An animated ICT lesson
Sixth Formers at the Royal Alexandra and Albert School saw ICT come to life on Friday. Jamie Denham of Sliced Bread Animation showed students some of the animations produced by his company for clients such as Burger King, Sky and Sony. The visit was arranged so that students could gain an understanding of what is involved with producing an animated film. Jamie took pupils through the various stages starting with a briefing from the client, creating storyboards, revising the storyboards, and then agreeing the approach with the client. Once this is agreed, an animatic is produced which links the storyboards with the voice-over and/or music to give a better idea of how it will work and how long it will be. After gaining client approval again, the actual animation can start. So students saw how preparation takes around 50% of the time of producing the finished piece.
Jamie also explained the role of technology in producing animations and how Maya and Flash are now the main software for producing animated films. He also explained how using Flash is a great way to get started in animation. This is a far cry from the stop-frame animations that were the produced a decade ago when he first started in the business.
Teacher Olivia Baxter, who is Head of ICT at the School explained “I invited Jamie to come and talk to Sixth Formers who are studying ICT because animation forms part of the ICT course. I wanted students to get an appreciation of the work that goes in to creating animations and to understand the role of the client. Jamie’s presentation really captured their imagination and they now understand the importance of planning before the actual creation of an animation.”
January 2012
