For my next project I want to tackle the problem of MENTAL HEALTH. As a serious matter in society, I feel it goes unnoticed and is unaware to many people. There are many types of mental health, but the ones I will focus on in my project are: anxiety, depression, insomnia and eating disorders.

Below marks out the Q&A’s in my first project proposal.

What is the intended idea / concept behind the proposed project?

To increase awareness of mental health problems such as anxiety, depression, eating disorders and insomnia, and to address the issue that it goes unnoticed in society, especially in the education system.

The output of the project will be a short animated motion graphic video that will demonstrate the importance of addressing mental health problems and why it shouldn’t be ignored. The video will act as a petition to start educating the problem as part of the National Curriculum teaching specifications, gaining national or even global recognition and popularity. The video will include facts, figures and symptoms to help viewers understand the issue and why it should be taught in schools.

Justify the idea / concept in terms of the needs for its existence (if purely for entertainment, state this and how the output will be innovative/original and creative):

Although the National Curriculum doesn’t reject the promotion of mental health in schools and education, it is not specifically mentioned to form part of the PSHE specification.

The Department of Education state that schools should seek to use PSHE to outline and build on: ‘drug education, financial education, sex and relationship education (SRE) and the importance of physical activity and diet for a healthy lifestyle.'(1) With no formal guidelines in place for teaching the issues of mental health, it seems the subject matter is ignored. Meaning children, and even teachers, may not learn the importance and problems surrounding it.

Although a recent petition has already been made to introduce mental health education to the national curriculum, it was unsuccessful, only raising half of the required signatures to be considered for debate in Parliament.(2)

The proposed product will form a base to tackle the issue and influence the thoughts of parents, teachers and others to join the petition through a visual and interactive way.

Describe the intended audience:

The intended audience is varied for anyone who is interested in the matter, however the main focus will be to parents, teachers and school administrators.

The following points can be made about the intended audience:

• The tone of the video must be formal and professional because it is being addressed to adults and authorities. However it will still be visually appealing with an element of ‘entertainment’ to keep viewers engaged.
• The video must be informative and persuading, using facts and figures to back up points.
• The words used will be understandable for varied audiences, however jargon will also be included to specifically relate to the matter and the scientific side of mental health problems.

How will this project extend your or your team’s creative and technical skills?

This proposed project would not only be an informative and factual video, it will be an experience for viewers to get an insight into the problem of mental health. In order to accomplish a fully functioning animation, technical software such as Adobe After Effects and Adobe Photoshop will be used to its full potential. This will create an engaging and innovative video explaining the issue in detail.

Creativity is vital for this project also; artistic and original thinking will be required to deliver the message of the video in an aesthetic direction. The creativity will not however take away the professionalism and seriousness of the video; careful consideration will be taken into account to balance it out.

Outline how the practical work will be carried out by you / the team (division of labour) and the time-scales involved for each task:

The construction of the project will be divided into three stages: research and development (R&D), production and testing/feedback. The schedule of the project will run as the following:

What other work (by animators, designers, film-makers, writers, digital media producers, etc.) is relevant to your project? (This work may either be relevant for its conceptual or technical similarity):

James Curran (http://www.slimjimstudios.com) is a London based animator who specialises in creating animated gifs. His videos are visually interesting and consistent, using a unique style to differentiate his work.

Shimi Cohen (https://vimeo.com/shimicohen/videos) is a motion graphic designer and animator from Israel. Some of his videos use fast pace motion graphics to convey a message, also using a consistent colour scheme and simple designs that make it visually appealing to watch. Some also include a voiceover to tell the story of the video, meaning the viewer can listen carefully and follow the graphics on screen.

MindEd (https://www.minded.org.uk/mod/page/view.php?id=18) is a Government funded organisation that offers free online education for any adult working with children, young people and families with mental health problems.

Young Minds (http://www.youngminds.org.uk) is the UK’s leading charity for improving the emotional wellbeing and mental health of children and young people.

List any critical texts that are relevant to your conceptual intentions:

The A-Z of Visuals: How to Solve Any Creative Brief, John Ingledew (2011) – a creative and visual book that helps to understand and influence innovative ideas.

After Effects & Photoshop: Animation and Production Effects for DV and Film, Jeff Foster (2004) – a book that explains how Photoshop and After Effects collaborate well together, visually guiding readers though the techniques that can be used.

Digital Photography for 3D Imaging and Animation, Dan Ablan (2007) – a step-by-step guide of transforming photographs into digital, 3D animation. Goes into great detail with After Effects and the tools and techniques you can use on it.

Envato Tuts+ is an online tutorial and course site that covers everything related to digital media. For example it gives step-by-step video tutorials on ways to use Motion Graphics and 3D animation in Adobe After Effects: http://cgi.tutsplus.com/categories/adobe-after-effects

Any other information not covered above:

(1) PSHE Association Curriculum Guidance https://www.pshe-association.org.uk/content.aspx?CategoryID=1053

(2) UK Government petition to introduce Mental Health Education to the National Curriculum https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/104545