Animated Video
I created the animated video on Xtranormal (www.xtranormal.com) after establishing an account. I found it fairly easy to make the video once I decided on a topic – I wanted to keep with the forest theme. I was disappointed that I could not find animal characters in the basic Xtranormal package and chose the closest I could find. I found with this type of character that the facial expressions and arm movements are not very distinctive. I found it fun to make the video and consuming to try various effects. I struggled with cameras and had trouble controlling the shots the way I wanted to, so in the end went with the automatic camera feature. Xtranormal made it easy to add the video to Youtube and so the video is both at http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/13954952/teddy-speaks-to-litter and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncVJlLZDuOg&feature=share&list=ULncVJlLZDuOg.
If I were spending more time on it, I would try adding a second character to add a comment at the end – like “Yes, please”. I would also add titles and try starting again to control camera angle. I may use animated video in the future – a very effective way to communicate a message.