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Animation and CGI in Documentary films
Things have come a long way since “Walking with Dinosaurs”. 3d animation, motion graphics, CGI and visual effects are now a regular part of many documentary films. As well as historical reconstructions and informational motion graphics, computer animation and CGI is now routinely used in almost any situation where shot footage isn’t available.

What’s more, costs have come down and quality of visual effects has gone up in recent years, so even a documentary film with a modest budget can now afford to use compelling and stylish computer graphic animations.

But as a documentary filmmaker, how do you go about adding visual effects and 3d animation to your productions?

Motion graphics and animation tips

Don’t be afraid to approach a video animation design or visual effects artist early on in your production. They’ll be able to let you know immediately what’s possible and how to get your animation done in the most effective way.

Give your animators as much detail as you’ve got -. 3d animation studios are used to doing research, but if you can give them access to your research, experts or helpful interviewees, you’ll get a much more unified view of the subject.

Use animation shots that tell a story: animated sequences and visual effects shots tend to be some of the more expensive shots in your production, so choose them well. Nobody likes re-using shots, but with an impressive 3d animation for example, it often works well. If you have several visual effects shots that work together to tell a story, using them separately earlier on in the documentary can increase their impact.

Types of visual effects and 3d animations in documentary films

Explanation graphics: Motion graphics are a great way to explain a complex idea or present information, if shot video footage can’t do it. These can be 2d or 3d animated graphic representations and often include text, but equally consider presenting them as cartoon animations or sequences with animated characters. Whatever the style of your piece, the animation can fit in with it.

Animation for colour shots: Colour shots are general cut-aways that can be used almost anywhere you need them. They’re purposely generic but relevant. A 20 second 3d animation in which the camera rushes through the bloodstream of a patient as blood cells fly past can be used pretty much anywhere in a medical documentary without looking out of place. A couple of colour animations of this kind can save your skin in the edit when you run end up with more narration than shot footage.

Visual effects reconstructions: animated reconstructions are often the “hero” shots of a documentary. If you don’t have the footage of the most important events or moments in your documentary film, an animated reconstruction is often the way to go.

Title animations: An animated title sequence is a good way to open your documentary, and it will set the tone for your entire documentary film, so it’s worth dedicating a little time to making sure that tone is spot on for the style and content of what comes after.

How to reduce your documentary film’s motion graphics costs
The quickest way to reduce cost is to talk to the 3d animator or visual effects studio about how the production can be simplified without affecting its overall look. For example, to animate a camera flying through a static model takes a lot less time (possibly weeks less) than animating every detail of the model itself.

What if I really can’t afford animation and visual effects?
Go graphical: Reconstructing the siege of Troy with every soldier animated in authentic detail is going to be a big job. But animating the strategic turning points of the siege replacing battalions with chess piece style graphics on a stylised representation of the battlefield is within the budget of most productions. Thinking of a stylised motion graphics look rather than a realistic 3d animated one will you’re your documentary film tonnes of cash. Going for still illustrations rather than motion graphics will save still more.

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The world of animation has many different niches that can be covered. You will find that for people who are interested in animation Japanese style animation is taking off quite nicely. The influence of this style of animating can be seen in a number of different forms and countries.

While you may not think that this genre of animating can become popular and compete with the well known favorites of Fred Flintstones, Popeye the Sailor and even Transformers then you would be quite wrong.

There are many examples of very popular animation Japanese style cartoons and even movies. These programs will have faithful followers who will love watching how the events on their favorite program progress. One of the interesting things that you will find in these Japanese based animations is that most of the characters don’t look Japanese.

This is not a slight to the culture of Japan as you will find many subtle references to the culture in some of these animation Japanese style shows. There are other animations which feature outer space actions and people who have no connection to us.

While some of the earlier anime series may not be recognizable to the newer generation of anime fans these are ones that have provided the foundations for people loving to watch anime programs. The early anime style programs that you may remember watching are ones like Voltron, the Robotech series, among others.

