Toy Soldiers

Big news from the team here at The White Balance studio! We recently completed a series of animations for a new CBBC and BBC HD TV show called Toy Soldiers.

Toy Soldiers is a documentary series following the highs and lows of a group of youngsters. Tackling a different subject each episode, the strand provides an insight into the lives of different children across the UK, each with a unique story to tell.
  
The White Balance produced 3 short animations plus the title sequence to the show. Using original drawings created by the children featured in the show we animated a story to each drawing - which resulted in the drawings coming to life.

Catch up on BBC iplayer here  

Toy Soldiers talks to four children from army families and finds out what it is like to have a parent away, for long stretches of time, serving a tour of duty in a war-torn country. How do they feel when they see stories on the news on an almost daily basis and what happens when the unthinkable happens and their worst fears come true?

Callum and Jade really miss their dad when he is away and keep in contact by writing letters, sometimes up to four a week. Taya cannot wait for her dad to come home in December, in time for Christmas, and details all the preparations and plans she has to celebrate his return. While Aiden reflects on how life has changed and how he copes after his father was killed in action.

The topic was quite sensitive and in some cases the drawings the children had created were very emotional. We had to really get into the mind set of the child and interpret what he/she was imagining when drawing - especially as we had to "Draw" additional content in the style of the original drawing.

"Having worked with The White Balance on my BBC series Sofa Surfers I was confident that they could handle the animations required for my next project. Toy Soldiers (BBC) was a sensitive and emotive film based around children’s real life accounts of being in an armed services family. The children created drawings of their Dad’s at work in Afghanistan. Animating these whilst maintaining the integrity of the Child’s original work was a delicate balance of technology and styles something The White Balance excel at." - John Walsh Walsh Bros

 The show was directed by the Award winning and Bafta Nominated John Walsh.

http://www.walshbros.co.uk/

Edited by Green Rock
www.greenrock.tv

Toy Soldiers will be aired;

Monday 6th December 6.15pm – CBBC Channel 
Wednesday 8th December at 5.00pm– CBBC Channel
Thursday 16^th December at 4.30pm – BBC 1 

The White Balance Case Studies

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Resort of Fire and Water

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