The Hard Cell: Writing for Animation in Digital Learning
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Engaging, inspiring and informative, they are one of our oldest and most versatile visual media – and with technological advances exploding traditional barriers to entry, animations are becoming an ever-more attractive option for digital learning projects. But the sheer scope and possibility of writing for animation can be a challenge in itself. From music to movement, and from visuals to learning impact, every element requires careful planning and a consistent focus on your learning needs.
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The Hard Cell: Writing for Animation in Digital Learning
- 1. The Hard Cell: Writing for animation in digital learning brightwavegroup.com Elly Davies Senior Learning Designer
- 2. Once upon a time… Disney & Warner AppsCGIFlash Tricks and toys Silent film
- 3. High End & Low End Production cost
- 7. What are they good for? • Demonstrate mechanics • Explain abstract concepts • Show relationships • Set out sequences • Engage emotions • Tell a story Animation helps to…
- 9. What aren’t they good for? • ‘Magically’ making dry content interesting • Long and complex o Counter with chunking and user control • Accessibility • Being a wallflower Not a magic bullet!
- 10. Watch out! • Confuse • Distract • Reduce accessibility • Ruin your street cred ;-) Animations without purpose can:
- 11. • Too long • Too many words • Too little/much action • Too many cooks Pitfalls
- 12. Writing tips
- 13. 1. Know your limits
- 14. 2. Know the outcome
- 15. 3. Tell a story
- 16. #4: Once upon a time there was ___. Every day, ___. One day ___. Because of that, ___. Because of that, ___. Until finally ___. Pixar storytelling rules -@lawnrocket
- 21. 6. Sound ideas
- 23. Looking ahead…
Editor's Notes
- Aimed at learning designers – but will have some relevance for anyone involved in commissioning, creating or reviewing animations. Share advice learned from my own experiences, and those of my colleagues, to help you design better animations.
- The appeal of moving pictures is nothing new… In the 19thC and earlier – people invented devices for entertainment, such as the Magic Lantern and the Zoetrope Hand drawn cel animation came into play in the early 20thC, and quickly exploded into technicolour and sound filled wonders care of Disney and Warner Bros. Digital learning got in on the Game with the advent of Flash – and perhaps went overboard, making anything and everything move on screen! The ‘death’ of Flash caused a temporary knock back, but new HTML5, SVG and video software have brought it back with vengeance – at the same time the entertainment world has taken it to whole new heights with Studio Ghibli, Pixar and others creating stunning feature films engaging enough to rival any live action movie – and even the live action films are enhanced CGI. In the last few years, the rise of apps and sharing platforms have spurred a flurry of DIY animations and it’s become an inbuilt part of some communications – Think Snapchat. (http://www.standard.co.uk/stayingin/tech-gaming/animation-apps-five-of-the-best-10267801.html)
- The term animation covers a wide variety of things from simple transitions to full blown 3D – they can take a vastly different amount of time to produce – Not to mention the people, skills and tech involved - so know what your budget is before you begin dreaming up ideas. Even the simplest animation style can take more time to create than we expect – so think carefully about your design: do you really need to introduce a whole new character who will appear for only a few seconds? Disney were wise to this and made good use of recycling…. [play clip]
- Taken underlying figures, shapes and movements and repurposed them. When writing and designing – be aware of what you can reuse or simplify.
- Once you’ve gauged your production level, there’s still a whole world of graphic styles to choose from. Here are few Brightwave examples. Use what you know about your audience and the purpose of the animation to guide your choice.
- H:\Projects\U\UOG362_Digital_WB\development\build\compiled\module1 Embed/click to launch?? Aimed at students and potential students – playful but not childish, simulation game – makes a parallel with real life decision making
- Research is mixed – some like Clark, Mayer and Moreno have shown an increase in recall when learning material is delivered using multimedia – other studies show that it doesn’t – so no intrinsic learning power. Like any tool in the teaching toolbox it depends how, when and why you use it – and they can be extremely effective when used well. Mechanics – anatomy, engineering – physical objects in action – oil refinery example Abstract – use the flexibility of the medium to show things you can’t see - depression Relationships & consequences – play with time and space to show how things connect to each other Sequencing – successful learning often depends on careful sequencing of ideas – Show a process or give step by step instructions Emotions – appeal to hearts as well as minds with an appeal to people’s feelings – music can be a big factor here – Often used early on in a learning intervention Tell a story – we all know the power of scenarios and case studies in learning – animation can be an effective delivery vehicle for these http://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1013184611077 https://cdn-educators.brainpop.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/120621_effects_of_animation-based_on-line_learning.pdf http://www.ascilite.org/conferences/perth04/procs/lowe-r.html
- One more benefit to bear in mind… In the post-Flash era, many animations are delivered as video files – short, engaging, compatible, shareable - they’re perfect content for mobile learning.
