Purple Parasol Animation

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Creative Director of Blue Caribou Productions

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Blue Caribou Productions is an award winning creative studio based in Manchester, creating content for commercial, events and corporate.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Purple Parasol Animation to accomplish?

• To create an informative animation to promote the Resettlement Project
• Anonymity was key, so to bring out personality through the style and transition
• To have the correct tone to engage with young people in the prison system

SOLUTION

How did you find Purple Parasol Animation?

• Referral
• We have worked with them before

Why did you select Purple Parasol Animation over others?

• High ratings
• Close to my geographic location
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Purple Parasol Animation were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Your Rights Your Journey: Resettlement pilot is a project that will offer seamless pre and post release support for young people returning to Greater Manchester. The pilot seeks to resolve the problem of reoffending rates amongst young people, it aims to provide a nurturing and supportive resettlement, one in which young people can thrive. 

Based on the brief, the aim of the video was to create a 'pre welcome' animated video, to promote the service and educate new members about the support the programme offers. It needed be warm, inclusive, supportive, and inspiring for both young people and for professionals to discuss with them. The animation needed to be bright, detailed and set to a voiceover that was recorded by volunteers who require complete anonymity. 

The video was complex in style and transitions, the story showed a young person feeling unsure about what they want to do next, before being aided in developing their own plan moving forwards, enabling them to have a clear goal and a support system in place. Final deliverables were 1 x 60 second animated video, as well as 3 x character resolution images

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Throughout the process we all worked to implement changes into the video to promote inclusivity, and the animation resulted in overwhelmingly positive feedback across the board with the client. The client was able to not only use the animation for their programme, but they also used the character models and assets to create leaflets, branding and other marketing collateral for additional marketing. Meaning that the content became multipurpose and also evergreen.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Purple Parasol were fantastic with their management in this project as they communicated their needs clearly and effectively. From the start of the project we were told a schedule for how the process would go, and we could therefore keep our client informed about all stages and invite their comments. We were given clear timelines and progress updates by the team as we moved through the project, and they delivered updates on time after receiving feedback.

Because of this the client was able to review and sign off on all large stages of the animation, having a say in the final designs, assets, music, narrative, and storyboards. When our client came to us for amends and a change to some assets in the animation to ensure more inclusivity, Purple Parasol were quick to create new designs and to implement these updates once approval was given. Despite these updates and extra requirements, Purple Parasol still managed to deliver the animation to us timely and within our set deadlines.

What was your primary form of communication with Purple Parasol Animation?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Purple Parasol Animation's friendly and professional manner made them accessible and impressive to work with, and their attention to detail means that they can really bring life to animation through a variety of styles and techniques. Their animatics and storyboarding are great as they enable you to see what the final output will look like before you sign off, clearly indicating exactly what you will see in the animation.

Are there any areas for improvement or something  Purple Parasol Animation could have done differently?

Nothing, they handled the challenges and tight deadlines very impressively.