Children's charity, NSPCC commissioned us to work on a series of animated training films. Each one explores a different childhood development concept in the form of a simple metaphor.

The series continues in a second project titled 'Sharing the Brain Story' which you can watch here.

Tipping the Scales

The first animation we produced explains the 'Tipping Scales' concept- visualising a child’s development as a scale. The narrator explains how positive events like supportive relationships, get loaded onto one side. Whereas, negative experiences like abuse, neglect or community violence stack up on the other. The film concludes by setting a goal for communities to strive for development to tip towards the positive, for as many kids as possible.

We produced an illustration style that would engage a wide target audience. Visualising the narrative through character-based moments to emotionally engage the viewer. In addition, scientific themes expand on the 'Tipping Scales' metaphor using more diagrammatic designs. Subsequently, this theme of balance evolved into our animation; inspiring a flowing journey, with unexpected changes of scale and perspective creating twists and turns. The final film has a clear and hopeful message which can be easily understood and shared by a range of audiences. Additionally, working as a tool that helps children speak out, and adults to take action against abuse.

Overloaded

The second of our NSPCC training films focuses on the "Overloaded" metaphor. This story conveys the idea of parents being burdened with problems that can go on to impact their capacity to care for their children’s basic needs. Similarly to our first film, the narrative outlines key issues and offers practical ways these experiences can be improved. Using the Overloaded metaphor to convey how unloading, or sharing a load can ease the stress from overloaded parents, and improve their capacity to care for their children.