Adam Thomson Animation Research and Development

Masters Show 2011 Artwork and Videos

2011-08-24T23:05:00.001+01:00

Waiting Final Animation

2011-08-19T17:34:00.004+01:00

Camera and Staging

2011-08-18T03:58:00.002+01:00

My choice with Waiting is to have a single locked off camera with no edits for the duration of the animation. One thing I did notice was that some of the expressions don't read as well as they could if the camera was closer to the character. Previously I have looked into a setup with a moving camera but I felt for the project where I want the audience to view the character as a whole that a single locked camera would be best. In the future I may decide to revisit this project and see how it would work with different staging.

Rendering and Compositing

2011-08-17T22:56:00.024+01:00

Here is a breakdown of the render layers used to create the final composition. I wanted to keep it simple so I choose to only render what I thought was necessary and what would save me time. For example as the camera does not move I only rendered 1 background frame and 1 ZDepth frame and then a shadow and reflection pass for the whole animation. The character and shadow was also rendered out as separate layers. Finally there is the sky layer which was just a photograph taken atop the Law Hill :P This was all then taken into After Effects and composited together.

Animation Final Edits

2011-08-17T14:10:00.007+01:00

Some very last minute edits to the animation. I was unhappy with the last section so I made some quick changes that I think work better.

Animation Update Thirteen

2011-08-15T19:51:00.010+01:00

This is the final animation. Not yet rendered but it has the new background model and gives you an idea of the look of the final thing.

Animation Update Twelve

2011-08-12T19:46:00.023+01:00

This is pretty much the full animation with the exception of the facial animation. Now that I have all the blend shapes created I will add do that next.

Modeling the Background Part Two

2011-08-10T21:55:00.002+01:00

The background for the animation is something I have been unsure about. In terms of both the amount of detail and rendering style. My initial plan was to have the background be quite plain to focus the audiences attention on the animation. But this lack of detail wasn't working for me so I slowly started to add more detail to help give a better idea of the space the character is inhabiting. Below are images from this process of iteration.

Blendshapes

2011-08-08T23:53:00.000+01:00

I have been putting off creating the blend shapes ever since the modelling and rigging stage of the production. I have now gone back and created a whole bunch of different expressions and face shapes that I will use along with the eye and jaw controllers to create the final facial expressions.

Animation Update Eleven

2011-08-05T19:42:00.008+01:00

Getting close to having all the animation finished. Just need to get the last section sorted and then get all the facial animation done.

Animation Update Ten

2011-07-29T19:42:00.010+01:00

Much bigger update than last time. After the character finishes yawning he walks over and sits down. He then leans forward which is my favorite bit of animation so far. I have then started to block out some more movements including the big yawn.

Animation Update Nine

2011-07-22T19:41:00.003+01:00

Just a wee update to the animation. Yawn...

Animation Update Eight

2011-07-19T19:39:00.023+01:00

Although I have restarted the animation looking at the work I have now produced I am very happy with the decision. I am working much faster than I have been and producing better results. This is due to me being much more focused in what I want to achieve but also partly due to having much less time to do the same amount of animation. It will be a difficult few weeks but I should manage to complete the animation in time.

Animation Update Seven

2011-07-17T14:09:00.021+01:00

After the peer review on Wednesday I decided it would be best to just restart the animation again. I realised that I wasn't focusing on the right aspects of the animation. I was too getting to concerned with just making the character move and not how and why he was moving. So from now on I will have to keep reminding myself to always consider the mood of the character and let that inform how they move. Below is the start of what will hopefully be the final animation.

Animation Update Six and Peer Review

2011-07-13T14:09:00.020+01:00

This is the animation I presented at todays peer review. Slightly updated from last time. But from the feedback I received I don't think the animation is working as well as I would like. The decision I have to make is to either try to rework what I have done so far or to just start again from scratch...

Animation Update Five

2011-07-10T14:09:00.017+01:00

Nothing much has changed during the start section but from the point where he leans on the bus shelter I have made some really good progress. I have a peer review next week and hope to have this entire section finished for then.

Animation Update Four

2011-07-06T14:09:00.010+01:00

Building up the walk more by adding in the arm movements and also worked on the pause at the bus sign pose.

