Screenshot and demonstrate on blog, two examples each of Exaggeration, Staging, Appeal, Solid Drawing

                                                                     

                                                                       Exaggeration                                                                            

                                                                                                                                                                   

                         

These two examples of exaggeration are very good as they help to convey the story even though there is no dialogue. The first one is of the wedding scene and shows the bride leap on the groom with quite a lot of force. Although we don't really see her face, it is clear that she can't wait to kiss him and so aims straight for him, something which is further added to by the shock on the groom's face. The second clip is when the man is trying to get his balloon cart to stop flying away. He jumps upwards and slams down in an exaggerated arc which shows a very cartoonish style.  



                                                                   Solid Drawing                                                                              

These two examples of Solid Drawing are impressive as they convey weight, volume, depth and realism as the character's inhabit the three dimensional space. Certain areas on the character's such as their clothing and cuffs show depth. In the first image, the position of the layers clearly shows solid drawing as there is the background, with the trees and scenery, the middle where the characters are inhabiting space and the foreground that is the car. It wraps around the characters and adds more realism to the space. This is clear in the second image as well as the characters appear pronounced from the scene and contain a 3D effect with form and depth. 

Appeal

These two screenshots from the young and old ages of the couple are important in conveying appeal as they allow the characters to become empathetic. The viewer can look at these images and see the emotion in the character's faces as well as understand their feelings. The first is of pain, sorrow and despair as the woman is about to die where as this is greatly contrasted in the second image where the viewer can see the warmth and happiness. The colours in the scenes also contrast each other as the gloomy colours match the happy bright ones.    

                                                                             Staging

Finally here are two examples of staging. Firstly the lighting helps to highlight the mood much like in the previous principle. Aside from this thought there are other elements that show the story. In the first screenshot, the man has clearly broken his leg. This is down to the staging and how the leg is the centre of the shot. It is made clearly visible too by the contrast in clothing between the pyjamas and the bandage. The bed is visible as is the woman's face which seems to say, "Trust you to do this kind of thing." The man laughs this off but the point is clear. The second image is dark bar the light in the middle, which immediately draws the viewer's eye. The position of the woman's head and the attempt of the man to comfort her all add to a sense of loss. The other man is wearing clothing that helps to symbolise a doctor and the poster on the wall makes it clear that it is a place related to babies and pregnancy such as a hospital. Even though there is no audio it is clear from the staging that the woman has lost the baby due to complications. This is the power of staging.

These four principles are very important in conveying a story and adding to the power of a an animation.


Here are some more examples from other films besides Up....


                                                                            Staging

This image from the stampede scene in the Lion King is a good example of staging because it highlights that Simba is alone as he runs from the towering herd that is heading towards him. The way he is aligned in relation to everything else help show the story without seeing the film.  

Image link (The Lion King is the property of Walt Disney productions):  http://www.manic-expression.com/a-look-at-disney-goes-to-pride-rock-the-lion-king/

Appeal

Walt Disney gave each dwarf a name and personalitity which helped their characterisation and their interactions with Snow White and each other.

Image link (Snow White is the property of Walt Disney productions 1937) (Photo found on this page): http://imagesdisney.com/snow-white.html

Exaggeration

The way that the dog has his arms in the air and his face in an overly shocked position helps to show the idea that the dog is fearful of the gun pointed at him. The audience is clearly shown this through the dog's exaggeration.

Image link (found on this website) (Image property of Warner Brothers) : http://imgarcade.com/1/exaggeration-animation/

Solid Drawing

This drawing of Homer Simpson helps to highlight that Solid Drawing adds to his character's dynamic through weight, volume and depth adding a more believable and three dimensional effect.

Image link (The Simpsons are the property of Matt Groening): http://mnmtanimation.weebly.com/solid-drawing.html

Staging in this video

http://onanimation.com/2014/09/03/what-is-composition/

The elements of this video that relate to staging are very interesting and can definitely be used to help promote an idea in a story and help get across an animation point that would otherwise cause confusion in the viewer. The first obvious example is that of the camera angles mentioned in the video and the progression to more complex shots. This is something that is important in staging as long shots and close ups can deal with different events and moods etc. These can vary from close facial expressions to long shots featuring action and movement. It is always best to centre a character to the middle of the screen and not to have an overcrowded and confusing shot. The way that the camera is used can affect this.

