Chapter 8: Technique || Summary & 12 Principles of Animation Video Notes
Chapter 8. Technique
Marry Style &
Story
·
Selecting the right animation technique can be
the key to expressing your big idea, can amplify the very soul of your story
and if used inventively can set your project apart from the rest
o
Successful directors debate over which
techniques they use in each project – so should you!
§
Wrong film feels like = driving with square
wheels
§
Right film feels like = gliding down the freeway
Consider Format
·
First thing to consider when choosing an
animation technique is how it will be viewed
o
Should be prepared for your masterpiece to be
viewed on different sized screens
o
Choose a technique that is legible on all
formats
o
Screens are also getting larger – billboards,
sky screens
§
Far more texture & detail is seen this way
·
Must choose the technique to suit the format you
believe it will be viewed on by most people
o
If done correctly, your work will be seen in the
way you intended: as an expression of your hard work & talent
o
If done incorrectly, risk audiences missing
important elements of your story / spotting flaws in your work
·
*NOTE* For smaller, “vector” graphics & 2D
animation with higher contrast read well. They are clean & clear &
excellent for communicating information. For extra-large formats, you can
choose from a variety of techniques, but keep in mind that your design will be
blown up exponentially. Use a lot of detail & texture to keep all that
screen space interesting.
Translate Your Story
·
Most important consideration when choosing a
technique = all about story
o
You want to find the tools that strike at your
story’s metaphoric core by staying true to the message & tone
o
Refer back to your creative brief to remind
yourself of how you want audiences to describe your project
§
EX: If you’re going for something comedic with
the feel of a parody, you want to choose a technique that’s built in irony
Animation / Motion
Graphic Techniques & Styles
·
Hand
Drawn: can be executed with a variety of materials (pencil, paint, ink,
charcoal), with styles that range from traditional to rotoscoping to more
fine-art hand-drawn approach
o
Cel animation = can achieve a clean, almost
commercial feel that works especially well for children’s entertainment
(Disney)
·
Stop
Motion: Both 2D & 3D versions – similar in technique but different
in how they’re shot
o
Both are captured with a camera – shooting
frame-by-frame while objects are moved incrementally in between the frames
o
2D stop motion = shot with a camera held over a
flat surface
§
Gives flat, handmade quality to films that is emotionally
expressive & very adaptable
§
Tends to have a lot of personality and works
well if you want the film to have a flat, handmade quality
o
3D stop motion = utilizes a tripod to shoot
incrementally moving objects on a set
§
Puppets, models, clay, found materials,
pixilation of human puppets
·
2D CGI:
Created in a flat / two-dimensional software environment
o
Clean, highly scalable, reads well for type
o
Tends to feel warmer and more innocent than 3D
·
3D CGI:
Made in a three-dimensional software environment
o
Elements = modeled, rigged, textured, puppeted
& animated in virtual space
o
No gravity and virtually no limitations
o
Can be hardest technique to master yet has some
of the greatest rewards
o
Allows you to create environments &
characters that are almost indecipherable from real life
§
Technique for special effects, video games &
many commercials
Conform or Adapt
·
Seek inspiration in what others have done well,
& decide if there is guidance you can glean from
·
First, identify the defining characteristics of
your desired technique
o
Head back to the medium you’re most comfortable
with and see if there’s a way to achieve the desired effect within your
favorite medium
o
With some luck, you’ll find a near match
Case Study: Adapt 3D
to Feel like 2D
·
“It became
a play between this extremely flat language & dimensional elements, with
the hope that the tension between the two made for compelling imagery.” –Karin
Fong on God of War III Playstation game
o
The result: animation & transitions that are
startlingly elegant & classic but also modern & immediate
o
Fong’s adaptation came about by stretching the
limits of the chosen technique to create the feel that was embodied in the
message of the title sequence
§
Shows how important it is to select the
technique that best works for your story and not the one you’re most enamored
with
§
“You need
to know what message & emotion you want to convey first. Then you make sure
the look is answering those questions. Don’t be seduced by the technique
because it can really take away from the message of your project.” –Fong
Workarounds
·
Getting a little DIY
·
Still-images, live-action footage & hiring
help = all good moves
Workaround 1:
Important Still Images
·
Most common workaround = importing still images
& work with them inside the program
o
Masking, camera panning, etc = getting a still
image “moving” in a way that almost feels like full-on animation
Workaround 2:
Shoot Live-Action Footage
·
The goal is to integrate your live action
footage into the world of animated storytelling in a seamless way
·
Live-action footage shot with a video camera =
next best alternative
o
Animating fire, lighting a match, moving clouds
Workaround 3:
Staff Up
·
If you can’t get something done by yourself,
outsource it
·
If you don’t have the money to hire someone,
