Plot for SECOND Idea!

Raindrop falls onto Fern...................Camera follows drop

Fern releases spores...................Camera follows 1 spore

A further fern releases another spore..............Camera follows both spores

Both spores fall to the ground next to each other................Camera still on both spores

Both spores grow into mature gametophytes..........Camera pans up as gametophytes grow

Rain drop falls onto male gametophyte carrying sperm.........Camera zooms in on raindrop (with sperm inside the raindrop)

Rain drop (with sperm) falls onto female gametophyte fertilising the egg...........Camera follows raindrop

Story structure

I wanted the camera to follow the action in this animation (similar to how the camera follows the Kite in Dan's Kite 2D animation). The animation begins with a raindrop falling onto a leaf. The pressure from the raindrop causes the leaf to move downwards. The raindrop falls to the ground. The camera follows the spores as they disperse from the underside of the fern, and fall to the ground. The spore grows into a gametophyte. Another raindrop falls and hits the gametophyte this time carrying sperm with it. It then falls to the ground and fertilises an archegonia.

Fern in environment

I've created this drawing of the colours and area that I would like me Fern to be in.

Life Cycle of a Fern and research

I have decided on doing the life cycle of a fern. As I looked over each life cycle, I attempted to envisage my animation coming together in each cycle. 'The Life of a Fern' and 'The Life of a Slime Mold' were the two where I could not only picture it coming together in 3D, but I could also see it coming together in an aesthetically pleasing manner. As these visions were only based on the .pdf's given by Dr. Klappa, I further looked into each life cycle. I found more revealing and clear explanations aswell as images for the life cycle of a fern, this finalised my decision and I will now begin with sketches of my visuals before moving onto a storyboard.

Having looked at the Life cycle of a fern, I am edging towards creating the part of the life cycle from the dispersal of the spores to the release of sperm from the male gametophyte.

I would also like to aim my animation at undergraduate students. I believe doing this will provide me with an opportunity to create more complex visuals such as increasing the speed of movement in some objects and onscreen activity aswell as using a variety of camera angles without compromising the effectiveness of the communication.






This video, despite its less serious delivery, provided me with a basic knowledge of the overall life cycle of a fern. This actually is a good example of how certain methods of delivery can benefit a number of audiences, however, I do believe using this particular method of delivery would prove difficult in elaborating on certain parts of the life cycle.