The way that a character moves can help to direct the eye and explain or convey an action or emotion to the viewer. This video talks about how compositional styles and elements can add to catching the viewer's eye. A good example of this is when the woman opens the door at 4:14. This is a powerful example of staging. This states that the shape of the picture matters with the example of small vs wide screens. The screen is the canvas is also true for animation. Positioning of objects in a space is of importance. Shape and balance within a scene. This also relates to animation. Size and perspective of these objects is important too such as the example of the lone man walking in the desert. A story is conveyed without dialogue or prier viewing. This is true for depth, weight and symmetry too which can all raise characterisation. From a three dimensional view on cinema and special effects/ animation colour and light and darkness can all also affect a mood or atmosphere as well as tell us a story. "Where should the viewer look, what should they feel?" Animation can convey the same as cinema. They both work in a space to convey a story. How character's interact can also be looked at from staging. What is the important story point. 

Even subtle things in the background can catch the eye of a viewer and tell a story even if there is no clear explanation given as to the story using dialogue and other less subtle forms of animation. This video helps to bridge the gap between animation and cinema, two things that share so much with one another in terms of viewer interaction.         

Good example of pose to pose

This animated short "Broken" looks at the relationship between an anthropomorphic rock, paper and scissors. It is a good example of pose to pose animation as it appears to have been created using essential keyframes with inbetweens having been added later. The fight scene seems quite complex and so would have needed to be planned out in advance of the animation in order to get the best sense of dynamic movement and weighting in the characters. The movements are also very fluid, especially in that of the Paper character which would have possibly not been as effective had straight ahead action been used. This is also evident for the other characters and the way that they move. The Rock character is animated almost like an ape in the way it moves. The arcs that it's arm make as it moves helps to convey the weight that it is carrying. This is a nice contrast with the scissors character movement. The movement of the camera is an issue that I have. The panoramic and zoomed functions of the animation are interesting and powerful at conveying a message but there are various instances of cameras switching too quickly which takes away the enthralling nature that an animation should have. This creates a disorganised movement which in a way breaks up the animation quality. Other than this though, it is a powerful story with a clear and successful emotional impact with the viewer. The key movements would have taken a much longer time and may have been slightly jerky had this been animated using a straight ahead method. As a whole though, the animation does work well with anticipation, powerful staging and movement which helps to progress the story. The principles of animation that are present here do add to the overall cartoon and the scenes do not feel crowded. The squash and stretch on the character's faces also help to add to the characterisation. I enjoyed this animation and analysing it as a form of pose to pose and overall I found that this short was a good example of it.      


I DO NOT OWN THE RIGHTS TO THIS VIDEO

Straight Ahead Action and Pose to Pose

This is a jump using a rig created by the lecturer. Using two methods of keyframing, straight ahead action and pose to pose, I created two very similar animations but looked at two methods of animating. The first one, Straight ahead action, involved setting keyframes on every frame. This was not practical for the animation that I was trying to do as it took far too long to animate. The animation in general looks quite good. The anticipation of the jump is believable and when this transitions into the jump, the speed and angle all relate well back to the original build up. This is a definite progression and development on the jump that was used in my arc animation. There is a much stronger feeling of weight and characterisation. This is also present in the second animation, pose to pose. When creating the pose to pose animation, I looked at keyframing only the necessary movements and let maya fill in the inbetweens in order to get a better flow of movement. This worked as there is more fluidity in this than in the straight ahead action animation. Looking at the two animations side by side, they are very similar with only a few subtle differences. If I was to choose which one was my favourite as a method, it would be pose to pose due to it being less time consuming but I can see the benefits of both methods when it comes to timing and certain movements. In a way straight ahead seems to provide a more creative view on the animation, allowing ideas to be created as the drawings progress. Pose to pose seems to provide a better sense of animation movement and pose actions as more thought has gone into the more important positions with the inbetweens being filled in later in the animating process. Looking at both methods was an interesting process but it was difficult to do straight ahead as it was newer to me. Regardless of this, further development of the two methods will stand to me in the final project.


