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Go Higher West Yorkshire helps students to access and prepare for Higher Education in West Yorkshire, and asked for a short animation to promote the organisation and its ethos.

The animation needed to be set in West Yorkshire, and follow several characters overcoming some of the barriers to Higher Education. The aim was for the film to be as empowering and accessible as possible - it needed to not feature any dialogue, and represent a variety of ethnicities, genders and body types.

We decided the best approach to the animation would be an illustrative style to give the film a personal, handmade aesthetic to help convey an emotive narrative.

The project began with a workshop with students - it was important to gain insight from young people during the pre-production stage, so we could ensure that the final product would be as appealing and relevant as possible. We identified the barriers they thought would hold them back from pursuing Higher Education (fear of leaving school and friends, finances, and fear that Higher Education would be too academic and similar to school), and how those barriers could be overcome.

We also talked through illustration style options, and determined that the general preference was for bright, positive colours, and ambiguous depictions of race and gender.

Following the student workshop, we devised a creative treatment and storyboards for the film, working closely with the GHWY team to ensure that the key messages were being conveyed clearly, before moving onto the final production stage.

The final animation shows the journeys of three characters overcoming the barriers to Higher Education through personal resilience and access to knowledge and support. Although barriers are an integral part of the animation, the overall tone is aspirational and empowering, and encourages viewers to research and get the information they need. Iconic West Yorkshire landmarks are featured to give the film a strong sense of place, and an emotive soundtrack is used to enhance the story.