Animation Update Three

2011-07-03T14:09:00.015+01:00

Finally, some actual movement, roughing in the leg movements for the walk to the sign. Still early days though.

Animation Update Two

2011-07-01T14:08:00.006+01:00

Still just roughly blocking in the poses. It is all a bit slidey so I'll start to add in some holds and build up the animation from what I have so far.

Waking Progress

2011-06-29T14:48:00.001+01:00

Had a chat today with my supervisor about the progress of my projects. I am getting on fine with Waiting and development continues with me hoping to start animating soon. But the other project has not gotten much further forward. I am waiting to hear back on getting access to the motion capture studio which the project hinges on to progress. As such I am reluctant to put time into the development of a project that might not come to fruition. If there has been no word within a couple of weeks I will have to put the project on hold. Below are the thumbnail sketches I have done to show the type of movement that I was wanting.

Animation Update One

2011-06-29T14:08:00.011+01:00

First go at starting the animation so I am just blocking in some rough poses and timing.

Reference Video

2011-06-27T13:53:00.002+01:00

Using the list of Actions as a guide I recorded myself performing those movements to get an idea of the overall timing and of it flows together. Below are some images and videos from these sessions.

Action List

2011-06-21T20:53:00.001+01:00

In preperation of starting the animation I have written out a list of Actions that I would like the character to perform. I will use this list to create some reference footage that I can then base the aniamtion on.

Walk in from the left
Stop and check timetable
Pause/Shift weight/Look
Turn to lean on shelter
Look down road
Yawn/Hand covers mouth/Look down at bench
Sits down on bench
Pause/Leg Scratch
Shifts weight - forward/back?
Zone out/ Look around
Attention caught off camera - leans forward
Super yawn - leans back and stretches
Zone out/ distracted/ thinking/ looking down
Looks back up

Modeling the Background

2011-06-15T13:53:00.001+01:00

In addition to creating a character to animate I also need a set for the character to be placed in. Like the before, I wanted to keep it simple so this background was roughed out with basic geometry to give me a rough idea of the layout while animating. If time allows I was add more detail to the model and also proper lighting.

Character Rigging

2011-06-12T13:53:00.001+01:00

Roughly knowing the style of animation and what the character will and won't be doing I can make decisions on how to go about creating a rig to control the character. I have decided on a mixture of FK, IK or both depending on the body part.

I am using full IK for the legs with seperate controls for knee and heel adjustments. The bodys overall position and rotation is controlled by a nurbs circle with the spine, shoulders, neck and head being directly controlled through their individual joints using FK. The arms are a combination of FK and IK using a switch depending on what they need to be doing at the time. The Eyes are setup using aim constraints with blendshapes being added at a later date.

As you can see from the image I have now added basic materials and a textures to the model. I will talk about the details of this in a future post.

Modeling the Character

2011-06-06T21:42:00.020+01:00

After taking the model sheets into Maya I was able to start building the character model. I decided to keep the model quite simple so I was able to create the final model quickly. One thing to note is that I have created the body and clothing as seperate models. If time allows I will use Maya nCloth for the shirt and trousers. Below is the final unsmoothed and untextured model of the character.

Model Sheets

2011-05-31T21:52:00.008+01:00

I am hoping to get through the pre-production stage as quickly as possible so I can work on the animation as much as possible. The first stage of the process is to create some model sheets to use in Maya as a guide for modelling. Below are some rough sketches I will use to help create the character in Waiting.

Semester Three Plan

2011-05-27T13:51:00.030+01:00

The plan for this semester is to work on the two projects I mentioned in my semester two presentation. They are:

Waiting:
A character performance of someone waiting at a bus stop.
It is to be a full 3D animation with 1 character and 1 location
To be between 60 and 90 seconds in length.

Waking:
A choreographed performance of someone waking up in the morning.
It is to be a motion captured 3D animation
1 character and 1 location
Between 60 and 90 seconds in length.

I have done some initial research for both projects which can be viewed in the previous blog post and semester two presentation file.

Undergraduate Films

2011-05-26T14:15:00.013+01:00

Here are two of the films I worked on during semester two.

My Welcome Intruders

D'Ark

Semester Two Presentation

2011-05-16T12:05:00.050+01:00

Click here to view presentation.

Presentation notes.