THIS ANIMATION USES A RIG CREATED BY JASON THEAKER AND REFERENCES ANIMATIONS ALREADY CREATED BY HIM AS PART OF A LEARNING EXPERIENCE. I DO NOT OWN OR CLAIM TO OWN IT'S CHARACTERS

Arc exercise Lamp with added jump

This animation was one of my favourites so far. I liked the challenge of trying to get the smoothness of the curve as well as the rotation on the head and the characterisation in the lamp.  It was difficult to add realism and emotions to a character with no arms but it worked well. After manipulating the first part of the arc using the graph editor, I decided to try and recreate the Pixar style jump that is used by the lamp in the Pixar film opening credits. The anticipation of the action that is built up during the rotation helps to add to the story and the other little subtleties such as the slight movement on the antenna also work towards an effective animation. There is a sense of slow in and slow out as the head rotates and impacts with the ball and I am impressed with the way I managed to successfully get the body to come back on itself, although this was also only possible due to the rig.

The jump was very difficult and took many hours to do. The build up before the release was something that I looked at as I tried to incorporate a crouch before the elongated body frames after the lamp left the ground. Another subtlety is present in the curve of the base as it comes through the jump and lands with a squash feeling at the other side. This adds weight and power to the motion of the character and deals with the illusion of a stronger impact when it hits the ground The arc is interesting to look at, hence why I did a playblast from different angles and one where there is a clear arc visible with a comparison. The arc on the first half with the ball works effectively and it seems to be well timed. The jump, however has an issue in that the end half needs to be smoother and more curved. The arc seems to straighten and become more linear taking power from the jump when the jump itself would have easily built up more power from the prior release.

Overall though, this has been one of my most successful and favourite animations so far as I enjoyed working with this character and trying to manipulate the realism that is difficult to present in a limbless character. In the future I hope to use these skills to my advantage in creating better and more well constructed animations.    


THIS ANIMATION USES A RIG CREATED BY JASON THEAKER AND REFERENCES ANIMATIONS ALREADY CREATED BY HIM AS PART OF A LEARNING EXPERIENCE. I DO NOT OWN OR CLAIM TO OWN IT'S CHARACTERS

Ball Arc

This fairly simplistic animation looks at the basis of arcs as a principle of animation. There are only three set translation keyframes here and they are at the start, middle and end. The inbetweens add the rest of the route and then through manipulation of the graph editor, the curve was made smoother to form a better arc. The incorporation of some squash and stretch also helps to influence and add to the path making it appear clearer. This helps to highlight the texture of the ball as well as it flattens and exaggerates upwards into it's propelling motion. The rotation on the ball also works on three points which adds more implied curvature and arc form. Although this is not a very complicated animation using a rig from the lecturer, it is a good example of arcs and flowing animation and it helped with the practice of accurate timing. On reflection, there could have been a higher level of characterisation in the ball on impact as it possibly could reverberate and shake more to exaggerate it's texture before settling down into it's final shape. Overall though, this exercise has set a basis for arcs and will stand to me when I move on to the more complicated exercise involving the lamp and adding a character to it and it's animation.

THIS ANIMATION USES A RIG CREATED BY JASON THEAKER AND REFERENCES ANIMATIONS ALREADY CREATED BY HIM AS PART OF A LEARNING EXPERIENCE. I DO NOT OWN OR CLAIM TO OWN IT'S CHARACTERS

Thought of you analysis

"Thought of you" is a beautiful animation with a very unique style and appeal to it. The Sepia tone adds a tone to it as well as helps to better distinguish the intentionally sketchy drawings. The music also adds to the emotion of the animation and helps to get the point of the story across.

I do not own this video.

