Introduction
What is the most engaging way of
communicating with children, and their parents, about difficult emotional
topics? The aim of this proposal is to outline how producers of
children’s television do that and how their research and practices will impact
the production of my third year animation project. Over the course of the
year, a short segment of an animated program that deals with anger management
and conflict resolution will be produced. The show follows a little girl
as she explores her feelings; with the help of an armadillo and assorted other
animals in her imagination, she considers the right, fair and workable solution
to the dilemma of the day. They hang out in a warehouse full of junk, a
metaphor for a mind full of lots of ideas. Each of the animal characters
deals with emotions in a way that makes sense to their species and relates to
how humans process stress.
There is a strong case in New Zealand
for emotional intelligence education starting with school-age children.
According to the Campaign for Action on Family Violence, from 2009 to
2012 an average of 32 men, women, and children were killed each year as a
result of family violence; about half of homicides in NZ are committed by an
offender who is identified as family. After analysing their “It’s Not OK
campaign in 2014, they also observed that there was a gap in how children and
non-English speaking minorities were being engaged. This animated
program seeks to address that gap in public engagement by creating a way of
talking about emotions and human interactions during conflict in a fun and
involving manner. It is
hoped that children who learn how to name and express their emotions in
positive, non-violent ways will grow up to be adults who do the same.
Literature
and contextual situating
While segments of the public may see it
as "juvenile fluff", many children's television producers think about
their viewers needs as humans and seek to meet those needs in ways that keep
them returning for more. The American television program Sesame Street has had great success teaching
reading, writing, and arithmetic and has expanded it’s mission by bringing
character lessons to children. They have created a series called Little Children, Big Challenges
to address difficult topics in a family and age-appropriate way that parents
and guardians can watch and discuss with their kids. Topics such as
divorce, incarceration, and resilience when being apart from a loved one (even
just for the school day) are addressed during each episode. Their favourite
muppet characters, Elmo and the fairy Abby Cadabby star in these videos and
share how these topics affect their lives in an understandable way. (Bennett,
2012)
Historically, children’s TV has
considered difficult topics of national importance. At the height of the
Civil Rights movement in the USA in 1969, Fred Rogers used his show Mr. Roger's Neighborhood to directly address pre-school-age
audiences about finding common ground with someone of a different race.
He and the African-American actor who played Officer Clemmons, the Neighborhood's policeman, soaked their feet in a cool
pond together on a hot day. At the end of the segment, Mr. Rogers dried
Officer Clemmons feet with a towel; it was a gentle act of service in a time of
social unrest and simply demonstrated care for another in a way child could
understand. Rogers explained the show’s mission thusly: "The show
was a platform to give a voice to children: their hopes, fears, pain, joy.
Every question- big or small- was worthy of respect; every feeling- good
or bad- was viewed without judgment." (Bernstein,
2016)
Creating television that treats it’s viewers feelings with respect is of
concern in Europe as well as the States. The International Central
Institute for Youth and Educational Television- Germany produced a report for
children’s TV producers on portraying feelings on screen. They praised TV
for its ability to help the viewer come to terms with their own emotional
experiences and to promote self-healing. The lack of anger, a normal
everyday emotion, in programming was mentioned with regret as the report noted
that dealing with that feeling openly and honestly could promote pro-social
attitudes. "There is a great responsibility for promoting emotional
competence by telling stories that help children become aware of their and
others' feelings." (Gotz,
2014)
Closer to home, New Zealand children’s
television producers use humour to make an engaging and educational
product. Simon McKinney, the voice of
"Frank" the Fantail on New Zealand's The Moe Show said that they receive feedback from
adults who watch with their children or on their own and enjoy the
humour. We do "that Pixar thing
... we make the adults laugh too. We know that if there are kids present,
chances are the adults are there too. We might as well entertain them as
well." (Schulz, 2016)
Methodology
Engaging shows consist of interesting
characters, good scripts and songs and thoughtful use of the 11-minute length of
children’s television episodes to bring the message across to viewers. My
third year project contains characters that are formed from the junk in the
Imagination Warehouse, the setting of each episode. The possum is made
from pasta and "eats" herself when she is upset and the beanbag
armadillo rolls into a ball for protection. The puffer fish is made from yarn
and knitting needles and is hard to get close to, the rabbit is made from
computer cables and runs away and plugs into technology, and the tuatara, who
snaps and charms to get her way, is armoured on the outside but soft inside.