Links to my animation for:

My Welcome Intruders,

D'Ark,

Waiting Research:

Ferris Bueller's Day Off

Fourteen Actors Acting

Photographs by Mike Garbowski

Undergraduate production blogs:

My Welcome Intruders,

D'Ark,

Turtles Run

Reflection on Practice

2011-05-16T12:00:00.003+01:00

As part of the Reflection on Practice module I have also uploaded an online version of my report.

Click here to view report.

Report Writing and Presentation

2011-04-17T09:00:00.006+01:00

From now on I will be focusing all my efforts on writing my Reflection on Practice report and preparing for my end of semester presentation. I will be trying to continue with my own practice as this is happening and will update my progress here as time goes on.

Turtles Run Final

2011-04-16T23:15:00.008+01:00

Progress on the walk cycle. Added in an extra bounce in between steps to make it more groovy. It is now complete.

Turtles Run Update

2011-04-15T01:51:00.002+01:00

Update on the progress of the walk cycle. Got everything moving now, think it is looking good.

Turtles Run - Walk Cycle

2011-04-14T13:54:00.028+01:00

I have been asked to do a short walk cycle for Reece Morton's film Turtles Tun. The character has to groove along while playing a beat on his drum. I planned out the timing on a dope sheet with the initial progress is below.

Blocking

Feet Timed Properly

MWI Shot 26

2011-04-13T01:02:00.017+01:00

I was asked by Dan and Mike if I was able to do another shot for My Welcome Intruders. The answer was yes!
The final version is below.

It really depends on the shot and characters but for this one I decided to time out the animation on paper first. These were jsut used as a guide. I think the timings changed slightly for the final shot. But the initial dopesheets are below.

D'Ark Shot 23 Final

2011-04-10T10:39:00.002+01:00

Final version of this shot. Slightly longer to account for the extra pauses in the action.

D'Ark Shot 23 Update

2011-04-07T20:45:00.003+01:00

Pretty much the final animation for this shot.

D'Ark Shot 23

2011-04-05T19:47:00.002+01:00

I'm going to be doing a shot for another undergrad film. D'Ark by Jamie Keddie, Forrest Thomson & Callum Simpson. The main character Noah has to plant a small fruit into the ground. Here is what I have so far.

MWI Shot 10 Final

2011-04-01T18:26:00.001+01:00

Pretty much the final version of this shot. Really happy with the way High Five is moving in this one. Only change I need to make is to move Wee Two and Dee Tree further back so it matches up better with the next shot.

MWI Shot 10 Update

2011-03-31T12:33:00.001+01:00

Update to shot 10. Got Wee Two and Dee Tree doing their thing now.

Life Drawing 19

2011-03-31T00:56:00.003+01:00

MWI Shot 10 Blocking and First Pass

2011-03-30T16:16:00.001+01:00

Blocking on the last shot for My Welcome Intruders.

First pass on Arche1.

Life Drawing 18

2011-03-30T00:52:00.003+01:00

MWI Shot 13 Final

2011-03-28T17:30:00.001+01:00

Here is the final version of Shot 13 for My Welcome Intruders. Much happier with the way High Five lands on the door frame.

MWI Shot 13 Update

2011-03-25T21:54:00.008Z

Got through this shot much quicker than the previous one due to being able to focus fully on it. I'm happy with the way it has turned out but from the feedback I have received there are a couple of areas I need to adjust. These being Wee Two's hand as it comes round the door frame and the way High Five settles on the door frame.

Life Drawing 17

2011-03-25T00:49:00.001Z

Life Drawing 16

2011-03-24T00:42:00.007Z

Life Drawing 15

2011-03-23T00:35:00.007Z

MWI Shot 12 Update Arche1

2011-03-21T22:46:00.001Z

This is pretty much the final version of this shot. It took longer than I had hoped to get through due to other commitments and the complexity of it but I am quite happy how it has turned out. I may need to do some tweaking to better match the start of the shot to the end of the preceding one.

Life Drawing 14

2011-03-18T00:27:00.005Z

Life Drawing 13

2011-03-17T00:24:00.005Z

MWI Shot 12 Update Dee Tree

2011-03-16T21:39:00.014Z

Update of shot 12. Both Wee Two and High Five are almost all done, so this was just a test to see how they work together and also to start on Dee Tree who currently stops half way through this shot.

