those too, to
see if I can discover a more
unique, interesting visual for
my own work.

15. For my character I also wanted
something simple, but cute and
expressive without being too tricky to
animate well. I’m very inspired by the
design of Saoirse from Cartoon
Saloon’s ‘Song of the Sea’. I like her
rounded appearance, as it easily
conveys the age and innocence of the
character. Also her facial features are
very minimalist, but remain
expressionistic.

16. Also for character design, I looked at the BBC children’s cartoon ‘Sarah
& Duck’. Sarah’s head and eyes, both round and large compared to
the rest of the body, are the same design principles applied to Saoirse.
Sarah’s facial
features are even
more minimalist,
but still manage to
showcase a full
range of
expressions.

17. Early character sketches:
The first sketches were
investigations into
shape and form, to
discover the essence
of my character.
Shape theory –
boxy but
rounded –
reliable and
strong, yet
friendly and soft.
Loses some
roundness as she
gets older.

18. To keep my designs rounded
to imply softness and
approachability I tried
working a human figure into
a pod. These ‘podular’
designs I found to be quite
limiting, and often looked
strange when turned into a
human. It would work better
for a more abstract design,
which I am not currently
pursuing.

19. Now that my story and design were
becoming more solidified, I thought it
was past time that I look at real-world
references. For the campaign to ring
true, it had to be grounded in present
time and circumstance. I decided to
base mine on the refugees forced into
existence by the Syrian conflicts, as
they currently have a strong presence
in the public eye, and will be
recognisable to most of Europe.

20. Initial character designs:
Experimentation
with head shapes,
some expressions,
and hairstyles.

21. ‘final’
design 

22. When I came to more concrete designs of my
character, I realised I actually had no idea
what children actually wear, so more research
was essential.

23. Trying character clothing designs:

24. The sketch on the right is the
most promising, but I also like the
costume of the one far left – the
colours link to pieces in the story.
I also digitally coloured my
favourite head design from earlier.
It didn’t come out as flat or
muddy as my digital art usually
does, but I am still reluctant to
use it in my animation.

25. A piece of work I find to be continuous
inspiration it ‘To This Day’; a spoken word
piece, written by Shane Koyzcan, and produced
visually by Giant Ant, with animated segments
created by over 87 different animators and
artists around the globe. Because of this, each
section is different in style, so rich ground for
creative catalysts and experimentation
inspiration.

26. The texture in the above picture has a really nice raw feel, and an
interesting roughness which is something I will look into
replicating somewhat when I design my environments for the
girl’s refugee situation.
Also, the paper-cut and silhouette techniques used in the top
right shot produce a very interesting look, which I may also look
into further.

27. This particular sequence from ‘To This Day’ continues to
fascinate me. The girl seems to fall backwards 90° and land
horizontally in the video, but when this is broken down the
thing that moves is actually the background. Rotating this is
much easier than actually animating the character falling, and
is a very interesting way to intimate movement.
This way of motion; moving the environment, not the character, is very interesting to me. I
find precise character animation very difficult to get right without it feeling stilted, so
creating a larger background and moving that around would be much better for me to
create something more professional-looking. I also enjoy the use of colour and media in
this section – isolating the character, out-of-place in her environment, by excluding colour
from the background, and the soft, dream-like appearance from the chosen media.

28. Using real-life models
and shadow-work is
something I actually
experimented with last
year, and it did produce
some interesting results,
so I may try this again,
most likely for any
destroyed environments
I might have.
The city-scape effect created by layering
these cardboard cut-outs gives a really
nice sense of depth and light.

29. This is from another of
Koyzcan’s spoken word
pieces, this one called
‘Shoulders’.
Again, I really enjoy the mix
of materials that have been
used to craft this animation,
particularly the fluid way
the inks and paints seem to
blend and flow. It lends a
nice natural energy to the
animated movement, and
the soft, painterly shapes,
textures, and forms very
much appeal to me and my
aesthetic sense.

30. Further to my research into Koyzcan’s work I had a look at paper-
cut techniques. This can be animated in a stop-motion way, or
loaded into Adobe After Effects and animated on layers there,
which is the approach I would take.
It can look really professional,
and you can implement some nice
textures with traditional materials
before scanning the pieces.