favors, bartering can sometimes help
o
Once you’ve found the right talent, direct them
closely but leave room for them to be creative too
Case Study: Live
Action & Hand Drawn
·
EX: Sensory
Overload: film about a boy who struggles with autism spectrum disorder
o
The hand-drawn animation works to separate us
from the boy as an individual person, but joins us with him as a character,
& therefore is incredibly effective in creating empathy for the film’s
message
o
The splashes of watercolor are emotional &
fluid & also metaphoric & open the door for audiences to live in the
intensity of the boy’s perception
§
This story’s elegant combination of documentary
footage & drawn animation takes the audience on an unexpected journey of understanding & compassion
Case Study: 3D CGI
·
EX: Paper
City: film capturing the rise & fall of a glorious city made completely
of 3D CGI paper
o
Packed with metaphors
o
Takes advantage of 3D CGI’s unique ability to
morph reality with fantasy & gives us a front row seat to the birth &
death of a city
o
Technique & story are in perfect sync
§
Audience experiences the film for its story
first, enjoying the layered meaning while savoring every frame of elegant
animation
12 Principles of
Animation – Video
·
Squash
& Stretch
o
Emphasizes speed, momentum, weight & mass
o
The more squash & stretch, the softer the
object
o
The less squash & stretch, the stiffer the
object
§
Also good for facial expressions
§
Important to keep the volume consistent
·
Anticipation
o
When the character gives the audience a clue for
what is going to happen next
§
EX: jumping / punch in the face
o
Anticipation helps communicate actions to the
audience by preparing them for the next action
§
Can’t be any competing actions
§
Make it as easy as possible for the audience to
notice
o
Multiple levels of anticipation
§
EX: pitcher throwing a baseball
·
Staging
o
The presentation of any idea so that it is
completely and unmistakably clear
§
Can be applied to acting, timing, camera angle
& position & setting
o
Want to be in full control of where the audience
is looking
§
Far away is good for big actions
§
Close up is good for expressions
o
Main action should be in the center of the
screen or one of the thirds
o
Should be very clear & simple
o
Include pauses, one action should finish before
another starts
·
Straight
Ahead & Pose to Pose
o
Post to poste = generally better for most
actions
§
Decide where the character is going to end up
first, then fill in the rest
§
Work backwards
§
Can save a lot of work
o
Straight ahead = good for animation that is
unpredictable
§
EX: fire, water particles, dust & explosions
à physics
o
Pose to pose vocabulary
§
Keys = make first, perfect them
§
Extremes = decide how far the character will go
§
Breakdowns = decide how you want the extremes to
connect
·
Follow-through
& Overlapping Action
o
The technique of having body parts &
appendages drag behind the rest of the body & continue to move when the
body stops
o
Follow through = refers to the way parts on the
body continue to move after the body has stopped
o
Overlapping Action = describes the offset
between the timing of the body & it’s other parts
o
Drag = describes the delay of the movement of
the body parts in relation to the main body
§
Easier to add afterwards
·
Slow In
& Slow Out
o
Refers to the way pretty much all movement
starts slowly, gains speed & finishes slowly
§
Things feel mechanical without it
§
Drawings should be closer together at the end of
an action and farther apart in the middle
·
Arcs
o
Most living creatures will move in a circular
path – arc
o
Can be added to almost any figure movement
·
Secondary
Action
o
Not overlapping action
o
Gestures that support the main action to add
more dimension to the character animation
§
EX: Opposite hand knocking on a door
o
Important to not let the secondary action
dominate the primary action
·
Timing
o
The personality & nature of an animation is
greatly affected by the number of frames inserted between each main action
o
Less drawings = fast
o
More drawings = slow
o
24 drawings per second = called “drawing on 1’s”
§
Drawings made on every two frames = “drawing on
2’s”
·
More common to do 2’s because it cuts the work
in half
·
Also better for lively actions
·
Exaggeration
o
Sad = sadder
o
Bright = brighter
o
Doesn’t mean more distorted, but more convincing
§
A lot of frames your eye perceives in a short
amount of time = the less extreme frames
·
Solid
Drawing
o
Making sure forms feel like they’re in a 3D
space with:
§
Volume, weight & balance
o
Being able to draw a figure from all angles
o
Avoid symmetry – symmetrical lines look flat
§
Pair a flat straight with a curved line / two
offset curved lines so it looks more natural & dynamic
o
Avoid twinning – when the pairs of features are
doing the exact same thing
§
Do something to show it has weight and needs to
be balanced in a 3D environment
·
Appeal
o
Should be somewhat pleasing to look at
§
Villain should be likable in the sense they are
interesting to look at
§
Giving character a dynamic design can boost its
appeal
1.
Use a variety of shapes
a.
No limit to spectrum of crazy configurations a
character can have
2.
Proportions
a.
Cartoonists often magnify the things they find
interesting and shrink the things they find ugly / boring
3.
Keep it simple
a.
Pick and choose what details to keep because
you’re going to be drawing them hundreds of times
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