- Content you need to follow slowly, or at your own pace – can be countered by ensuring more user control and careful chunking – but perhaps simple text and diagrams would be more effective? http://clients.bright-wave.co.uk/ppwc884/module1/ ‘Magically’ making content interesting – e.g. describing relevant legislation for a compliance subject – Unless you re-think and look at what it really means to your learners, animating this isn’t going to make it better!Accessibility: You can of course add transcripts, closed captions etc to help those with hearing difficulties – but if vision is the issue, clearly formatted text in a Word doc is your friend! Being a wallflower – excessive transitions or movement which does not support the key learning point will distract from it –I taught my 7 r old daughter how to get things to fly on and off in PPT and then found myself adding it to work presentations! - animation is great at grabbing attention – use it wisely
- Too longToo many words - on screen and in narrationToo little action or too much action It’s hard to get the balance right! A recent animation started with a strong visual concept and a 1 minute narration script – by the time it had been reviewed and approved by all stakeholders – the metaphor was dropped and the finished animation was 2 minutes long.
- I AM NOT AN ANIMATOR!! I’m not a graphic designer or a developer. I’m a learning designer and my advice relates to designing and writing for animation. Every animation I’ve worked on has been a collaborative effort – but it’s my job to make sure somebody can learn something from it.
- What style of animation will you be using? How long will it be? Does it need to meet a brand? Is it part of a blend? What are your learner’s expectations? How and where will it be viewed? Use the limits as walls to bounce off – to spur creative ideas.
- If this is a learning tool – what’s it trying to achieve? What do you want the learner to think, feel or do after watching it?
- This may be simply structuring your info to have a beginning, middle and end. Even an animated infographic should be trying to convey ideas in a particular order and take you on a journey of understanding. If you are taking a story-led approach, think about:CharactersConflicts/ObstaclesActionsPlot twist
- Story basics from Emma Coat’s, a Pixar story artist: http://www.pixartouchbook.com/blog/2011/5/15/pixar-story-rules-one-version.html …there was a fish with a small fin… …there was a girl who loves hockey… …every day they went to school and played with their friends. One day the fish swam out into the open sea… One day the girl moved to a new city… Because of that he got lost. Because of that she loses her friends, school and hobbies. Because of that his dad goes on a quest to find him. Because of that she experiences some difficult emotions. Until finally, they are reunited, having gained a better understanding of each other. Until finally, she matures as a person.
- Once I know my goals and restrictions… it’s time to start coming up with ideas… and writing them down. Depending on who’s involved and what we’re trying to achieve, the process may vary slightly, but I often start with a script. But this comes with dangers – you get too wordy – you don’t know how elements will look or work together on screen. You don’t make the most of a visual medium. The old adage of show don’t tell comes into play – you’re likely to be doing some telling too – but this needs to support or enhance the visuals – not do their job for them. The use of a storyboard helps overcome this…
- To overcome scripting pitfalls, or as a next stage before full production, you might want to produce a fully art worked storyboard – or collaborate with a graphics person to do so… A storyboard: Shows how the visuals will look Describes how they will move Shows the sequence of frames or stages Shows how the audio syncs up with each stage (Images by Signe Rosenkjaer)
- But before that, it’s a really good idea to sketch out a storyboard or even part of it – especially if you are not the person who will animate it. It’s a good way to communicate the visions in your head. Also to make some practical checks: Do the images make sense? Are they feasible? Is the pacing right? (Sketches by Zillah Hayslip.)
- The beauty of animation over live-action video is that you’re not bound to reality. Embrace the surreal, the hyper-real, the downright ridiculous. Laugh at the laws of physics. Think of Road runner entering a cave, but when Wile E. Coyote tries it turns out to be a painted image of a cave.
- I wrote an animation for a learning campaign, which would be viewed on personal computers, but also on big screens in offices which had no sound. It was an interesting challenge and pushed us to be even more visual and eye-catching. What will you do with sound? Will there be…? NarrationDialogueMusic – can be inspiring, tug at heart strings, give a sense of enthusiasmSound effects – can really bring it to life, can used for comedic purpose
- The downfall of many a potentially brilliant animation is length. If you’re using narration or dialogue, you can work to the rule of thumb of 150 words per minute. I strongly recommend reading your script out loud to yourself (find a quiet place!) – you’ll be able to hear where it is too wordy. Even better, record it on your phone and listen back. When the sounds and pictures come together – check pacing – are they in line with each other. It’s ok to have pauses or quiet moments, but they need to be pretty brief or your learner will think they have streaming issues. What do you need to cut down or beef up?
- That’s it! It’s easier said than done, but always a fun experience and really satisfying to see the end result. And its worth improving our skills in this area. Animation is not going away anytime soon… More learner generated content shared over social networks Delivered by VR for a full immersive experience – this will bring new design challenges – such as how you direct your learner’s gaze to the right place at the right time Augmented reality – especially for performance support - imagine refilling the oil or screenwash in an unfamiliar car with the support of an animated diagram via your camera viewer. Where else will animation be of use?
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