Life Drawing 12

2011-03-16T00:20:00.003Z

Life Drawing 11

2011-03-11T00:14:00.004Z

Life Drawing 10

2011-03-10T00:11:00.002Z

Life Drawing 09

2011-03-09T00:09:00.003Z

MWI Shot 12 Update High Five

2011-03-08T17:31:00.005Z

Just a quick update on the progress of this shot for My Welcome Intruders. Pretty much done with Wee Two from the last post so I have now moved onto the High Five character.

Life Drawing 08

2011-03-04T00:06:00.001Z

Life Drawing 07

2011-03-03T00:00:00.002Z

DCA Ident Animatic 02

2011-02-28T15:05:00.001Z

I have update the DCA Ident animatic taking into account the ideas and direction Richard Morrions gave at the end of his workshop. I decided to go even further with the idea of giving each person a unique personality and silhouette in that each person entering shot and sitting down is a recognisable character from the history of cinema. Choosing the right characters was important for the ident. Only film characters who have a very distinct silhouette were going to work but I think I found the perfect 5.

The motion graphics for the logos could do with a rework but I am very happy with the idea as a whole, especially the first section.

Life Drawing 06

2011-02-25T23:58:00.005Z

Creative Talent Network and Speaking of Animaton

2011-02-21T05:37:00.001Z

A couple of quick links today to some interesting resources of people talking about the film and animation industry.

First is the Creative Talent Network page on Vimeo . All of the videos there are from the CTN Animation Expo. Lots of great guest speakers. Especially liked the Don Bluth and Garry Goldman talk about leaving Disney to set up on their own. Steve Hickners talk is just hilarious.

Second is a website called Speaking of Animation. It has an infrequent podcast but the quality more than makes up for the quantity. There is an interview with Richard Baneham who was animation director on Avatar that is particularly interesting as he discusses in depth the use of performance capture in the film.

MWI Shot 12 Update Wee Two

2011-02-17T20:21:00.022Z

I have started to receive the proper shots from Mike and Dan so I can start work on the animation. I have been assigned 3 shots to do. They are shots 10, 12 and 13. They run in a sequence which is quite good and should help with the flow between shots. I have decided to tackle shot 12 first as I think it will be the most complex to do as it contains all 4 characters moving either walking or moving down a hallway. First test of the character Wee Two is below.

Richard Morrison Workshop

2011-02-16T10:49:00.004Z

The past few days we have been working with Richard Morrison to individually develop an ident for the DCA that would be shown before every screening in their cinema. The brief was quite brief but fairly open to interpretation. The only constraints were that it had the be about the cinema itself and not DCA as a whole and be between 5 - 30 seconds in length.

After a quick brainstorming session were I wrote down all the words that immediately came into my head when thinking about DCA and the cinema I had a fairly clear idea of what I wanted to do.

My keywords were:

DCA
Cinema
Films
Genres
Art House
Independent
Screen
Projectors
Light - Silhouettes
Cameras
Audience
Seats - Empty - Full
Sound - Audio

From those keywords I came up with the idea of playing with light and silhouettes and the relationship between the audience, the screen and the projector. The final piece would be shot using live action people with motion graphics used for the logos.
The first animatic is presented below.

We had the opportunity to pitch our ideas to Richard at the end of the workshop for feedback and advice on how it could be improved. The main area that he though I could improve is the start section. Mainly that I could and should push the playfulness of the silhouettes in that each person should each have their own personality and unique silhouette even if it doesn't make complete sense for the setting. Having a man with an open umbrella for example. I quite like this idea and will explore it further in a future update.

Animation Development

2011-02-12T21:22:00.001Z

A big part of this year for me is to leave with a showreel that shows my range in working in different styles of animation. So as part of my own practice and personal animation development I have chosen to work on a couple of undergraduate films as an animator. The first project is 'My Welcome Intruders' by Daniel Borg and Michael Wilbourn. A few days ago I received the first rig from Mike to do an animation test and to get to grips with the character High Five.

It was just a quick test to get accustomed to the rig so it lacks that final polish but I think it turned out quite well.

