The 12 films will be fully animated with fast-paced contemporary collage archival animation alongside clear explanatory graphics. The soundscape will include a Scottish voiceover, evocative sound effects, and music that mirrors the pace. All videos will have the same animation style, text and voice-over artist, making them a cohesive suite.
Our education consultants identified that this age group responds well to representations that feel true to life and contemporary. During a series of short videos, the students will step into trench life; a factory floor; the lives of accused witches, and be able to understand the layout, conditions and daily lives of ordinary people in Scottish history. The animation style across all films will feature archive imagery that will be given new life using the parallax technique, where elements of the photographs or images are separated into layers, creating a sense of 3D space and movement.
Transitions between topics will be marked with stop-motion animation such as paper being torn, as if to uncover a new topic. Where archival imagery for a subject is scarce, we will supplement it with hand drawn illustrations. Key words and concepts will appear on the screen in clear and dynamic graphics. The imagery will be accompanied by an exciting soundscape, sound effects and archival tracks to amplify the viewing experience. The overall feel of the suite will be fresh and engaging, giving a new life to a rich collection of archival material.
