OCR Nationals in ICT: Unit 20

Animation for the World Wide Web

Unit objectives: Design produce and test an animation that is fit for purpose.

Your task is to design an animated advert that will be used on either:

  • Your Auto Italia website
  • Your Cruft’s information point

The really important thing is that your advert is fit for purpose i.e. if it’s advertising dog food, it wants to look like a dog food advert and not a car advert.

Your tasks

You are going to carry out your assignment in several steps:

  1. You will review several existing animations
  2. Designan animation
  3. Create an animation
  4. Test your animation.

Task 1: Review several existing animations

You must review at least two animations. These can be animated gifs, Flash/Shockwave animations, animated web banners.

As evidence you must:

  • Identify the good and not so good features
  • Identify the aim of the animation
  • Comment on how the aims are met
  • If the aims are not met why not?
  • Suggest possible improvements

If you want the highest marks you must:

  • Identify the aim of the animation.
  • Give a thorough explanation of the good and not so good features of more than two animations
  • Suggest a range of valid improvements to help the animation meet its aims.

Task 2: Design your animation

a) Design

Your design must state the aim (what it’s meant to do) and the audience (who it’s meant for) of the animation.

b) Storyboard

There is no need to describe every frame of your animation, only the key points. Your storyboard must include:

  • Thecontent of the animation
  • Text
  • Images
  • Sound
  • Video
  • Timing
  • Transitions
  • Effects

If you want the highest marks you must:

  • Produce a thorough description of the aim and audience for the animation
  • Produce storyboard covering all elements
  • Make sure your design is well structured.

Task 3: Create an animation

Your animation must be between 15 and 30 seconds in length. You must use:

  • Animation editing techniques e.g. drawing shapes, changing existing ones, use of colour, lines, text, importing objects
  • Cutting, copying and pasting
  • Tweening
  • Motion guides
  • Looping
  • Export animation in suitable file format
  • Optimise for the use on the www ie size, colours

If you want the highest marks you must:

  • Create an animation of at least 30 seconds in length.
  • Ensure your animation is appropriate for its purpose and context, and that it meets the aims you stated.
  • Make good use of: basic graphic techniques, tweeningor frame-by-frame animation, frame rates and looping
  • Make sure all elements work as intended.
  • Optimise the animation and export it to your webpage/site in a suitable file format.

Task 4: Test your animation

The first thing to do here is to draw up a test plan that checks:

  • Whether the content of the animation is suitable, taking account your aims when designing the animation and the audience it’s meant for.
  • Whether the animation gets the right message across
  • If it runs for the correct length of time
  • If it loops correctly
  • That you have exported it in a suitable file format

You will then need to make improvements based on the outcomes of your testing.

If you want the highest marks you must:

  • Create an animation of at least 30 seconds in length.
  • Test your animation using a test table containing at least six tests.
  • Cover all main areas of your animation and will all tests will be appropriate.
  • You will identify areas for improvement and action most of them.

P Jordan, PHSSC, 2007