Nominee: Drempelprijs Commercial Practices 2020
Ela & Olivia is an animation series of two girls on a journey to find ink. Through storytelling and animation, I want to show children that drawing is a treasure that should not be lost when growing up. To keep drawing even at a later age. This theme of drawing can be found throughout the story, as Ela finds much joy in drawing. She draws on paper, on the tables and even on walls. Everything around her poses as a canvas for her to freely explore her passion.
When the imaginative and optimistic Ela finds a special pen at home she eagerly starts drawing with it. Unknowingly that it turns her drawings into reality, she is sucked into a new world through her drawing. This colourful and charming world welcomes curious Ela. However, she is not able to return back home as her pen has run out of ink. Here she meets the brave and independent Olivia. Olivia lives in this world and with her help, they embark on a journey to find the special ink. Ela and Olivia learn from each other and their friendship grows as they explore the colourful world.
Just like Ela, I also love drawing. Ela is inspired by my own personality. She is optimistic, curious and affectionate. She learns to take responsibility and develop into a girl who never loses sight of her childhood and her love for drawing.
For this animation to be more relevant for the target audience, Transmedia Storytelling is used to show Ela and Olivia as virtual influencers. Transmedia Storytelling is the use of multiple media to distribute content and broaden the experience to create value in branding. The girls share moments of their lives on the video-based social media app TikTok. They interact with children and create space for co-creation. This gives the girls the perfect opportunity to present themselves to the audience since TikTok is very popular among young children and teens. From a commercial point of view, it is important to appeal to the target audience of children between the ages 4 and 12. This creates relevance and value.
Merchandise is another way to create value with the animation. I have chosen to design scarves and these can be used in various ways to fit one’s identity, for example as a headscarf.
My graduation project is presented in the form of a pitch. All the essential elements of the animation are combined in a pitch, such as a story, the characters, the designs and the branding. This is a good way to convey the perspective of the director. To see more about the story and the characters, please visit the website.