32. I discovered the method by accident, trying to use left-
over acrylic paint on my palette. Palette knives could
create slightly 3-dimensional textures which were perfect
for backgrounds. If the paint was spread flat, shapes could
be cut out and placed on the backgrounds. The example
on the right shows how easy this method made it to build
up depth in an image, with only a few pieces of paper.
Great for environments, not so much for characters.
Papercut tests:

33. Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: China is a 2.5D game
developed visually by Climax Studios. Their use of
ink and watercolour for the backgrounds to invoke
traditional Chinese art gives absolutely beautiful
evocative results, and the layering to intimate
depth works very nicely.
I think this is the way I shall go about building
my backgrounds, with layers of images compiled
and composited together. I was already looking
into experimenting with paint, but I think now I will
consider ink as well.

35. ‘The Little Prince’, released 2015 and directed by Mark
Osborne, was produced using a mix of 3D CGI and hand-made
stop-motion techniques. The stop-motion is the truly beautiful
part of the film, and each model has its own natural feel. The
use of papers and other traditional materials to create both
the characters and environments crafts a very special
experience and very interesting textures. I will probably not
use stop-motion at all, but I will be experimenting with a
similar method of environment creation.

37. Another application of the layering
technique to create dimensional
backgrounds can be found in many
music videos created by
WeWereMonkeys.

39. Most of their work is created
digitally, using Photoshop and
After Effects and some 3D
programs. Their work has lovely
textural qualities, but is also
reminiscent of shadow art, with
high-contrast elements blocked
out almost in silhouette. The
motion is slow, and limited, and
most action is panning cameras.
This would be a useful way of
working for me to experiment
with, as I have no confidence in
my animation skills.

40. Environment
research:
Syria before
conflict

42. Environment research:
Syria during conflict

43. Jhdrfuiskxlcm osch was
essential.

44. Environment art:

45. Digital colouration of photographed pencil sketches. This
one on the left came out rather nicely. It has quite a
painterly look, but is maybe a bit soft for my animation’s
subject. The other two sketches looked bad.

46. An experiment in creating patterns and textures with acrylic
paint applied by palette knife, and mixed on the page.
This looks very promising – the colours have blended in lovely
ways, and can give the appearance of a layered environment.

47. Mood tests with rough digital
painting:
These were experiments to try to
capture the atmosphere of the film.
The mountains at the top are too
visually busy to be in this animation,
but have some interesting textures.
The scene on the right depicts the
character standing amidst her destroyed
home, and was a test to show her size
relative to the destruction. It didn’t
really work out, but does have some
nice atmosphere.

48. This method of background creation is
particularly good for distressed
environments, and the textures you can
create allow you to keep detail to a
minimum whilst retaining visual
interest.
The broken
buildings on the
left were created
with a sponge.
Watercolour tests:

49. I have more skill in traditional art media than in digital, so I was hopeful that this method
would produce results that would be suitable, when refined, for a final piece. The
mountains and ruined city in particular look wonderful, and I will try some more of these
layered up to give more depth. They have a certain energy that compliments their subjects.

50. Applying the watercolour with a sponge
had created and interesting mark, so I
investigated mark-making a little further.
I hit upon the effect seen in detail in the
top left by turning a fairly dry sponge
pressed to the paper. I experimented
with colour to see if it would be a viable
option for interesting skyscapes, and
whilst it is interesting for cloud detail, I
do not think it would be appropriate for
a whole sky; it would be too
overwhelming visually. It did, however,
make nice smoke. It could possibly be
used very dry and repeatedly for sand or
concrete or some similar texture. It
definitely has a particulate look to it. A
sky would need to be soother, and may
be better with digital art or a wash.

51. More experiments on the right show further the unsuitability of this
sponge method for skies. Below left is a smoke test. This may work
well with an animated mask.

52. Environment sketches –
tests with hatching shading –
comic-inspired.

53. I digitally coloured one of
my sketches. it has less
clarity and interest than my
watercolour tests, and loses
almost all of the
atmosphere.

54. My initial development for the advert’s narrative isn’t really working, so
I’m going to try a different approach.
I liked the magical elements in some of my original ideas so I’m going to
explore these further.
To complement this narrative choice I will employ traditional art media to create the
environments, with characters and any effects animated in 2D and composited on
top.
I have more confidence in my abilities in these styles, and hope they will allow me to
create something more professional looking, and also something very visually special.
I find my digital art and animations can easily come out stilted and generic, so I’m
hoping that a more organic art style will inspire more fluid animation with the focus
more on expression than perfection.
Choosing this type of narrative means I can narrow down my target audience. My
campaign will be aimed at young professionals, likely 25 to 35 in age, with an active
interest in sci-fi and/or fantasy media. They will live in Western Europe or possibly the
Northern Americas.
To make the advert visually appealing to them, my art style will take visual influence from
comic book art, and magical effects in recent films.

