1. Animation Art 311 Dr. J.R. Parker Fall 2010

2. Animation – Basic movement Animation is about movement. Living things move in a different way from non-living things, and all have a ‘natural’ motion from the perspective of a human viewer. What follows are some basics of motion.

3. Animation – Basic movement Laws of Motion (due to Newton) 1.Inertia. Every object that has weight will remain in its current state of motion until a force is applied to it.

4. Animation – Basic movement Laws of Motion (due to Newton) 2. Constant acceleration. An object accelerates in the direction of the force applied to it. The greater the force, the greater the acceleration. For a given force, the greater the mass of the object the smaller will be the acceleration. ( F = m*a )

5. Animation – Basic movement Laws of Motion (due to Newton) 3. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. If a force is applied to an object, the object reacts with an equal and opposite force on whatever applied the force. If your kick a ball, it pushes back on your foot. What do all of these rules mean in the context of animation?

6. Animation – Acceleration Let’s look at acceleration. This is when the speed of something is changing – getting faster or slower.. 0 sec 1 sec 2 sec 3 sec 4 sec Acceleration is created by a force. Gravity …

7. Animation – Important Law of Motion Things that change position a small amount between frames are moving slowly. Things that change position a large amount between frames.are moving quickly. Explain Galileo.

8. Animation – Important Law of Motion A thrown ball.

9. Animation – Important Law of Motion A thrown ball. Wrong

10. Animation – Important Law of Motion A thrown ball. Correct

11. Animation – Important Law of Motion An incline Correct – ball accelerates Down the incline

12. Animation – Important Law of Motion Animating this: Key drawings! Draw the start and end of the sequence. How much time does this represent (I.E. how many drawings?) A B Correct – ball accelerates Down the incline. Let’s say ½ Of a second, or 7 drawings.

13. Animation – Important Law of Motion Animating this: Key drawings! Draw the start and end of the sequence. A B In-betweens Frame 1 (key) Frame 7 (key) Frame 4 (middle of the tweens)

14. Animation – Important Law of Motion Animating this: Key drawings! Draw the start and end of the sequence. A B In-betweens Frame 1 (key) Frame 7 (key) Frame 4 (middle of the tweens)

15. Animation – Important Law of Motion Animating this: Key drawings! Draw the start and end of the sequence. A B In-betweens Frame 1 (key) Frame 7 (key) Frame 4 (middle of the tweens)

16. Animation – Important Law of Motion Animating this: Key drawings! Draw the start and end of the sequence. A B In-betweens Frame 1 (key) Frame 7 (key) Frame 4 (middle of the tweens)

17. Animation – Important Law of Motion Animating this: Key drawings! Draw the start and end of the sequence. A B In-betweens Frame 1 (key) Frame 7 (key) Frame 4 (middle of the tweens)

18. Animation – Important Law of Motion Animating this: Key drawings! Draw the start and end of the sequence. A B This gives a constant speed 4 Frame 1 (key) Frame 7 (key) Frame 4 (middle of the tweens) 2 3 5 6

19. Animation – Important Law of Motion Animating this: Key drawings! Draw the start and end of the sequence. A B Slow-in: motion speeds up as time Progresses (closer at the beginning) Frame 1 (key) Frame 7 (key) Frame 4 (middle of the tweens)

20. Animation – Important Law of Motion Animating this: Key drawings! Draw the start and end of the sequence. A B Slow-in: motion speeds up as time Progresses (closer at the beginning) Frame 1 (key) Frame 7 (key) Frame 4 (middle of the tweens)

21. Animation – Important Law of Motion Animating this: Key drawings! Draw the start and end of the sequence. A B Slow-in: motion speeds up as time Progresses (closer at the beginning) Frame 1 (key) Frame 7 (key) Frame 4 (middle of the tweens)

22. Animation – Slow out Animating this: Key drawings! Draw the start and end of the sequence. A B Slow-out: motion speeds up as time Progresses (closer at the beginning) Accelerates out of a key frame Frame 1 (key) Frame 7 (key) Frame 4 (middle of the tweens) Slow speed Fast speed

23. Animation – Important Law of Motion Animating this: Key drawings! Draw the start and end of the sequence. A B 4 We can calculate the position Of each tween, but here’s a rule: It’s more important to look right than to Be right. S = 1/2at 2 Let t=0.5 sec Solve for a (=8) Tween 4 is at t=0.25: S = 8/2* 0.25*0.25 = 4*0.0625 S = 0.25 (1/4 of the way down!)

