A collaboration with BBC Creative to bring Children in Need's 2020 national TV and cinema commercial to life.
Challenge
Due to the difficulties with live-action filming as a result of COVID-19, this was the first time the Children in Need advert would appear as a fully animated two-minute junction takeover. The commercial needed to feel emotive yet positive, and shed light on the ways Children in Need supports the UK’s most vulnerable children, whilst also encouraging donations from the public.
The story
The narrative, written by children’s author and illustrator Tom Percival, focuses on three children’s experiences with isolation, poverty and adapting to a big life change. Tom wrote a beautiful voice-over script that tells the story in a way that does justice to the subject matter but remains hopeful in tone.
A distinctive style
Our team supported Tom with creating illustration and artwork in his beautiful and distinctive picture-book style.
Bringing Tom's textured and layered picture book style to life in animation presented a number of challenges - lots of layers and textures to work with, but the end result was worth the pain!
Storyboard
In collaboration with BBC Creative and Tom, we developed a storyboard that worked with the expressive illustration style and told the stories of the three characters in the most fitting way. This where the story is mapped out visually, and the timings and transitions are worked out.
Animation time
Each shot was animated so that the character's stories were centre stage. Their challenges and frustrations were visualised by the oppressive rain cloud, that was stopping them from doing the things they want to do. It was important that it felt hand crafted and seamless.
Sound design
The film was supported beautifully with a bespoke music score composed and recorded by Alex Baranowski adding a layer of depth and emotion.
A bespoke soundbed of SFX finishes the film off with style.
The result
In the run up to November’s Children in Need show, the two-minute commercial aired to build support for the night. Alongside the hero film we produced a 10-second teaser, and series of 20, 30 and 60-second cut downs that all aired on BBC One and Two.
We’re looking forward to seeing the final donation numbers following the live show and are extremely proud of collaborating on an important campaign for such a worthy cause.
To hear more about the real charities and the incredible people they support, click here.
"Flow were a dream to work with, they were collaborative, imaginative, turned around feedback in record time and made the whole process incredibly smooth. They really care about what they do and put absolutely everything into the project, which is reflected in how beautifully it turned out."
Contributors & Credits
- Creative / Animation Director (Flow): Karl Doran
- Creative Director (BBC): Tim Jones, Jules Middleton
- Art Lead : Tom Percival
- Production Management (Flow): Emma Shaw
- Production Management (BBC): Emily Brinnand, Jess Fenton, Sarah Bradbury
- Artwork: Alex Francis
- Animation : Winston Tsang, Jordan Painter, Steve Kirby, Inês SIlva, James Huson, Jordan Siddall
- Sound Design : Alexander Baranowski
