LO2 - M2: SWOT Analysis

S.W.O.T analysis

Here is my SWOT analysis that I am making for my animation, 5 until. Creating a SWOT analysis will help me identify my strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats during the process of creating my animation. We learned what SWOT analysis is in unit 2.

Strengths:

In terms of strengths, my animation covers a dark topic in a way that is still suitable for younger audiences and educates them on the complexities of grief and how some people may cope with the loss of a loved one. The reason why I believe that my animation is better suited for a younger audience is because of the portrayal of loss used through a pet cat instead of a human being: although it might be considered sadder by some, I believe that with the use of a passing of a cat, children / a younger audience might be able to sympathize more than they would for a human with no development or background on the character.

Another strength in my animation is the use of noticeable representation: Although the characters are drawn in black and white, the main character, Vivian, is a black individual that is drawn in a way that is non stereotypical and inclusive for members of the audience that may also be black or a POC. In the concept art, I chose to use the real colour palette instead of black and white to establish how I visualize the characters.

Weaknesses:

In relation to my target audience, the animation's genre and style is very niche and targets a very specific and small target audience. My animation is heavily inspired by the psychological horror indie game "OMORI", that is popular among indie game and horror fans. Because my animation is heavily based on OMORI, it can be argued that my animation lacks originality and uniqueness and could be more creative other than being just inspired by OMORI.

Another flaw in my animation is that it might not be suitable for some members of my desired target audience. In general, my target audience is around 14-25 years old, ranging from young teenagers to people in their early 20s. In general, I have labeled my general target audience as a younger target audience. This is a very broad field, and considering that the genre of my animation is quite niche, I must consider narrowing my target audience down to something more appropriate.

Opportunities:

In terms of my opportunities, I have a range of hardware and software provided that I can use to my advantage when producing my animation. I have access to Adobe Animate, After Effects, Premiere Pro and other Adobe products. As well as this, I also have applications that I have experience in using on my mobile device, such as Alight Motion (which could be considered a pocket mobile version of Adobe After Effects) and Ibis Paint X (A digital illustration app with a range of brushes and effects).

As well as this, there are other opportunities for 5 Until depending on its success: such as a sequel, or sequels. Considering that 5 until is about someone coping with the loss of a loved one, I could perhaps introduce a sequel that targets another life experience that people might have to go through. Again, depending on its success, something as great as merchandise could be introduced and sold worldwide to fans, things such as plushies, posters, etc.

Another opportunity that could potentially offer bonuses for viewers of my animation is the introduction and creation of either a website or application: introducing a website or app that is based around 5 Until could benefit the target audience, as the animation strategically targets people that may be struggling mentally or having some sort of relation to the theme of the animation. The website/app could offer professional help or access to a mental health service where the person can directly contact someone qualified to talk to. Extra features could be featuring the characters, such as Vivian or the cat talking about their experiences and offer advice on how they were able to cope and manage with different things bothering them.

Threats:

Due to my animation being heavily inspired by the indie game OMORI, viewers could claim that I did not only use it as inspiration, but blatantly copied it. Although there are ways I can argue (such as the different narrative, different characters etc.), members of my target audience could argue that the art style and visual effects are a blatant copy of the visuals in OMORI due to it being so similar.