How we made animation to help our local Food Bank
We were delighted to have had the opportunity to create a 2D animation to spread the word about our favourite local charity, The Welcome Centre. The Welcome Centre is a food bank providing support to the most vulnerable in our community in and around Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. It’s great to be able to amplify the importance of their work. Animation gives a different perspective to encourage the public to have more empathy for individuals experiencing poverty and to show the impact of making a donation and how it helps people through difficult times in their lives.
Working in partnership
We asked Emma Greenough, Fundraising Manager to describe her experiences of working with Fettle Animation and to Fettle’s director Zane Whittingham about his processes in creating this particular animation.
Why did you choose an animation for this video and what made you choose Fettle Animation?
EMMA: We’d been looking at an alternative way of showcasing our charity for some time and had looked at various forms of media, but felt that 2D animation would be something we could use without showing real people. Our clients don’t show themselves on film for any of our media but we felt that by using animation we could bring our client stories to life in a new way. We looked at about 6 different animation companies across the UK, but chose Fettle Animation because they showed a real interest in our food bank and already knew a little of what we did and what impact we had within our community. Our charity money is rarely spent on marketing so we wanted to make sure that we spent it locally within our community and that it was well spent, making something that could really help to promote our service.
Award-winning vocalist provided voiceover for the animation
How did O’Hooley and Tidow come to be involved in the project?
EMMA: Heidi and Belinda from award-winning folk duo O’Hooley and Tidow have been supporting The Welcome Centre for as long as I can remember and they pulled out all the stops during Christmas 2020 when they did their Christmas Eve folk event raising £5,000 which was also matched by Dark Woods Coffee for The Welcome Centre. When we were looking for someone to do the voiceover, it felt like a great local match and someone with a great voice!
How the 2D Animation was made
Zane, how did you create the animation?
ZANE: Like every project, the process begins with a lot of research in our animation studio. Finding out as much as possible about The Welcome Centre as an organisation – looking at their website, photos, language and the way they present themselves visually. I found lots of photos of them and of foodbanks in general. I never copy anything directly, but I take images as inspiration which I stylise as a basis for the design. I’m trying to make the design feel familiar and bespoke to the organisation I’m animating for and give it a sense of place.
Designing characters
ZANE: I never just “make up” a character, I carefully look up people associated with the project that I’m working on. People involved in the animation normally want their identities protected, so I don’t try to make a character look like the person whose story is being told. I look for lots of visual references for facial features, clothes and hairstyles which reference people of different ages and social backgrounds so that the designs feel true to the people whose stories we are telling.
Here at Fettle Animation, we used our animation software to create simple movements to bring the still drawings to life. We usually start our animation from the final recording of the soundtrack, but on this one we recorded a guide track where we timed the animation from. In the final edit we updated this with Heidi Tidow’s voiceover and then added some music to give the final finishing touch!
We really enjoyed making this 2d animation and feel proud to be helping such a great charity!
What impact did the animation have on your organisation?
EMMA: By creating the animation with Fettle Animation, we’ve been able to showcase three of our client’s short stories and how donations have made a difference to them. One of our key messages for supporters over the last few years has been cash, not food. By this, we mean that the most efficient way to show your support to our food bank is to make a financial donation rather than donating a tin of beans or a bag of pasta. Financial support allows us to buy what we need when we need it at a discounted price and it also stops us from ending up with the mountain of pasta we currently have!
More about food banks and how and why we can continue to support them
Emma, has your work been impacted by the rise in the cost of living?
EMMA: By the end of 2021 we had already seen a significant rise in demand from the impact of Covid-19. Job losses, mental health issues on the rise, debts and then the cut to Universal Credit had pushed more and more people into poverty. However, since fuel and food prices have risen, energy costs have doubled and public transport has gone up, those who were managing before with a small buffer each month, now find themselves struggling to stay out of debt or having to cut back on meals to make ends meet. We are heading into the warmer months, which will help keep the energy costs down for a little while, but come Autumn and the talk of further increases to energy prices we’re going to be inundated by people who would not normally need our help and have nowhere else to turn.
How can people support the Welcome Centre at this challenging time?
The Welcome Centre is always in need of three things. Funds, food and volunteers. You can visit our website to make a donation, find out what food shortages we have and see what volunteering opportunities we have. But you can also do the little things like follow us on social media and keep sharing our work with those around who might need our help or want to support us.
Watch the full animated video below:
Follow The Welcome Centre on the following social channels:
Want to make an animation for your organisation?
Please contact Fettle Animation
Call us on 01484 846817