The External World

2011-02-10T15:29:00.021Z

I first found David OReilly's work a few months ago when I saw the trailer for The External World. Ever Since I have been waiting on it getting released. It is actually better than I thought it would be. I enjoyed everything about this film from the themes it conveys to the aesthetic choices in character design and animation. You can watch the trailer below or click here to watch the entire film.

The External World TRAILER from David OReilly on Vimeo.

Direction Workshop

2011-02-04T18:38:00.012Z

All this week we have been working through the process of coming up with an idea, scripting, storyboarding to eventually producing a short film. At the start of the week everyone had to come up with an initial idea following a strict set of rules.

The rules are as follows:
The film had to be 1 minute in length.
It must feature 3 human characters.
Have a beginning a middle and an end.
Have a minimum of 7 shots and a maximum of 10 shots.
It must also have dialogue.

I found coming up with an idea quite difficult but was able to write out a script ready to pitch to the rest of the group. My idea was based round people being uncommunicative with others first thing in the morning and it is titled 'Too Early For Coffee' Click on the title to read the script.

My script was one of the two chosen to be made but I did not join the group that were to film it. Instead I was part of the group who worked on Tricia Anderson's script titled 'All Made Up' As well as Tricia who was the producer, James Bell was the director, Kaye Cao was editing and I was the director of photography setting up the lights, operating the camera and some sound recording.

Although it was a long week it went surprisingly well and we were all pleased with the final result.

If I can I will also post the other groups film as I find it quite interesting to see the differences between the original script and final film.

Motion Capture Research

2011-02-01T16:40:00.009Z

I found this cool use of motion capture that was used in a short film called 40 Years.Using motion capture is something I have an interest in especially in how an animator can enhance the emotion and intent of the original performance.

'40 Years' (Dir. Russell Appleford) Motion capture transfer rig demonstration for shot #124. from Russell Appleford on Vimeo.

Seen at On Animation.com

Going Live

2011-01-28T20:24:00.001Z

As part of the Going Live module The Mill have come up from London and we were given a presentation of their work yesterday which was pretty awesome and today we were set our brief for the project. It is a reinterpretation of an advert that they have produced incorporating CG and live action elements. Can't really go into any more detail about the project on here as all of the documentation and progress will be kept on a super secret private blog.

Motion Capture Meeting

2011-01-26T22:15:00.001Z

Following on from the Motion Capture demonstration last Friday, today I had a meeting with Vijay John and Manuel Trucco about a possible collaboration using their system. As their system is a marker-less one they talked me through the details of how the system works and possible limitations. I won't go into the details here but I find it quite interesting that the system uses silhouettes as part of the process of recognising a persons motion.

In terms of what they are looking for from me is to be able to take their captured data and visualise it in a clearer and prettier way than they can at the moment. This means that I must be able to effectively work with motion capture data, be able to apply this motion to other skeletons and models and be able to visualise this in an aesthetically pleasing way.

The first part of this process will be to learn how to use Motion Builder as a way of importing and working with the captured data for clean-up, organisation and application to other skeletons. I will also need to develop a good pipeline for dealing with the data in relation to working with both Motion Builder and Maya. Digital Tutors has some info on working with motion capture data so I will start there first. Vijay has also given me a link to the
Carnegie Mellon University Motion Capture Database. This is an extensive data set that covers a huge range of movements and will be a good place to get data to be able to practice with.

Also in on the meeting was Tricia Anderson who I will collaborate with when on the main project using the motion capture system. Tricia is a choreographer and is very interested in the relationship between dance and animation. Using the motion capture system as a bridge between a dancers real life performance and the animators ability to enhance motion capture data together we should be able to create something quite exciting.

Motion Capture Demonstration

2011-01-21T20:25:00.002Z

Well, it's the end of the first week of Semester 2 and today we had a pretty interesting demonstration of a marker-less motion capture system that is being developed by Vijay John and Manuel Trucco at the School of Computing. Although today was just a brief demo of the system and the process behind it I am quite interested in working with motion capture data and have set up a meeting with both Manuel and Vijay for next Wednesday to discuss possible collaboration.

Fourteen Actors Acting

2011-01-11T11:11:00.002Z

Over the Christmas break I came across this great piece of performance work on the New York Times online magazine. 'Fourteen Actors Acting: A Video Gallery of Classic Screen Types' it has 14 actors portraying a wide range of different screen persona each one giving a unique performance.

