Buck and YCN Studio create an incredibly powerful animated film for Childline

Creating a piece of animation designed to deal with the horrifying realities of child abuse is a pretty tall order, particularly when it’s for ChildLine and the people you’re attempting to communicate with are all under the age of 19. How does one go about discussing these delicate issues without intimidating your target audience and creating something that’s all-too harrowing for television? Buck and YCN Studio have recently come up with an incredibly effective solution, producing a four-minute film that gently but assertively discusses the issues facing victims of sexual abuse.

The film avoids the use of any shocking imagery – the likes of which, it seems, we’ve become numb to over the years – and created an abstract animation that intersperses scenes of solitary characters going about their days while a discussion between a ChildLine counsellor and one of their charges plays out in hand-rendered type. The contents of the discussion is no less powerful for the lack of sensationalist imagery and the message presented is abundantly clear; it’s not your fault, you shouldn’t have to do anything you’re uncomfortable with and, most importantly, we’re here to help.