Animation has broken out of the mould to surface as one of the most affective means of communication. The latest example is of Al Basama Al Beeiya Initiative (or UAE Ecological Footprint) that has hired the services of Aya, the Canada-based creative communications group, to develop animation to raise awareness of the UAE's ecological footprint. Aya has taken on the challenge of highlighting the concept of the ecological footprint, outlining its constituents, calling attention to its excessive size in the UAE and enumerating some of the ways in which we can reduce it - all in a short animation presentation!
The Al Basama Al Beeiya Initiative is a federal programme targeted at getting UAE residents to recognise the scarcity of natural resources and to understand the environmental implications of their lifestyles. The aim is to inspire people to reduce their individual footprint, which is currently one of the largest in the world.
"We are very excited about animation and intend to use it to help educate people about the ecological footprint concept and motivate them to live more sustainable lifestyles," said Laila Abdullatif, Ecological Footprint Co-ordinator, Emirates Wildlife Society - World Wildlife Fund for Nature (EWS-WWF).
"We're thrilled about the assignment," said Farrah Washash, Account Director, Aya. "We're passionate about the environment and we're excited about the opportunity to use innovative animation to realise the task." Emirates Business talked to Fadi Abu Ghali, Managing Partner of Aya, to discuss the scope and challenges facing the regional animation industry.
How mature is the animation industry in the region?
The industry standard for animation around the world is evolving constantly, but the UAE has done a good job of keeping up with trends and various techniques. Our job is to keep coming up with fresh ideas to inspire the industry and individuals by challenging existing standards and setting a new bar for creatives in the region.
Do you have the right technical support in the region that's updated as per international standards?
Similar to the medley of nationalities we find in the UAE, we have the same philosophy when it comes to our work. Whether it is regional or international, we find the right technical support by sourcing the best talent to meet our very high standards in quality.
How do you manage to keep up with the deficiency in technical support?
Should technical support be missing from this region, we have an extensive list of resources from Montréal and around the world, that we draw on.
How much faith do local or regional marketeers have in animation as a means of communication?
If marketing companies didn't have faith before, they certainly do now! Animation as a means of communication is an up and coming technique that has cross-cultural and cross-generational appeal around the world.
What, according to you, is the strength of an animation film?
Aside from the obvious ability to bring out this child-like quality in everyone, it also opens the door to boundless imagination and unlimited creativity, bridges the gap between all generations and cultures, and finally communicates a strong message in an inspirational way. In the McLuhan sense of "the medium is the message", this animation requires/elicits more audience involvement.
What's the extent of the Ecological Footprint project? How big, how many hours/minutes of filming, how much did it cost you and how much time did it take to shoot the complete campaign?
This stop-motion animation for EWS-WWF was well worth the effort, to say the least! It took more than 150 hours of set building, 300 newspapers and 200 hours of shooting for 2,500 stills. The process itself took place in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and London and needed more than 50 hours of meetings and 400 cups of coffee.
Can you elaborately explain the concept and the challenges you faced in executing this?
The primary challenge was the time limitation. In just two minutes we had to explain the complex concept of the ecological footprint, expound its implications, cite examples of its dangers and exhort UAE residents to reduce their contribution to the individual footprint. Another major challenge was to do all this in an engaging, interesting, involving and not "preachy" way. Yet another challenge was the assurance that the animation - the product of a global team - remained culturally appropriate. You could say that we had to invert the old slogan and "act globally while thinking locally".
Do you see a healthy market in the region for the animation industry?
As per the above mentioned, there is very large potential for animation in the region. Its appeal across the board speaks for itself and we certainly see a future for animation of all kinds.
By Vigyan Arya
© Emirates Business 24/7 2010
