Research

4/12 principles of Animation

I will have to use the straight ahead and pose to pose method to create my animation or else I wont be able to animate my characters movements. The straight ahead method is where the animator draws the characters actions frame by frame from start to finish; this usually creates a fluid, more realistic movement. However it can become difficult to predict the characters movement frame by frame so the pose to pose method is often used in addition to help the illustrator figure out what goes in between the start, middle and end frame, this allows you to have more control and fix any errors in between frames. I will use a combination of these methods to help my character move in a more realistic way.

I will use appeal to help make my characters stand out and make them more interesting. This technique is done by making features on your character more noticeable and engaging for the audience. I will do this by giving my characters an easy-to-read design with personality and flare, it is important that I don’t add too much detail as too many characteristics can get lost in the character and will be time consuming to replicate in other frames. Having a strong character design will help my story come across more clearly.

I will using the squash and stretch technique, as this is seen to be the most important principle of the 12 in creating an animation. This technique uses the laws of physics to figure out how objects will move from one to the next. When used correctly it gives the illustration an illusion of having weight, flexibility, mass and forces like gravity effect it. To achieve this it is important that I keep the volume of the object the same, so when it gets longer it also gets thinner etc. I will use it when the character moves or falls from a height for example. By using this it will make my animation look and feel more realistic and believable to an audience.

I will use anticipation to help my character become more convincing to the audience, this helps prepare the audience for the action that is going to happen, such as bending knees before a jump or raising a fist before performing a punch. This can be played around with to make actions bigger and more dramatic like running on the spot before actually sprinting i.e scooby doo. This is something that I will play around with.

Foley art

Foley art is used in post-production to create the sound effects within a film. A lot of the sounds tend to be intimate, frequent noises like footsteps or the rustling of clothes. Sounds like these are recreated after the scene has been recorded rather than being produced live, as the sounds must be in sync with the picture perfectly. The Foley artist will watch and observe the scene to gain insight on what type of equipment the scene will need during post-production. Foley is not just used within the making of traditional film but within documentaries also, for example, the sound of animals that are too far away or too small to actually record any sound that is made. A Foley artist will use instruments, objects and equipment to emulate and replicate that sound or what they believe the sound make sound like. When watching Foley it can be quite artistic in the sense that it can be a visual performance as the artist will have to sometimes wear different items to obtain the desired sound, as the movement and physical aspect of it is incredibly important.

Jack Foley was the developer of many sound effect techniques used to enhance audio quality within a film. He is most credited for his work in developing a method to create live sound effects in synchrony whilst the film was in post-production. People that engage in his work are called ‘Foley artists’ today. Foley was first used for radio plays in the 1920s, this meant no longer having to rely on poor quality phonograph sound effects; a Foley artist would come in and make the effects on cue. Foley artists use every day, random items to create familiar sounds such as keys jangling, chewing, doorknobs, drinking, floorboards, fabric movement and many more. For example, the crunching of celery is used as the sound of breaking bones; crunching cooking paper to recreate the sound of a crackling fire; coconut shell bashed together to sound like the hooves of a horse; punching red meat or hitting an object with newspaper to recreate the sound of body hits; putting cornflour into a leather pouch to sound like footsteps in the snow. The three categories of Foley art tend to be footsteps, movement and props. This is because these are the main sounds that foley artists tend to recreate in feature films.

The foley artist is part of the post-production sound team, they may work with the ADR editor, music editor and sound editor. Foley artists tend to work in a mixer booth, typically as a pair.

History of animation

In this section, the group and I research animation through the ages and look at different cases that have been major milestones for the progression of animation.

In orange are my contributions to the project, I highlight major animations like Jungle Book (2016) by Disney that was one of their first live action remake of a classic animation.

CASE STUDIES

Superhero animation - X Story

Superhero animation case study

The plot of the animation has a man with a mechanical arm, our protagonist, search for an object in a ancient, derelict city. He obtains the map early on in the animation and sets off on a solo quest. Once reaching the derelict city he finds himself being hunted by a large robot that is fire, wind, water and ice proof, the robot also has the ability to lift 10000000 tonnes and shoots a laser from its head. Our anti-hero as we later discover, loses his arm to the robot and is unable to unlock the treasure he sought out. He falls to the demise of the machine.