I love how much can be conveyed just through body language and subtle gesture. I like how it uses only music to heighten the drama with no dialogue and also that it is in black and white. I really like that aesthetic choice and how it evokes that of silent cinema.

Fourteen Actors Acting
Background Article
Image Gallery

Semester One Presentation

2010-12-08T09:30:00.007Z

Click here to view presentation.

The Programme of Study 2.0

2010-12-05T22:15:00.012Z

Updated programme of study for the end of semester one.

Adam Thomson - Programme of Study 2.0

adamthomson.blogspot.com

Title:

Developing performance using character, objectives, emotion, and physical actions.

Project Rationale:

This research seeks to develop a deeper understanding of the emotive aspects of performance animation by looking towards acting theory and movement analysis and showing how this can inform animators in creating believable, empathetic characters and performance using keyframe animation and digital technology.

My main focus during my time on the course will be to continue to develop the animation skills I learnt through and since completing my undergraduate course. I wish to become a more accomplished animator with a better understanding of performance animation and the connection between how something moves and why it moves.

I feel that the best plan for me is to focus on animation as much as possible during the course of the year. I think that by producing lots of animation tests exploring and experimenting with character and performance I will really be able to get to the heart of how and why characters move the way they do.

Aims:

To have an understanding of how to create performance using animation

Create an animation showreel using this understanding.

Create a short film.

Objectives:

Investigate and understand movement and acting theory.

Investigate how this relates to character performance and animation using 3D computer animation.

Develop my own animation skills using this research by producing a series of test animation showing this development.

Develop a short animated film using this new understanding.

Research Strategy:

My research strategy will incorporate a variety of different methods. I will be using Maya to create an extensive series of short animation tests covering different types of animation, including but not limited to basic walks and runs to more complex movements. I will also be looking at more performance based animation with single and multiple character interactions and dialogue pieces. Part of this will also be taking part in the monthly 11 Second Club animation competitions.

To accompany these animation tests I will also be reading into different acting and movement theories such as Stanislavsky and The Actors Studio. Ed Hooks Acting for Animators and Laban Movement Analysis.

I will study animated films in terms of acting and performance and read animation blogs to understand how other animators work differently. I will also look at live action films to see actors perform choose examples to study more closely and talk to local actors and performers to find out about their processes. I plan to video different actors performing the same script extract and then discuss with them about their different acting choices on the same source material.

I will continue with life drawing and observational studies. All of this will help me to develop a better understanding of how to create character and personality using animation and then feed this knowledge in to the production of a group short film with other class members.

Expected Outcomes:

The outcome of this research will be a developed understanding of character performance using animation, with with a varied showreel displaying this understanding, leading to the completion of a collaborative short film with my aim to focus on character animation.

Schedule:

Semester One:

Research acting theory and how it can relate to animation.

Initial animation tests.

Start pre-production of short film.

Semester Two:

Practice led animation research.

Fully start production of short film.

Semester Three:

Final production of short film.

Key Challenges and Issues:

Balancing the research with my own practice.

Time management.

Presentations.

Resources:

Maya Lab

Tutorials – Online and DVDs

Other animators, lecturers and classmates.

Reference Materials:

Link to online bibliography.

Link to useful websites.

Tangled

2010-12-04T19:17:00.004Z

I've not really been that interested in the animated films Disney has been releasing over the past few years but the more I see of their new animated film Tangled the more excited I am about watching it. Although I have only seen short clips I think the animation and the way it looks is pretty amazing. It has even been getting some pretty good press from Cartoon Brew.

Also an interesting video on the process of creating the hair used in Tangled.

Tangled Clip first seen on the On Animation Blog

Making Of Clip first seen on Spungella.

LMNO The Cancelled Steven Spielberg Game

2010-12-01T15:06:00.011Z

This is a target render of a cancelled game called LMNO that was to be a collaboration between Steven Spielberg and Electronic Arts. Although the animation is a bit rough visually it is really nice. What I find most interesting about the project and what the gameplay would be based around is that the 2 main characters wouldn't be able to communicate using words. So all of the interaction and communication between the characters would be done through gestures.

The idea of 2 characters communicating non verbally and only with gestures is something that is possibly going to be the basis for the short film I am part of for the masters course.