The animation starts off slowly as the character wakes up and comes to terms with his surroundings as he seems to be realising that he is still in a part of his life that he can't get through. He proceeds to dance alone, his movements being both beautiful and interpretive of a sad mood which then reflects on the viewer. This intended sadness pulls at the hearts of the viewer and draws them into a world of powerful despair. The introduction of the female dancer only enhances this and the drawing style that shows the two of them in different tones highlights some form on separation between them. This is reversed quite noticeably at the end of the short as we see that the feeling that the character's have are mutual. This could be a breakup or a death in which the two have been separated.

The flow of the arms is almost rubbery but this works as the addition of the arcs that have been drawn in create a flow of movement in the dance that adds realism and a better understanding of the story. This animation is clearly a series of rotoscoped drawings that have been made of two dancers but that works well as there is a feeling of emotion and a somewhat sensual flow to the piece. The crucial arcs are varied in their speed but all have excellent timing. The male dances quite slowly with slow and sadness on his own and faster and livelier when with the woman. This shows through in the arcs of the body. There is a clearly visible bond when the two dance together that shows something special and makes the viewer empathise with the characters. I was enthralled by the movement but also saddened and intrigued by the silent characterisation. The movements and the arcs alone told the story and there was no need for dialogue or facial expressions.

This animation tries to connect with the viewer on a deeper level.through it's vivid, unique imagery and it's smooth flowing, well timed arcs. These important elements combined together are what help to create such an enthralling and emotionally beautiful piece of animation that has not surprisingly won many awards.      

Arcs in animals: Dog walk

Slow motion animation reference video that I found on Youtube. It looks at the body mechanics of a dog as it walks. The movement of the legs have definite arcs and add realism if it was reproduced in animation. The curves as the paws turn show the movement distinctly with a notable feature being that the spine compacts slightly as the dog moves. follow through and overlapping action are also present on a few of the frames as the tail moves to reflect the dog's previous motions. The paws work in pairs and rotate accordingly as they circle around each other in an oval shaped pattern as visible near the end of the video.

I do not own this video.

Video on the importance of Arcs

They give more realism and a better, more natural flow to the animation. I plan to incorporate arcs into my animations and try to add smooth curves for realism and better movement in the arc exercises. This video works because it explains the importance of arcs and how all living things use them in motion. Most things have arcs. The only exception appears to be in mechanical objects as they have a more static and rigid movement. This video shows the arcs as the character moves and this highlights clearly how the rotations and curves work with one another to create a realistic and believable movement in animation.

I do not own this video.

Dog Tail: Secondary Action

This animation that looks at secondary action is a nice study into the principle because of how the tail and the ears move at the same time as the rest of the body. I also tried to incorporate overlapping action into the animation so the tail moved in the direction of the dog's body as it rushed around at the end. This worked with varying levels of success. The lead up and the dog's entrance work well but there is a timing issue near the end of the animation as when the dog chases the ball it feels rushed slightly which could have an affect on the viewer's interpretation of the story. 

The ball was added as a story element so that I could further the character's emotion through the movement of the ears and tail. It is amazing how these slight movements can add major characterization. The bend in the tail as a secondary action makes it clear in understanding the thoughts of the character without detracting from the overall action of the story. These subtle elements really progress an animation but there are still some issues regarding the movement in this. Manipulation of the graph editor did rectify some of this but as this is a learning experience, I will take as much from this as I can and build on it in my future animations.        

THIS ANIMATION USES A RIG CREATED BY JASON THEAKER AND REFERENCES ANIMATIONS ALREADY CREATED BY HIM AS PART OF A LEARNING EXPERIENCE. I DO NOT OWN OR CLAIM TO OWN IT'S CHARACTERS

Dinner analysis

Birdbox have created some very interesting animated shorts, "Dinner" is one of them and it tells the story of a dog trying to eat it's dinner. 

