An energetic series sparking children’s imaginations

We were buzzing when BBC StoryWorks Commercial Productions and Hitachi Energy asked us to create the second season of The Journey of Electricity – a series that expands children’s understanding of energy. Connecting with people through the power of character? Right up our street! The series racked up over 2 million views in the first two weeks.

Journey of Electricity Page 41

Film 1: Electron meets Khaya

Specifically aimed at children between the ages of 8 and 17, the four films needed to be upbeat, playful and highly visual. To follow on from the first season, the client wanted a fresh take on the design whilst keeping some recognisable features.

Film 2: Electron meets Elise

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Rectangle

Film 3: Electron meets Darshan

We wanted the designs to feel contemporary and brought in elements that attached the design to the subject matter of energy, like the glowing effects. At the same time we were designing for motion, so we evolved the design with this in mind, whilst building a visually rich world.

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Film 4: Electron meets Yuta

For this huge design undertaking we used a flexible animation system, creating base characters in 3D, then embellishing them in 2D. This gives the appearance of 2D design to tie in nicely with the previous films, whilst enabling us to be very dynamic with the shots and camera moves.

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The character Electron (below) is a constant between seasons 1 and 2, teaching young people in given scenarios about how to save energy or to explain how energy works in their particular situation. So we were thrilled to be able to evolve and strengthen this character as a brand mascot for Hitachi Energy.

Sketch electron
BBC Hitachi Energy Creative Share 2 2

Working with the team at Animade was an absolute joy. Everyone was so engaged and invested in making this project a success and their creative input was phenomenal. We all worked so collaboratively, that they became an extension of our own team.

Claire Small, BBC StoryWorks Commercial Productions

Services

Script consultation, Style development, Design, 2D/3D Animation production, Render and delivery, Composition and tracking, Project / Animation leadership, Creative Direction, Production and Account management

Deliverables

Character design and animation

4 x 40" short films for digital

4 x 10" direct cutdown loops

2 x stills per episode optimised for social platforms

3 aspect ratios: Full format: 16x9, Square: 1x1, Vertical: 1080×1920

Colouring book assets

Credits

Client

Hitachi Energy

Agency

BBC StoryWorks Commercial Productions

Executive Creative Directors

Ed Barrett, Tom Judd

Executive Producer

Jen Judd

Creative Director

Ed Barrett

Art Director

Jim Billy Wheeler

Animation Director

Stewart Harvey

Head of Production

Georgie Lister-Fell

Senior Account Director

Katie Nash-Chu

Senior Producer

Flo Layer

Character design

Jim Billy Wheeler

Background design

Jim Billy Wheeler, Cat Finnie, Lalita Lupina

2D animation

Ed Barrett, Robert Duncan, Stewart Harvey, Dev Joshi, Adolfo Mendes, Tejeshwar Vasu

3D Lead

Ricard Badia

3D animation

Robert Duncan, Robert Abecasis, Ricard Badia, Dev Joshi, Pierre Plouzeau

Composition and grade

Jim Billy Wheeler

Script support

Mike Davies, Ed Barrett, Tom Judd

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