Animation Commercials, Music Videos & Audio Visual Presentations

Akira's Nightmare Animation Laboratory
Animation Commercials, Music Videos & Audio Visual Presentations
Project Research, Analysis, Development & Management
Summer 2007 Creative Seminar
5 Sessions
DEVELOPED BY MDF. ESCARCHA
(CONTACT NUMBER 09215081060/6822404)


1 Research : Day One
A. Understanding the Market
(1.) Producer
(2.) Consumer
(3.) Product / Service
(4.) Placement
(5.) Price

B. Understanding the Industry
(1.) The Animation Team
01 Creative Support
02 Administrative Support
n Budget
n Finance
03 Technical Support

(2.) Deployment
01 Cinema
02 Internet
n active
n passive
03 Television

(3.) Animation Media
01 2D Animation
02 3D Animation

03 Stop-Motion Animation
n Puppet
n Animation
n Clay/Foam Animation
n Paper Cut Out Animation
n Painting On Glass Animation
n Sand Animation
n People Animation

04 Flash Animation


(4.) Animation Function
01 Information
02 Education

03 Promotion
n Invention
n Innovation
n Discovery/Rediscovery

04 Persuasion
05 Propaganda

(5.) Animation Category
01 Dramatic
02 Comic
03 Lyrical
04 Commercial
05 Didactic
06 Children
07 Musicals

2 Analysis : Day 02
A. Dynamics : Producer, Consumer & Animation Team
(1.) What is the vision?
01 Producer : want vs. need
02 Consumer : want vs. need
03 Animation Team : want vs. need

(2.) What is the mission?
01 The Consumer as the target
02 The Producer as the source
03 The Relationship between the Target and the Source

B. The Producer's Concept + The Consumer's Concept = Animation Team's Concept
(1.) Market Requirements
(2.) Industry Requirements
(3.) Animation Team Requirements

3 Development : Day 03
A. The Premise
(1.) Product/Service
(2.) Appropriate Selling Point

B. The Product/ Service Matrix
(1.) Formation
(2.) Revelation

C. Appropriate Selling Point
(1.) Subject
(2.) Theme
(3.) Competition(s)

D. Beat Outline
(1.) Time Frame
01 1-2 Minutes
02 2-5 Minutes
03 5-10 Minutes

(2.) Methods
01 Beat Ratio Method
02 Time Ratio Method

(3.) Structure
01 Establish product or service and situation
02 Introduce agent of disturbance
03 Climax
04 Resolution

4 Management : Day 04
A. The Script
(1.) Form
(2.) Function
(3.) Structure

B. Animatics
(1.) Storyboard
(2.) Audio Track

C. Evaluation
(1.) Revision : change angle : retain attack
(2.) Rewrite : retain angle :change attack
(3.) Edit : retain angle :retain attack with adjustments

5 Output : Day 05
A. Document Output
B. Animatics

Fundamentals of the Animation Creative Team

Fundamentals of the Creative Team
The Functions of a Solid Project or Material
written by Melchor df. Escarcha

As a former member and former head of a creative team, I realized that there was a need to define the principles and parameters that determine the creative set-up. We often encounter horror stories about brainstormings and collaborations. These stories tend to portray a highly vicious ambiance and environment within a team. Given these anomalies, the natural reaction is to introduce team-building techniques. But this is futile if there are no rules and parameters that govern the actual engagement.

A solid project or material is one of the core principles in a creative team. A project or material is said to be solid when it is able to stand on its own minus any attempt to aid it by answering questions regarding the material or project conceptually. Meaning, anything that is not written or presented is not relevant

In this regard, a solid material or project has five functions namely 1) It consolidates the members of the team into one mission and one vision, 2) It orients the members of the team towards the mission and vision, 3) It serves as the life blood the of the creative team, 4) it defines the sense and sensibility of the collective and 5) it functions as the consensus in the midst of creative diversity. The objectives of these functions are a) to make sure that each member of the team is required to be familiar with the material or project, b) each member of the team has the capability to defend the material or project and c) each member of the team is obligated to assume the role of lead developer when the need arises.

