where legends roam

What makes these campaigns unique is that the target group is mostly children. Telling a story for children is a special skill. You use different language and tap into a different world of imagination. How do you immerse children in your story? The videos are short, as they are meant for the campaign. So, in a short time, we deliver a lot of information that must inspire and convince. There is a lot to consider. How can we approach this? 

storytelling

The videos must be easy to follow for children. This asks for that extra bit of storytelling. In the animated videos we tell a story in 30 seconds, following a plan that outlines the structure of the story. 

By using a structure like this, it sometimes means you need to cut or reorganize scenes to stay within the agreed time of 30 seconds. Following up on the outlines also means the story is easy to follow for a child. In the storyboard, we come up with each scene and make a simple sketch to determine the timing and test the narrative. 

Another important starting point was the music. Good music helps to suck the audience up in the story: when the music gets louder, it enhances the sense of adventure. When the music softens, it creates a mysterious atmosphere. It builds tension. For this project, it was wise to start with the music, so that we could build the scenes around it and further develop them. 

result

The result is a video aimed at promoting the zoo’s campaign. We follow the adventure of a character. In 2023, this was the arctic fox Snowy, and in 2024, it will be Dolfje Weerwolfje, children’s author Paul van Loon’s famous character. Snowy and Dolfje have different stories, but the same structure in the narrative. They encounter their environment, enter the zoo, discover many magical elements, and then return to the zoo’s entrance.