Character arcs and performance:
Some people were critiquing Doc Manhattan’s performance, rather than his animation. Good job!

Talking about what it takes to have a character act within his story arcs – going from happy to sad, etc..
It doesn’t happen over 1 or 2 shots (unless that’s the intent). It usually takes a lot longer to make that internal change. But the most important thing here is that each shot hooks up to the shot before and after. Not every shot is a beautiful snowflake. Some are only paths to the next and are not that important for “important acting choices”.

When working on the character performance, really listen to the audio. Sometimes you can tell certain mannerisms from the audio. Like, you might be able to hear the person say the line with a smile or in pain. Inflections are really really important to pay attention to. Also, method acting for your character performances

Don’t get married to video reference. Definitely don’t get stuck in it. Some people can’t seem to animate without it and then you end up with Polar Express. Really stiff animations with no exaggeration. Use it for a guide for natural lines of movement and motion.

Look up a local acting class and take one! There are even acting classes for animators out there (especially in LA). If you’re in LA, look up ASIFA. Check out “Inside the actor’s studio”, “Who’s line is it anyway”, etc…  Go see Muppet Up.
You have to know acting to further your animating performances. It’s not just body mechanics. You need to have better performances.

Use video reference to explore different possibilities before sketching! If you’re not sure how the dude is standing on the curb while calling the taxi, go act it out! Shoot yourself doing everything you can think of the flag the taxi. You might see things you would have never though to sketch. Oh, if you have a shot that has 4 people in it, go grab 4 friends! If you are animating a female, get a female!!! If you’re animating a fat guy, GET A FAT GUY! See the pattern? lol

In I am legend, Nicole had to animate a rat. So they all piled in her car and cruised down to a pet store and filmed a rat. Borrowed a rat even and filmed it for a while to get the reference.

**bathroom break**

You can cheat cuts. When characters are acting from scene to scene, it is possible to cut into movements. Like, if a character had a hand that was moving down toward out-of-frame in one shot, the next could have the hand gone. It’s fine as long as the audience can’t tell.
Gotta make sure it’s NEVER noticed.

This week: Make sure your hookups WORK. Start facial animation.

Jaw movement is not only rotation but rotation and translation.

If the audio is not lining up, change the audio offset rather than offsetting all your keys.

Eye darts – in a straight look at another character, eyes dart across the face at different intervals.

Eye shapes – Always bigger in the direction looking. Even close the opposing eye ever so slightly.

To help with the dialogue, type out the text in Maya. Hide the text until the word is said. Like Karaoke.

http://2danimationacademy.blogspot.com/2008/04/ken-duncan-jane-rough-animation-from.html

http://www.cartoonthrills.org/blog/Moderncartoons/Disney/Janecleanclipsml.mov

can we record our own?

where do you get clips?

dirt in dialogue – pauses and hesitations.

no famous clips that instantly identify the source

idea – batman interrogation

http://nickytwoshots.blogspot.com/2007/07/some-face-stuff.html

http://johnkstuff.blogspot.com/

http://www.cartoonbrew.com/

http://characterdesign.blogspot.com/

http://www.aintitcool.com/

http://john-nevarez.blogspot.com/

http://www.theastonishfactory.blogspot.com/

http://www.kunkelshazam.blogspot.com/

http://www.michaelspornanimation.com/splog

http://carlosbaena.com/index.html

http://www.sabudesign.com/cattywampus/?cat=22

http://handdrawnnomadzone.blogspot.com/

http://www.leifjeffers.com/ramblings/2006/06/hands.html

http://www.leifjeffers.com/ramblings/2006/08/more-hands.html

acetate

Lol, my notes are just random jots. Don’ worry about it.

• Basically, it’s not timed well. It’s timed really spread out as if I’m trying to get everything in by 250 frames (the limit).
• I need to pull back the exaggeration of poses in the insignificant moments. It’s getting too noisy (visually).
• Tone it down and then really exaggerate the timing of 4 specific moments: The Attention-grab, the drink, the reaction, and finally, the convulsion.

Come back when you have more.

Well, here it is:

[qt:http://animation.redforty.com/uploads//2008/10/freesamples_331lg.mov 640 480]

Your thumbnails suck. You need to explore more ideas and concepts and really try to nail the poses and approach before you take it into maya.

http://nickytwoshots.blogspot.com/2007/01/my-thumbnails.html

You’re ideas are ok. But not great.

Story and Character are what separate from Ok with GREAT.

Your shot needs to have a beginning, middle. and end.

That model needs to be more than just a character. He needs to be a personality. You should be able to tell a difference from one stewie personality from another stewie.

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As for my shot. If you go into it feeling like “Fuck it, I’ll cut my losses and just push through.” You gotta want to do your shot. If you can tell the story and it sounds interesting and if it’s interesting to you then do it.

Whatever your setup is. It has to sell. With the fewest amount of ideas.

–

So, I think that I need to come up with more meat for my shot. Basically, there’s just a gag (if you can even read it), but no personality.

Animation school is like learning to ride the bike. Once you get out into the real world, studios will be starting you on Wheelies and stunts. Best to get the basics NOW. Learn to just stay upright first.

The Mentor is the Director. He will simulate what it’s like at work. He gives you a note, you make the change.

There may definitelybe times where you will make a change, then another, then another, and ultimately come back to the first example of the shot. It happens, but for a reason. Sometimes the director needs to just feel it out.

Use student notes!!! No notes means no trouble!

Turn in on time! If you dont, you wont get a crit till next Friday.

Use public reviews! The best students are the ones that ask questions and use PRs. You dont post finished work. Put up the bad stuff. If something doesnt work, post it and ask for help. No one gives a shit about your finished shot.

The mentor will not frame-fuck you. You must be able to fly on your own. No hand-holding.

If you get A’s in Nick Bruno’s class, you will get a job.

Biggest hangups: Mechanics, weight, clarity. Thought-process is HUGE. It’s hard to make the animation dissapear and leave behind a real, living character.

Make the pantomime stuff be at least as entertaining as a silent film. Because that’s all you get.

To get ideas: Say things. say a sentence… like… “making toast”. Then say another… like… “in a volcano”.

Make a connection. “You like to brush your teeth! I like to brush my teeth!” Make the connection, then turn it, “But I brush my teeth wacky!”

Timing. Timing. TIMING. TIMING!! TIIIIIMMMMIIIIIIINNNG!!!

Try getting an audible rythm in your animation. Baba-da-da-tada-BAAM! And get it stuck in your head. Get your animation to move to a catchy beat. It’s a sure-fire way to make a successful shot.

Really work with timing as much as possible before splining. If you need to hold a pose, make sure you duplicate the keyframes for the end of the pose from the beginning.

The Lecture references tonight:

• Animator Glen Keane lecture part 1
• The Monk and The Fish
• Aaron Hartline
• Pyrats
• Burning Safarie
• Team Fortress 2 on CG Society

Why does the timing of my animation feel right during the blocking pass but feel completely wrong when brought into splines?

Here are the answers:

• Don’t do blocking passes*. They give you a false sense of timing because each key is held until the following key. This gives you a false sense of timing. Once you spline, nothing is held that didn’t have two keyframes in a row with the same value.
• There aren’t enough keys in your blocking pass. You need more keys and more breakdowns to really give yourself a right sense of timing.
• Use “Copied Pairs”. This is a technique not taught until Class3, but here’s the basics: When you character needs a held pose, go ahead and set the keys in your blocking pass. Before splining, copy the key frames for the poses that need holding and paste them ahead after the appropriate duration.

*Ignore this. You do what your director tells you to do. In this case, Steve Cady (my mentor) is ALL about the blocking pass.