At LoveLove Films, we love to work on projects that encourage a positive change. So we were delighted when Dorset Coastal Forum and Safewise commissioned us to create an educational and entertaining animated film designed to instill in children an appreciation for staying safe on the coast.

Personal safety is an important part of any trip to the seaside or the coastal cliffs. The hazards are numerous and are not limited to the potential dangers presented by the sea.

Dorset Coastal Forum commissioned LoveLove Films to create an animation that would illustrate the wide range of potential issues that could arise for children and parents who either live near, or who are visiting the coast.

LoveLove set to work creating an animation that would convey 20 key objectives relating to coastal safety and began a process of story-boarding and working with focus groups of children to ascertain the most effective way to deliver the message of safety awareness.

After testing a number of ideas with the test group, it was decided that a quirky and humorous animation with accompanying music would be the most effective way to engage young children and instill the notion of being safe by the sea. With technology and online platforms being at an all time high, many people look towards finding fresh and innovative ways to capture our attention as an audience – especially when it’s regarding something as important as our safety!

LoveLove Films commissioned local composer Momo:tempo to create a quirky and fun song based on the characters and key messages from an outline we produced. LoveLove Films devised the idea of a group of seaside creatures that would get into various situations by the coast, and through visual cues along with the song, explain to the audience what they should and shouldn’t do in the event of each type of emergency.

The animated film was unveiled to key partners and schoolchildren at a launch event in June 2017. The children were tested on the safety messages and the song really did help cement the key safety messages that children need to remember when visiting the coat and seaside. The animation will be shown in coastal visitor centers around the UK, schools and numerous educational training platforms and programmes.

Coastwise Launch 27.06.17                                                                           (Photo: Cerrie Simpson)

Through the use of brightly coloured, memorable characters and engaging music and lyrics, it is anticipated that through this project safety at the coast will hopefully become as integral a part of visiting the beach as a bucket and spade!

Lead animator Sunny Clarke states:

“It was really fun creating the different characters. They all have their own personalities and individuality. Creating different animations for them all was really interesting – so the lobster moves differently to the dog and the seagull is always getting into scrapes before finding a way out of trouble by following the advice of the song, we really hope the children enjoy the characters as much as we enjoyed creating them”

Rhiannon Jones from the Dorset Coast Forum said:

“We LOVE it!!! It’s sooooo good – really brilliant work. It’s so catchy and the animation is really funny. I can’t wait to get it out there.”

Visit Dorset, the official tourism site for Dorset, are helping to promote safety on the coast and they have created a dedicated CoastWise page where the film can be viewed and people can learn more about how to get the most out of their visit and stay safe. The Dorset Coast Forum coordinated the project, working with organisations including, National Trust, RLNI, Litter Free Coast and Sea, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, The Jurassic Coast Trust, Dorset Wildlife Trust, Visit Dorset and SafeWise.

We really hope you enjoy the film (available at: https://www.visit-dorset.com/coastwise)