The newer wave of animation Japanese programs that you will find are ones like Gundum Wing, Sailor Moon, Card Captor Sakura, Princess Tutu, Dragon Ball Z, Earth Defense Family and many others. These programs have spawned a number of DVDs, video games, books and many other products.

With each of these different products you can be assured that many new followers to animation Japanese programs are discovered or born. There is another aspect to this style of animation that people sometimes forget when they are looking at the different Japanese animation programs.

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With so many different types of animation Japanese programs and even movies you will see why there are people who look at these with never ending interest. One of the best reasons for you to look at these animation Japanese programs is the fun and sense of humor that you will see bubbling through with each program.

Animation does not have any boundaries that can be seen. These boundaries are present in the minds of the creators. Each of the creators of animation will have their own styles of drawing their creations. Some of these will be the hugely popular Japanese animation series and movies.

In each of these programs you will see how people and animals of fantastical looks deal with life in different situations. These situations will be different based on the medium which is used to portray these Japanese animation scenes. You will see that the forms of animation are different for cartoons, movies and even for video games.

While many of elements of Japanese animation are somewhat similar to that of other countries, the culture and social behavior of Japan is seen quite clearly. There are many areas of life that can be seen being explored in the realms of animation. While some of the animation stories are taken from anime series and Manga comics there are others which come straight from the creative minds of the movie making team.

In these the storylines you will see that the characters acting in ways that show how they feel about situations that happen around them. While some of the reactions are comical there are others that will make you empathize with the characters.

The mark of a successful Japanese animation can then be said to be an animation that draws you deep inside. You will understand how the beauty that is found in life can be used to showcase the feelings and scenes are occurring around the central characters. While these characters are of primary importance there are many other aspects of these Japanese animation movies and shows that you will enjoy seeing.

The main item that you will notice in Japanese animation is the exaggerated feelings which are displayed to us via large teardrop shapes near the eyes. Panic can be shown as arms frantically waving around and the mouth open wide in terror – but not the scary kind – and you feel like laughing at what is happening to these characters.

One good example of seeing this type of behavior will be that of Sailor Moon. Here you will find the entire range of details and action sequences which make Japanese animation what it really is.

By looking closely at these different Japanese animation programs you will see how the similarities of life are portrayed within these shows. Some of the sensitive issues that you will see happening around us can be explained by Japanese animation.

Japanese animation and art has taken by storm several countries that didn’t have a different outlook as far as animation goes, the quality and freshness of Japanese animation has tapped into untapped audiences across global networks because of the fact that their work appeals to not only the young and teenagers but several of their programs actually cater to older audiences between 18 and 30 years of age.

Programs such as Bakugan appeal to a younger audience who love “special effects” powers and exciting plots which Is similar to the target audience of animations made in the US however the freshness of the drawings and the animation style make all the difference as the use of shadows and character body lines is completely different and original in the way they do so.

Older audiences tend to go for shows that are not so predictable and this is where Japanese animation really becomes huge, animations such as Monster, Spice and Wolf and yes even Clannad have grabbed the attention of those who once were fan of the famous Dragon Ball Z.

Internet forums confirm just how popular Japanese animation is amongst young and older viewers who not only enjoy the freshness of the drawings and animations but the stories which are told series after series are completely unique, for instance, Spice and Wolf is unlike anything you have seen and it caters to older audiences because it deals a lot with business concepts such as international trade, the monetary system and the way merchants try to influence their business environment through free trade.

I bet you were not expecting something like that from a title such as “Spice and Wolf” did you? – To add some uniqueness and variety the female character (wolf) is really smart and cunning and is able to take the series to a whole different level.

Series such as Clannad are high-school based so they appeal to those in high school and even those in college, the comedic situation the characters find themselves in is completely unique and the plot lead the way to an even greater story (the after story) in which a shocking truth about life is to be revealed to the characters of the series. This animation takes the characters and the viewers from a traditional high school setting all the way into adulthood and show them the happy and sad times of life in a very realistic story.

As you see Japanese animation is absolutely unique and is not entirely based in sci-fi fights and power blasts but it can be very deep and meaningful which is why such series are expected to be a total hit in the UK and most likely other parts of the World.