As a student of animation and a professional puppet and mascot maker, my
project will bring those disciplines together to bring this world to
life. These characters have unusual materials and silhouettes and will be
developed and tested in 2D and 3D animation packages as well as a experimenting
with a puppetry component to discover the most visually arresting look.
The characters have all gone from painted to collaged’ 2D versions and the
armadillo has also been sculpted in Maya 3D and Zbrush software with the
intention of realising it in foam and fur as a walk-around mascot. Test shots
of puppeteers with stand-in puppets will be filmed with the mascot and combined
with animated sets and characters in post-production.
A series of script drafts will be
written and storyboarded before creating an animatic to experiment with putting
these characters into action. The episode will be produced for
broadcasting on free-to-air television as well as streaming
devices. As popular as internet shows have become, in New Zealand
there is still a demand for the networks to provide children’s
programming. Parents were recently disappointed by MediaWork's decision
to replace it's kid friendly line-up on Four with US-produced adult reality TV
shows. Many parents pointed out that not everyone had the data available
to them to stream kids' show or wanted to for the short amount of time their
children might have to watch television before school. (Ward, 2016)
Show development- character and
set design and construction, scripting and storyboarding, and mascot
construction will take place in May, June, and July while animation and filming
will be in August, September and October. A blog, already in progress,
will hold collected documentation and will be commented on and analysed for
project strengths and weaknesses.
Ethical and cultural considerations
A segment of the finished script involves interviewing school -ge children and
filming their reactions to the character’s problem. Getting children’s
participation will require parental consent forms and a vetting of the script
by educational professionals. The intention of the filmed segment and a
copy of the script will be made available to the parents of the children so
they understand the context in which their children may appear. However,
it is by no means certain that this segment will be included in the half of the
episode that will be produced for the third year project. Should it be
selected for inclusion, underage subjects will be treated and protected by
SIT’s ethical guidelines.
Conclusion
There is a struggle between parents, community,
and the academic system put in place by the state as to who is responsible for
teaching moral values. Children’s programming can provide a valuable
starting point for discussions between parent and child, child and child, and
community and child. The research that is undertaken in support of this
project will support the development of a children’s TV show on anger
management and conflict resolution that entertains and educates the youth of
the nation.
References
Bennett, J. (2012,
December 10). D is for Divorce: Sesame Street Tackles Another Touchy Topic. Time.
Retrieved from
http://healthland.time.com/2012/12/10/d-is-for-divorce-sesame-street-tackles-another-touchy-topic/
Bernstein, A. (2016,
August 31). Where the Spirit of Mister Rogers Endures. The Atlantic.
Retrieved from
https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2016/08/the-spirit-of-mister-rogers-endures-in-the-modern-advice-column/497792/
Gotz, D. M. (2014). Emotions
in Children's TV: A Few Reminder for Children's TV Producers on Feelings. Germany:
International Central Institute for Youth and Educational Television, Germany.
Retrieved from
http://www.br-online.de/jugend/izi/english/publication/Reminder_Emotions_in_Childrens-s_TV.pdf
Schulz, C. (2016,
December 20). The Moe Show: The Kiwi show for kids that adults are falling in
love with. NZ Herald, p. 1. Retrieved from
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=11769554
Ward, R. (2016, July 5).
Outrage as kids' shows vanish. NZ Herald, p. 1. Retrieved from
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11668634
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