It is a shame that LMNO is not going to be made as it would be interesting to see how this would have worked especially within an interactive environment.

The Story Behind LMNO.

Acting Theory - Preparing a Character

2010-11-26T11:04:00.004Z

After reading Ed Hooks Acting for Animators recently I have decided to go back and read some of his influences and the context from which he is teaching. But also to see if I can gain more of an understanding by reading the source material.

A note on my notes:

The approach I took while reading An Actor Prepares by Constantin Stanislavsky was of that of an animator and not of an actor. As the book is written as a work of fiction in the style of a novel about a group of acting students being taught by a director who represents Stanislavsky. I found the way in which the book has been written to be interesting but far too esoteric to be immediately useful. Having to decipher the metaphors of the students progression through the classes was counter productive to my needs which were to understand the underlying ideas of Stanislavsky’s method.

'However it requires extremely attentive reading of An Actor Prepares to pick up on all the nuances of the exercises and to assess how they fit into the development of Stanislavsky’s systems' (Merlin, 2003)

With this in mind, and for clarification I also refer to Bella Merlin's book Konstantin Stanislavsky which offers an overview and assessment of Stanislavsky’s work and the book An Actor Prepares.

One of the most important things I have taken from studying Stanislavsky's techniques is the importance of understanding the character and its role in the context of the story. You do this by asking of the character six questions. Who am I? Where am I? When am I? Why am I here? For what reason am I here? and How should I go about it?

Doing this you are becoming familiar with the character, building up their history and backstory, and most importantly identifying the characters main objectives. By identifying a characters main objectives by asking 'What do they want?' and then asking active questions like 'What must they do to achieve that?' you start to understand the main motivation of the character and in turn the emotional drive of the story.

Once the characters objectives have been established you can begin to breakdown their role within the script into specific Physical Actions. Stanislavsky’s Method of Physical Actions is a system used to achieve objectives through small actions but with emotion as the result of those actions.

'Physical actions were small achievable tasks that were directed straight towards the other actors on stage; the motions behind those actions were both practical and psychological.'

'The main purpose of the Method of Physical Actions was for actors to find the precise and logical sequence of actions that would enable their characters to achieve their task.' (Merlin, 2003)

Finding the logical sequence of actions within a scene is what Stanislavsky called The Line of Physical Action and it is this line that becomes the structure with which to build the characters performance around.

Merlin, B. (2003) Konstantin Stanislavsky. Abingdon, Oxon, Routledge

Stanislavsky, C. (1937) An Actor Prepares. London, Geoffrey Bles

The Research Poster

2010-11-24T22:23:00.002Z

Here is my research poster for the Research Skills & Methods module assessment.

Click the image to embiggen.

Developments in Game Technology

2010-11-24T21:01:00.004Z

I have recently watched a couple of interesting videos showcasing some new technology being used in computer games. The first of which is the trailer for a new game called 'L.A Noire' from Rockstar Games developer Team Bondi.

What is most striking about the trailer is the facial animation specifically the lip-sync. Using a new motion capture system where they 'capture without using markers ... the exterior of people instead of bones.' (McNamara 2010) the developers have been able to really raise the level of realism of facial animation for games. Although I would definitly not go as far as saying it eliminates the uncanny valley as McNamara states in the interview for Game Informer this is a huge step forward in what has been seen in games up till now.

The second video shows the new Character Creator from the upcoming EVE Online expansion 'Incursion'.

The graphics and high level of detail of the model are impressive but what I find even more impressive is that the user can make changes to the proportions and shape of the face and body very easily, intuitivly, all in real time. This kind of intuitive interaction for character creation is something I would love to see intergrated into a 3D animation package such as Maya.

Game Informer preview of LA. Noire
Gamasutra news article about L.A Noire
Rockstar Games

CCP Games
EVE Online Website

Bill Plympton Notes

2010-11-21T18:29:00.002Z

Going over my old Ed Hooks lecture notes I remembered that I had also attended a talk by Bill Plympton around the same time. He gave some advice on producing independent animation. These are my notes.

Plymptons Dogma

1 Short (5mins)

2 Cheap ($1000 per min) (2-3 Months)

3 Funny

'I don't need the prestige, I need the money.' (Plympton, 2008)

Plymptoons.com

Guard Dog image source article.