24. Bounce Slow out B A

25. Bounce Slow in A B

26. Bounce Slow in AND slow out 3 2 1

27. Pose To Pose What we have been calling ‘key-frame’ animation. Make the first drawing, the next one need not be the next frame, but is the next important position or pose. The in-betweens are filled in later (sometimes by lesser artists or those learning the trade). Pros: Leads to an industrial approach (factory, assembly line) Can more easily synchronize key moments in the action with specific frames. Easier in 2D animation to ensure that characters and proportions remain constant. Cons: Action can be inconsistent (many artists)

28. Straight Ahead Animator makes the first drawing, then goes on to the next in sequence in a frame-by-frame manner. Stop-Frame is an example of where this is used exclusively. Also flipbooks. Pros: Artistic, live, unencumbered by rules. Good for a lot of action. Cons: A lot of pressure on the animator. Requires a great deal of concentration. Hard to correct A slow distortion of objects and proportions is possible. Specific timing is hard (lip synch)

29. More complex movements

30. Each stair is a bounce as we did before.

31. More complex movements Each stair is a bounce as we did before. 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 13 2 13 2 13 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1

32. Examples Hunger. Peter Foldès depicts one man’s descent into greed and gluttony. Rapidly dissolving and ever-evolving images create a contrast between abundance and want. One of the first films to use computer animation, this satire serves as a cautionary tale against self-indulgence in a world still plagued by hunger and poverty.

33. High Level Stuff Change is the basis of all animation. Animation is all in the timing and spacing. KEY FRAMES - are the story telling frames (The story board drawings) Frames where the character makes contact (heel strike pose, touching an object, etc.) Methods of Working: 1) Straight-Ahead - Just start and see what happens. (Creative but lacks control) 2) Pose to Pose - (Lots of control but restricts creativity)

34. Working 1.) Before working turn off all other stimulus - "UNPLUG" 2.) Write down what you want to do 3.) Act it out 4.) Work out the timing 5.) Then animate

35. Working … The "Best" animating method 1. Do the KEY frames (the story telling poses) 2. Do the frames that have to be there (the contact frames) 3. Do the breakdown poses (passing/middle poses) Don't forget to add that extra bit of action. 4. Do Straight Ahead Runs of different parts in hierarchical order Testing along the way. (Hips first followed by legs then arms then head. Drapery is always last)

36. The human eye can not see (comprehend) an action done in less then 5 frames, for an action to be readable it must be done in 5 or more frames. The 5 frames could include the anticipation of the movement. For example a character could be held in a 5 frame anticipation and be off the screen in the 6th. The use of ease-in or ease-out would also be included in those 5 frames. Never exit the frame in less than 5 frames.

37. Details On in-betweens don't animate in a straight-line: use curved paths For fast/hard impacts, skip the actual impact frame. Go immediately from action to reaction. A character should never take off or land on both feet at the same time. Blinks frequently happen on a passing pose. There are generally two frames between the open and closed positions of an eye during a blink.

38. Walks and Runs (Gaits) WALKS & RUNS On a walk only one foot leaves the ground at a time On a run both feet leave the ground for at least 1 frame and the character is always down on the passing pose. Always create your heel strike poses first. A normal walk is on march-time - a heel strikes the ground every 12 frames A Hollywood cartoon walk heel-strike is every 8 frames A stroll heel-strike is every 16 frames A normal run heel-strike is every 8 frames Heel-strikes on the fastest run possible occurs every 4 frames (this only works for small characters)

39. Dialogue DIALOGUE Consonants must have 2 frames to read - steal from the preceding sound if needed. Hit the mouth accent on the vowel. Vowels need 2 poses an accent pose and a cushion pose. Pop the mouth open on vowels with an accent pose and immediately ease into a cushion pose "Boil it down" - Keep the mouth movement simple. Form the words (watch singers) Lift the head 3-4 frames in advance of the modulation. Upper teeth are anchored to the skull. Women usually show upper teeth only. Men (50/50) show upper or lower teeth only a rare few show both. The tongue is hooked at the back of the lower jaw, not stuck in the throat Never in-between the tongue, always snap it from one position to the next. When giving dialogue a character should be progressing (or regressing) somewhere. Get the body action right then add the mouth. Break up the action and the dialog - do one thing at a time! For example talk then point or point then talk Animate dialogue on level sync, then in post, test delaying the voice audio by approximately 2 frames to see what works best.