Given this principle, anyone in a team is capable of defending the material. If the team is truly guided by a singular vision and mission, familiarity towards the material or project is effortless. If an individual that is part of a creative team can not defend the project or material, he or she does not belong to the team.

The ideal construct of reality dictates that the person who principally created or initiated the material or project is the only one who can defend it. But we are not living in an ideal world. These are the following situations wherein the lead developer is neutralized as an agent that will defend the material or project.

1. Defending a material or a project is an unfolding crisis by nature. People are sometimes effective in the absence of crisis. Personally, I encountered creative people who are brilliant in creating projects or materials given a nurturing environment and ambiance. But when they are asks to defend the material, they are unable to do so. In this case, it is prudent to assign a person who thrives in the midst of crisis to defend the material or project. But this is only effective if the members of the team are familiar with the project or material.

2. There are times when the lead developer is not given the chance to defend the material or project personally. Instead, a written presentation is required. If the material or project on paper is not solid, the whole thing is rejected. In this case, it is not the lead developer who is defending the project or material, rather, it is the material or project that is defending itself.

3. Clients or producers have their nuisances in terms of who will defend the material or project. What if the client or producer prefers a woman as the defender of the project instead of a man given that the lead developer is a man? In this case, the female members of the team should always be ready to assume the role of lead developer. This flexibility is only possible when each member of the team is familiar with the material or project. And familiarity is only achieved through having a solid material or project.


4. Situations and events are inherently unpredictable. A person's state of mind changes as he or she acts on or reacts on a particular stimulant. What if on the day of the presentation, the lead developer receives a phone call from the hospital and learns that his or her mother is in the intensive care unit? Whether we admit it or not, the news will affect the lead developer's state of mind. In this case, it is prudent to replace him or her. Given this situation, it is a requirement that members of the team should always anticipate that any moment, they will be ask to defend the material or project anytime.

5. There are times when it is difficult to set an appointment with a potential client, when suddenly one of the members of the team spots the said client in the supermarket and he or she only has 10 minutes to talk with this client. Calling the lead developer will take time. So, if he or she is familiar with the material or project, he or she can easily approach the client and talk with him or her about it. Remember that opportunities arise when we least expect it. But we can not always guarantee that the lead developer is always up to the challenge or physically present. Thus, it is more practical that the members of the team are capable of defending the material or project when the need arises.

6. Resignations are like death threats. Creative teams encounter them in a daily basis. What if the lead developer resigns or pirated by another creative team. Does he or she take all the secrets with him or her? Does he or she deactivate the whole project or material? This unfortunate event harms a creative team when the only one who is familiar with the material or project is the lead developer. But if everyone knows the vision and mission of the material or project, the damage is lessened given such an unfortunate event.

7. Individuals, within the shelter of the team, tend to give off certain qualities that project stability, maturity and competency. But when they encounter a crisis, they begin to give away traits that are harmful to the successful defense of the material or project. In moments of crisis, we might discover that the lead developer has a low level of tolerance or a volatile temper. There are people who are nurturing in the absence of crisis and would later on transform into a " hot head" in the midst of crisis. Thus, replacing him or her with a more tolerant and evenly tempered member of the team is the most effective means in defending the material or project.

The scenarios are generally events or situations that pretty much cover all the possible problems that a creative team may encounter that essentially neutralizes the effectiveness of the lead developer as the defender of the project or concept.

What ought to happen is that the lead developer is always the one who should defend the material or project. I strongly believe in this premise. But reality has this incredible talent of screwing things up. And believe it or not, there are times when the strangest things happen. A day before the defense, you are happily talking with the lead developer, the next day he is in jail. A week before the defense, the lead developer is brilliantly rehearsing his defense in a mock meeting. And then suddenly you receive a phone call from the lead developer and he is crying. He is appealing for your understanding because he can not handle the pressure.