55. New Ideas:
“There was once a book…”
Wizards? Spellcasting –
building their new lives?
• Quick pan of magical city
• Brief focus on children – learning to apply their magic
• World falls
• They stand in the ruins
• They have nothing – their magic no longer works
because they do not know how to control it
Bring back the magic
donate now
reactweb.org
• Child conjuring little green ‘fire’
• Splice shots of happy times (learning magic in school or
from their parents) with flashes of darkness and fear
• Slow shot of ruins
• Child’s magic sparks out. There’s a destroyed book in
front of her – pages drift away on the wind
• Child curls up; shot goes dark.
• New scene in new classroom – children given new
books.
• Whole class learns magic again – we follow the spells
out into the world ad watch them form a nice future.

56. New storyboard:

57. I am not fully sure of this idea, but need to
move the project forward so will develop it
further. The narrative works better than
before, and it properly conveys the education
side of things.

58. Comic Art:

60. Moebius – artist.
He uses the same fine-lined
outlines and gradient washes as
many modern comic books, but
with far less dramatic inking and
almost no crosshatching, having
subtle shadows instead, created
by the colours.

61. Actually creating my advert to look exactly like a comic book
would be far too time-consuming, and would narrow the
audience more than I would like. My work will take influences
only, mostly in the form of environment art; the simple
gradients and paint textures, with some fine line-work over top.
My characters will be stylised, but highly simplified for ease of
animation, as they are in actual animated comic adaptions.

62. Instead of the carefully detailed linework in the left
image, mine would be more like the image above. In
animated comic-based films the art style is always
simplified, as can be seen in the screenshot below.

63. Initial comic art experiments:
These were created with
fineliners and brush pens. The
magic works quite nicely,
especially the pink one top left.
The blending works mostly on
the character, but I had problems
getting the colours right.

64. It was a good technique
for achieving the
magic’s glow.
 Blending
tests
It could also create
visually interesting
environments. The
tent at the top was
over-lined, so
doesn’t look as
good as it did, but
the colours blend
nicely. The rubble
pile worked better,
and incorporated
some cross-
hatching detail.

65. A concept
piece for
the inside
of the
girl’s home
when she
was
younger;
before the
conflict.

66. The brush
pens and
fineliners were
particularly
good for
destroyed
exterior
environments.

67. Brief
flashes of
destruction
between
good
memories

Revised Storyboard:

68. This condenses the previous board down considerably, and is
clearer, making more sense.

69. The magic is one of the core elements of the
story, symbolising the girl’s education. I will
create the magic effects in Adobe Animate. The
environments will be made from paper textures,
so there will be a really nice differentiation
between the world and the effects the characters
can have on it.

70. This is the type of
magic I am
envisioning for the
girl 

71. Refined character
designs – also show
development
through age.

72. I’m having trouble structuring the narrative to read well and
be easily understood,. The more I read through my idea the
weaker it sounds. The film is over-complex and unclear. It
has no feeling or emotional resonance. I find this idea weak,
and have been inspired by an alternative route.
A much simpler better way of doing it would be an abstract
campaign.
I was further inspired by ‘s ‘Journey’,
and want to create something more removed from any
‘real-life’ situation. Not only will this make the advert
applicable to all the refugees React caters to, but will also
be more intriguing for the audience, as it will not be clear
what the film is about. The film will still focus on the girl,
and magical elements surrounding her, but in a very
different way. It will symbolise the individual’s journey, and
their quest for knowledge.

73. With my new, simpler idea came more design freedom. I decided to
dispense with the real-world geographical attachments, thereby making
my campaign more generally applicable. The films still starts and, in fact,
ends in the desert, but my girl traverses through different environments
in between.
Final Idea:

74. Each environment will be different, and will have its own colour palette and
textures. She will grow and change as the film progresses, picking up
knowledge along the way.

75. More of a shot-breakdown than a storyboard. Allowed me to arrange my composition
and environments. I wanted my character’s journey to seamlessly transition across the
screen, so she will leave one environment in the same place on screen as she enters the
next. Creates a quick, flowing journey for the audience to follow easily with little effort.

76. This will be the idea that
becomes my final campaign.
It is short, but says all it
needs to, and is easy and
pleasant for the audience to
follow.

77. The backgrounds will be
made from scans of my
painted textures, and
the characters and
magic will be animated
in Adobe Animate.

78. Visual Research for
new idea:

79. Environment colour palettes:

80. Sequence boards for asset breakdown for
environment construction:

81. Paper and paint texture tests
for environments. Very
successful.