“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” -Maya Angelou.
The above quote is a very accurate summary of our efforts to create road safety awareness online.
It is important to keep learning, developing and sharing information on a variety of road safety platforms and through many different technologies.
The Arrive Alive website has partnered with Lunanim Ltd., an award-winning Mauritius-based animation & multimedia studio to create and produce educational content.
But why use Animations and how effective can this be to reach our target audience? We decided to share some insights through a Q&A with Raakesh Rajiah from Lunanim Ltd.:
1. Why is Animation such a powerful educational tool?
Animation & motion graphics can do what live action cannot. It is more educative, visually effective and entertaining. Even the most serious subject can be put across in a humorous and simplified manner. An animation is no longer an entertaining medium targeted at children but is also widely used for adult sensitization campaigns. In addition, there are no cultural or language barriers in comparison to live video. The cherry on the cake: When animation is used in conjunction with social media platforms, it accelerates public engagement and hence boosts up the visibility of the content.
2. Has the technological development and wide variety of social media platforms opened the door to more opportunities for animators?
Undoubtedly! The figures speak for themselves! According to a report from Cisco, by 2019, 80% of global Internet consumption will be video content. There are over 2.9 billion smartphones currently use in the World. According to the new 2018 Global Digital report published by Hootsuite, over half of the world’s population is now online (https://wearesocial.com/uk/blog/2018/01/global-digital-report-2018 ). Another report published by Price Waterhouse (PWC) in 2017 reveals that smartphones will account for over 39% of internet traffic data by 2021.
In Africa, with the arrival of undersea optical fibre, the availability of high speed/broadband internet has fueled social media consumption over the years. In South Africa, there are almost 16m Facebook users (source: https://www.internetworldstats.com/africa.htm#za ) Hence, companies, organisations and governments today find a unique opportunity to reach the mass cost-effectively, as compared to traditional or printed media which are often expensive.
All media creators, in general, will, therefore, benefit from that demand as well from technological advancements in media production.
2001: One cable only
2017: Multiple undersea cables
3. What are the main challenges in compiling an informative animation?
An animation is closely related to how the human brain processes visual information, the key sensitization messages that need to be passed to the target audience, current social behaviours and local legal implications.
The main challenges we face is to create a visually engaging story that integrates all of the above factors but remains true to the reality of the community today. The visual and story narration not only has to fit within a specific time duration but also needs to convey the main messages of the campaign.
Through storytelling techniques and emotions, we also try to connect with the target audience as much as we can, without distorting the reality. So we try to produce visually effective content, convey the correct message and above all, that fits within a specific budget.
4. Do you believe using animation is important in road safety education - and if so - why do you say so?
Video, animation & motion graphics are essential components of education in general and not only for road safety. We have recently created and delivered successful animated video campaigns on the topics such as climate change, environment, health & safety, productivity, etc.. Most of these content has been viewed online and shared thousands of times in just a few days after the initial campaign launch.
In comparison, live video production is often very costly and heavily dependent on external factors such as weather, location, crew organization, equipment transport etc.
In addition to production accessibility, animation offers more technical flexibility for content personalization and even branding opportunities for the client or sponsor. Furthermore, animation can also be easily integrated with eLearning applications or online training platforms.
Therefore animation and motion graphics appeal to companies, educators as well as the public, more effectively than any other communication medium.
Animations:
Also view:
Road Safety on Twitter
Road Safety with Arrive Alive on Twitter: Why does it Matter? What have we Learned?