Fine, there are times when the alignment of the planets is perfect and the lead developer does his thing with flying colors, but these are exceptions to the rules. Most of the time, the lead developer is intellectually, emotionally or physically absent and you are force to make tough decisions in finding a way to salvage an opportunity that could make or break your company.

In the end, we subscribe to the wisdom that we do not put all our eggs in one basket. Change is unpredictable and everyday the playing field changes. Some people try to control change by identifying indicators, but even indicators are also subject to change. The only thing we can count on is our ability to learn and our ability to be flexible. A Creative Team should be a living and learning organism that is able to adjust to the unfolding crisis and employ the most appropriate action. These are qualities that are products of a solid material or project.

============================================
Summer 2007 Creative Seminar
The Art and Science of Animation Brainstorming
(Project / Material Construction, Development and Management)

For Inquiries: contact these numbers
Contact Person : Melchor
(CONTACT NUMBERS: 09215081060/6822404)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/akiras_nightmare http://akirasnightmare.blogspot.com/

Animation Commercials, Music Videos & Audio Visual Presentations

Akira's Nightmare Animation Laboratory
Animation Commercials, Music Videos & Audio Visual Presentations
Project Research, Analysis, Development & Management
Summer 2007 Creative Seminar
5 Sessions
DEVELOPED BY MDF. ESCARCHA
(CONTACT NUMBER 09215081060/6822404)


1 Research : Day One
A. Understanding the Market
(1.) Producer
(2.) Consumer
(3.) Product / Service
(4.) Placement
(5.) Price

B. Understanding the Industry
(1.) The Animation Team
01 Creative Support
02 Administrative Support
n Budget
n Finance
03 Technical Support

(2.) Deployment
01 Cinema
02 Internet
n active
n passive
03 Television

(3.) Animation Media
01 2D Animation
02 3D Animation

03 Stop-Motion Animation
n Puppet
n Animation
n Clay/Foam Animation
n Paper Cut Out Animation
n Painting On Glass Animation
n Sand Animation
n People Animation

04 Flash Animation


(4.) Animation Function
01 Information
02 Education

03 Promotion
n Invention
n Innovation
n Discovery/Rediscovery

04 Persuasion
05 Propaganda

(5.) Animation Category
01 Dramatic
02 Comic
03 Lyrical
04 Commercial
05 Didactic
06 Children
07 Musicals

2 Analysis : Day 02
A. Dynamics : Producer, Consumer & Animation Team
(1.) What is the vision?
01 Producer : want vs. need
02 Consumer : want vs. need
03 Animation Team : want vs. need

(2.) What is the mission?
01 The Consumer as the target
02 The Producer as the source
03 The Relationship between the Target and the Source

B. The Producer's Concept + The Consumer's Concept = Animation Team's Concept
(1.) Market Requirements
(2.) Industry Requirements
(3.) Animation Team Requirements

3 Development : Day 03
A. The Premise
(1.) Product/Service
(2.) Appropriate Selling Point

B. The Product/ Service Matrix
(1.) Formation
(2.) Revelation

C. Appropriate Selling Point
(1.) Subject
(2.) Theme
(3.) Competition(s)

D. Beat Outline
(1.) Time Frame
01 1-2 Minutes
02 2-5 Minutes
03 5-10 Minutes

(2.) Methods
01 Beat Ratio Method
02 Time Ratio Method

(3.) Structure
01 Establish product or service and situation
02 Introduce agent of disturbance
03 Climax
04 Resolution

4 Management : Day 04
A. The Script
(1.) Form
(2.) Function
(3.) Structure

B. Animatics
(1.) Storyboard
(2.) Audio Track

C. Evaluation
(1.) Revision : change angle : retain attack
(2.) Rewrite : retain angle :change attack
(3.) Edit : retain angle :retain attack with adjustments

5 Output : Day 05
A. Document Output
B. Animatics