#WithSyria Campaign

It is coming up to March 15th 2016, a date marking the 5th anniversary of the bloody conflict in Syria.

This campaign animation was released in 2014 to mark the 3rd anniversary and it is sensitively beautiful. The animation brings to life the well known Banksy artwork of the girl with the balloon;

An artwork with so much conceptual meaning, the balloon could represent so many things.

In this #WithSyria animation, it could represent hope, saviour. The child runs and catches the balloon, which seems to escape the girls grasp in Banksy's (Or has she let it go ..??? its open to interpretation) In turn the girl floats into the sky, flying away from the disaster. (A bomb explodes to show the conflict.) Till the end where we see all these people with red balloons, escaping the crisis, with nowhere to go. Refugees. 

The greyscale effect, as well as re-creating that Banksy aura, also sets this morbid atmosphere, the only spots of colour being the balloons, the strong striking colour of red, symbolising love (With the heart shape) which saves them.

In post production a sketchy, spray paint effect is applied which slightly distorts the characters, reflective of how their situation is effecting them, they feel emotionally distorted and effected.

The campaign asked;

 "Will we let the people of Syria lose another year to bloodshed and suffering? Will you stand with Syria?"

2 years on, we can now say that they have and still are till this day.

Maybe for its 5 year anniversary I can give this campaign a re-birth with my own emotional animation, which has conceptual concepts like this one. 

I have taken great inspiration from this animation, it isnt graphic or blindingly emotional in any way, it is conceptual in the way it uses the balloons as motifs. It gets the point across, it makes you think. 

This is what I hope to achieve, though I know it will be hard to.