40. Continuity Editing A system of editing to maintain continuous and clear narrative action. Relies upon matching screen direction, position, and temporal relations from shot to shot. The film supports the viewer's assumption that space and time are contiguous between successive shots.

41. Audio Flashback Sound from one diegetic time is heard over images from a later time. (eg voices of a dead father) Sonic flashback often carries a kind of moral or emotional overtone, making a character's motivation explicit.

42. Source Most basically, this category refers to the place of a sound in relation to the scene. A sound can be onscreen or offscreen, diegetic or nondiegetic (including voice over), it can be recorded separately from the image or at the moment of filming. Sound source depends on numerous technical, economic, and aesthetic considerations, each of which can affect the final significance of a film..

43. DIEGETIC/NON-DIEGETIC SOUND Any voice, musical passage, or sound effect presented as originating from a source within the film's world is diegetic. If it originates outside the film (as most background music) then it is non-diegetic.

44. Diegesis Sound and diegesis gets more complicated. internal diegetic sounds (inside of a character's mind) that no one else in the gallery can hear.

45. Direct Sound When using direct sound, the music, noise, and speech of the profilmic event at the moment of filming is recorded in the film. This is the opposite of postsynchronization in which the sound is dubbed on top of an existing, silent image. Studio systems use multiple microphones to record directly and with the utmost clarity.postsynchronization EG Castaway

46. Voice Over When a voice, often that of a character in the film, is heard while we see an image of a space and time in which that character is not actually speaking. Narration. The voice over is often used to give a sense of a character's subjectivity or to narrate an event told in flashback. It is overwhelmingly associated with genres such as film noir, and its obsessesive characters with a dark past. It also features prominently in most films dealing with autobiography, nostalgia, and literary adaptation.

47. Sound Effects Simply, these are sounds and noises which occur 'naturally' along with the vocal. When we hear such sounds we can clearly and unproblematically relate them to our experience of a similar reality (e.g. traffic rumble when we see cars; running water when we see a forest river; etc.). These sounds can happen within the 'frame' of the radio drama scene picture or outside it. Very often we don't have to SEE what is making the sound - the sound source. If we do not see the sound source, though we hear the sound event, we call this sound an acousmatic sound.

48. Why won't my voice carry? On stage your voice must resonate in the facial mask. Your voice carries via sound wave resonance, not volume, and you posses natural resonators in the sinus, thorax and chest cavities. Use these properly and your voice will fill the room. To exercise your voice get into the daily habit of alternate humming and speaking. Say mmmm until you feel your lips and nose really buzz. Then blend the "mmm" into the number one. MMM-one. Count to ten, mmm-one, mmm-two, mmm-three, etc. Now speak and enjoy the difference! Why has my jaw gone tight and my voice shaking? When we're nervous, we produce the hormones adrenaline and noradrenalin. These hormones cause our muscles to contract, causing the famous “fight or flight” response. Your jaw will ache and your voice become shaky because during stress, the diaphragm muscles contract, breathing becomes shallow, the heart beats faster and we can’t get enough breath.

49. Find Your Diaphragm : Place one hand on the upper portion of the stomach just a few inches above the navel but below the breast bone. Sniff in several small inhalations per breath through the nose. The movement in that area is the diaphragm working at its best. If you're breathing correctly (diaphragmatically) your stomach should feel as if it is filling up, expanding. But if your chest is rising you are breathing superficially. How To Breathe From The Diaphragm : Place one hand just above your stomach and the other on your upper chest. Purse lips slightly as if you're going to whistle. Exhale slowly through pursed lips while slightly contracting the stomach muscles. Its not necessary to force all the air out. Inhale slowly through the nose. Pause slightly to allow for better oxygen exchange in the lungs. Repeat. Exhalation should be slightly longer than inhalation. The diaphragm should do at least 80% of the work of breathing. In order for you to get the most out of this magnificent muscle, you should practice regularly several times a day to ensure that you are not breathing superficially from your upper chest. Tip Read aloud to yourself every day, beautifully.

50. Next time We are going to do a simple animation. If there’s time left today, I have some video... -Storyboards -animations