Real Time Shot Walk Through

This week is the first week in a long time that I don't have anything to do. Animation Mentor has wrapped up and my time in the program was amazing. I have grown so much in the last two years as an animator, I am so thankful for the program!

Of course I will be sending the reel out to prospective employers but as we all know in the animation industry the wait can be long so in the mean time I decided to start another shot. Must keep practicing! Must keep learning!

At the same time I was trying to find a new first animation oriented post for my new animation centered blog and thought a great idea would be to do a Real Time Demo of my shot. I will post on every stage from conception through to polish.

My disclaimer: There are many ways to skin a cat! I have my way of working which is never to be claimed as the "absolute right way" to work. Everyone has their own way of working and I have mine that I have developed over the years. It works for me, it might work for you but you will probably add your own twist to it which is recommended. Never let anyone tell you how you have to work but at the same time, never ignore advice, critique, or tip. Your working style like you work should always evolve and improve. Go out of your way to find a new way to work faster, smarter, and more efficiently.

Note: All frame references in my posts will be assuming you are working at 24 frames per second.

Here we go:

My Chosen Audio:

This clip is from Sabrina

This clip has a short musical intro which is partly why I chose it. I like the score and think it would make a great entry point to my reel (if it's good enough) where the title will appear over the first half of the music then animation will start. Really it's just for some interesting editing. Hey, I just stumbled onto another tip! Always think where you're reel is headed. I will post more on that later.

My Goal: I am anticipating that I will be busy in the next couple of weeks so I wanted to choose something simple that I can get through quickly but will have good entertainment value. I had this clip in mind for the last few months after hearing it in the movie it came from. Have you ever been watching a movie and heard a line and thought "it's perfect for animation"? Well, you should write those down! The best animations come from clips that inspire you from the outset. Not to say that you can't get good animation from a random line but knowing where you are going early on is a great thing.

My thought process when choosing audio for a shot:

Avoid Cliche' at all cost! There are quite a few audio dumps out-there with lots of movies to choose from but I avoid them like the plague. Why you ask? Because I want to be original and it's hard to be original when someone else is cutting the clips and thousands of people have access to them! It is also worthy to note that the people that contribute to the clip site might not be animators and won't be cutting your clip with animation in mind. Does the shot have at least 6-10 frames padding the front before the character speaks? Does it have enough in the back end to give you a nice settle at the end? You always need that buffer in your shot so the viewers eye has time to acclimate to changes in the shot and it's not jarring as the action starts. Don't paint yourself in the corner before you even start!

Also, don't cut clips to support your performance ideas. Try to use the long breaks between spoken lines to add interesting breathing or eye acting beats, use what you are given. In a studio you can't cut audio so might as well get used to trying to invent ways to support the audio. As well, never animate before or past your clip length. It's always distracting and degrades polish when the audio cuts out mid animation. If the clip is not long enough to support your whole animation chances are it is not going to work for other reasons too. The right clips are easy!

Another tip for avoiding cliche is to not use "iconic" lines. You don't want people watching your fantastic animation to only associate the line with Al Pacino and totally miss your performance which might not be as good as his. One thing I have started doing is trying to find a line from a supporting character or even a bit player in a film without even considering the lead actor.

Important Note: Never, ever, ever use a line from the movie Dumb and Dumber! Ever! I have heard the same lines from that movie in Animation Mentor and other reels and it's completely cliche', overused and almost never animated well. There are just so many better lines too!

I also like the line to say a little about me since prospective employers are my target audience and one feature I like to show is having a basic knowledge film history and what better way for them to get that point than hearing clips from great films. It is my opinion that any animator that wants to work should be well versed in his or her chosen medium so my pet project has been to download the AFI Top 100 list and see every movie on it. I'm almost there! Mind you there are tons of really great movies not on that list but it will at least give you a starting point and you can pick the directors and actors you like and explore in your own time. This is not to say that the latest blockbuster or cheesy movie shouldn't be used, there are some really great and entertaining lines out there but I just like to emphasis what I am interested in.

I used to wring my head when planning a shot by trying to redefine the context of the shot. It is great when you get a new idea on how to present a shot but to be honest my shots are just about trying to get the best character performance I can in the most clear presentation possible. I am not writing a movie, I am just trying to show some good acting. I think it's great if you work gets a chuckle but I think it's better when your character has life because the performance is grounded and efficient. Don't get your head all screwed up over trying to be funny because in my experience the more you try to be funny, the more unfunny you become. When you animate a character in honesty, the character becomes funny, not the line and that's where you want to be.

Timing is key! When I screen audio for a shot I listen for interesting contrasts. Timing should have at least three speeds. Victor Navone has a great post on his blog about speed and timing in animation which I have come to live by. Other things to think about are change of thought or intention in the audio, contrast of pitch and mood, and above all simplicity which will be it's own post in the future.

I have rambled on far too long so I am going to star researching and planning. See you in the next post!