A strong example for Anticipation throughout the entirety of the animation is anytime the robot that guards the lost city is about to move, before it jumps or leaps the machine will bend its knees before doing so. This can also be seen with the anti-hero, there is a specific moment when he is about to fall but manages to land on the cliff edge, he lands in a big squat position with his head to the floor. Another example of anticipation would be when the character that owns the map shop is about to show our antihero the map, he raises his finger and holds it in the air before pressing the spherical map.

The character that we meet at the beginning of the story has huge lips and a round head giving him appeal in the sense that you will remember this character for these qualities, as he is interesting and intriguing to look at; making him almost comical compared to the main character.

An example of good staging would be when the main character is dazzled by the map that is shown in front of him but we only realise this once the character that owns the treasure shop looks at him in intrigue. This allows us to bring our focus to the antihero allowing us to process his enchantment.

When the character loses his arm to the robot he lets out a cry of pain, the sound is then echoed and quickly muted, as this happens the camera pans out and shows the audience his location, the abandoned city, this reinforces to the audience that although our anti hero has a severed arm and in need of medical attention, he is alone and there is nobody around for miles to help him. This is one of the only time we hear sound from this character meaning that this is a crucial moment in the plot. The music throughout the piece is quite suitable and modern, it picks up when it needs to for example when the character is running or being chased. It has a good beat that adds to the drama.

Another moment that I found quite interesting was at the very end, our anti-hero has realised he has met his match and understands he has to succumb to defeat. The camera holds this moment for quite a while allowing the audience to realise and understand too. The exaggerated look in his eyes as he stares at his hand helps make it easier to understand that his mechanical hand that saved his life in an earlier scene is what ultimately caused lead to his death. The staging here is good here as the character falls under the spotlight, his moment of truth, as the machine appears slowly behind him. This creates emphasis on how big the machine is and how little our character stands a chance against it, encouraging the audience to feel concern for our character.

Conclusion

The animation could possibly be improved by adding dialogue, to make things that weren’t as clear with visuals, easier to understand. For example the ending, we know that he murdered the man that owned the map shop but did the map man know he needed a hand with a source of heat to unlock the control to the machine?

On the mood board, there was a wide range of heroes to gather our inspiration from, most of these being classic heroes that come from the marvel universe and DC comics.

The history of animation board was full of different animations through the last century, the board is full of animations or animated movies that have been big landmarks in animation. I dropped movies such as King Kong and Jungle book as they have both been popular movies that have been the first of their kind. For Disney, Jungle Book (2016) was the first live-action remake of a classic animation that involved CGI to recreate the animals in the Jungle.

The final board, containing audience research, is a collection of different animations or tv shows that were and are popular among various age ranges. We had to ensure we found a show or film that was befitting for an older audience and a younger audience. I added some of my personal favourites from my childhood such as Scooby-Doo, adventure time and currently Rick and Morty.

Bojack Horsman

The story of Bojack Horseman is one of a washed up actor that tries to reprise his glory days; for starring on a hit 90s sitcom called ‘Horsing Around’. He hasn’t had much work after leaving the show and ends up using drugs and alcohol to supress his true feelings of fear of being a failure and depression. Throughout the 6 series we see how Bojacks selfish and inconsiderate acts throughout his life have effected those around him and especially those closest to him.

Towards the end of the final series, Bojack finds himself at the crossroads; in between life and death after he goes drunk swimming. Sat at the dinner table, surrounded people that have died in his life he tries to make sense of what has happened. The staging here is effective as he is placed right in the centre, at the head of the table surrounded by all of his guests. This is so that we can focus on Bojack and his meal, a plate full of pills and a water bottle filled with vodka. His meal represents his main diet and consumption in life, which were drugs and alcohol.

When Bojack tries to run away from death itself, the big black blob that chases him comes to life and has characteristics of its own, anticipation is used here to bring the entity to life and give it a menacing feel.