The dog has the primary motivation of food and so this transfers through into excitement which the dog emits through it's hyperactive running. This primary action at the start of the video is enough to call this the primary action although as the video progresses, the primary action changes to that of the dog trying to get the dish out from under the desk. The clear secondary action is the wagging of the dog's tail. This is a secondary action due to how it adds to the characterisation of the dog without having any major impact on the story. It is a subtle movement that may be overlooked by the viewer but presents a sense of appeal in a more subliminal form. 

The main action of the plot does change as I stated earlier but continues with other actions such as the movement of the paws in order to receive the toy. These would be part of the story and so, would become the primary action. The motion of the ears and tail would continue to be secondary. It could be argued that primary and secondary action has a fine line of differentiation. When the dog is running and eating, could one of the two be considered a secondary action? Possibly the running would become secondary as the viewer would focus on the eating and the story involving the movement of the bowl. 

The secondary action has a subtle way of showing the emotions of the dog and this impacts hugely on our empathy towards the character. If we feel the realism of a character, no matter what the look or animation style then surely this will add to the effectiveness of the overall animation. Overall, there may be some debatable factors in the animation surrounding certain elements and their classification with regards to which principle they fall under but some are more obvious than others and they definitely add to the appeal of the animation and its story. 

Secondary Action Squirrel Ball

The first of two exercises that deal with secondary action, this animation looks at the balls movement coupled with the subtle characterization of the tail as it bends and deforms. The timing works well as when the ball propels itself upwards, it braces itself with a nice element of squash and stretch before the following jump. The timing works when it lands two as the deformation on the texture of the ball leads to an illusion of impact.

The tail is secondary action, a principle of animation that is meant to be a subtle movement that doesn't detract from the overall story. In a sense, this is true as the story is the ball landing on the platform but in another sense, the tail does draw the eye away from the ball due to it's flowing and far more excessive movement. The tail almost acts like an arm as well as it  braces for impact by curling upwards as the ball becomes level with the platform. When the ball lands, the tail lowers itself and curls downwards again in order to settle back into it's original position. A fairly good height is reached on the ball and tail that makes the weight and jump more believable.

The tail adds characterization to the ball and definitely works in favour of the animation, giving it context and personality. Much like the second exercise the appendage adds to the emotion and feelings of the character and in a way personifies the inanimate object. One thing that doesn't work about this animation is the way that the tail twists at the end, making it appear broken. This could work in favour of the animation but I think that it ruins the end slightly and takes the viewer out of the mood. This issue could be resolved with better manipulation of the various joints in the tail and taking note of the rotation values in order to make the end and start tails the same.

Finally, this was a successful animation as the secondary action is clear and due to the progressing knowledge of the graph editor, well timed and believable. This principle will definitely come in handy when it comes to the final animation project of the semester. 

THIS ANIMATION USES A RIG CREATED BY JASON THEAKER AND REFERENCES ANIMATIONS ALREADY CREATED BY HIM AS PART OF A LEARNING EXPERIENCE. I DO NOT OWN OR CLAIM TO OWN IT'S CHARACTERS 

Cape Ball: Follow Through and Overlapping action

This exercise looks at Follow Through and Overlapping action and even though I completed the task, it was by far the most difficult one so far. This was due to a fairly complex rig that took a while to get used to as well as a cape that needed to mimic the ball's movement flow. The animation overall works well as the rotations and anticipation are all present. An issue that is clear is that in the first few frames before the jump, the cape moves way more than it should do. This was rectified to an extent but still is an error that manipulation of the graph editor didn't entirely solve. I like the way that the board reverberates as the ball jumps upwards. The roll at the end seems to work well as well due to the slowing down of the motion. One other issue that is clear is that the ball pauses for a frame just after it leaves the board but this is only slightly noticeable compared to the rapidly moving cape that seems to jerk and cause an illusion that the arc is off centre.

All in all, this exercise has been a learning experience and these mistakes will be taken into account and learned from for future reference.    

THIS ANIMATION USES A RIG CREATED BY JASON THEAKER AND REFERENCES ANIMATIONS ALREADY CREATED BY HIM AS PART OF A LEARNING EXPERIENCE. I DO NOT OWN OR CLAIM TO OWN IT'S CHARACTERS