Ed Hooks Lecture Notes

2010-11-20T19:53:00.011Z

Ed Hooks Acting for Animators Lecture Notes from Jan 2008

Ed Hooks introduces the idea of his main acting principles.

1 Thinking, Emotion, and Physical Action.

Thinking tends to lead to conclusions.

These conclusions lead to an emotion. (Automatic Value Response)

Emotion tends to lead to action.

2 Empathy is the key (not sympathy)

3 Theatrical reality is not the same as regular reality.

Theatrical reality has form.

4 Acting in pursuit of an objective while over coming an obstacle.

You have and action until something happens to make you play a different action. (an obstacle)

A character must always have an objective, you must always know what they are doing.

Ask your character 'What are you doing?' If you can't answer that question or don't know it, the audience won't know either.

When animating ask 'what does the audience need to know'

Types of conflict or obstacle for the character to overcome.

1 Self

2 Situation

3 Another Character

The sound of ma.

The sound between the clapping.

If ma is filled with empathy and emotion it can be extremely powerful.

Paul Ekman Human Emotion Study

7 basic human emotions:

sad

angry

surprise

fear

disgust

contempt

happy

Power Centrers

Higher the power centre the quicker the rhythm of the character.

Lower the power centre the slower the rhythm of the character.

Power centres are usually just below the naval.

You can shift power centres around. They can be light or heavy, be pushing or pulling.

The purpose of Movement is Destination

Status Transactions - how one character responds to another according to their status and relationship. (Keith Johnson)

Each scene is a negotiation.

Adrenaline – the reason why we remember something and not others

Adrenaline moments are scenes characters remember for the rest of their life

Psychological Gesture (Micheal Chekhov)

It can be an illustration of the spoken word (gesture) or an illustration of the subconscious thoughts of the character.

Heroes and Villains.

A hero is a regular person who has to overcome unbelievable odds to achieve their objective.

A villain is a normal person who has a fatal flaw.

Recommended Reading

An Actor Prepares – Constantin Slanislavsky

Improv - Keith Johnstone

On The Technique of Acting – Michael Chekhov

Study of Human Emotion - Paul Ekman

Recommended Viewing

City Lights

Gold Rush

Modern Times

- Charlie Chaplin

A Streetcar Named Desire

- Marlon Brando

The Iron Giant

Ed Hooks Official Website

Ed Hooks blog on AWN

Life Drawing 05

2010-11-19T16:16:00.006Z

Madame Tutli-Putli

2010-11-17T22:00:00.003Z

Creating Atmosphere and Mood using Animation.

The atmosphere and mood of the film at the start is quite lonely, somber and uncomfortable. These are reflected in the character of Madame Tutli-Putli, we see through her movements she is uncertain, nervous, filled with anxiety and is quite solemn and lonely. These characteristics are heightened even more as the atmosphere and mood grows darker, more hostile and tense as the film goes on.

Sequence One:

Slow track past the long line of luggage ending with Madame Tutli-Putli alone at the edge of the platform. She is seen hunched over bundled with lots of baggage getting bothered by a small moth and then almost knocked off her feet by the force of the stopping train. These 3 shots introduce us to the idea that Tutli-Putli is lonely and uncomfortable in the world around her and that she perceives it as an unfriendly, potentially dangerous and hostile place.

Sequence Two:
Set in a small enclosed train compartment we see Madame Tutli-Putli sitting alone taking up a very small amount of space compared to her mass of luggage emphasising her loneliness even more. There are other passengers in the carriage but none of them are very friendly.

There are the chess playing men who are more interested in their game than anything else.

There is also a sleeping grandfather and a young boy who is reading. The one time Tutli-Putli actively tries to open a dialogue with another passenger is when she waves at the young boy who then hides behind his book titled 'How to Handle your Enemies' using it almost like a shield while staring back at her.

The last passenger is the Tennis Pro. Very forward and interested in only one thing. His actions make Tutli-Putli extremely uncomfortable as we can see by her reactions and posture at the end of the sequence.

Sequence Three:

As the sun goes down and night sets in the train has stopped for some unknown reason. With the other passengers asleep Tutli-Putli is hunched over close to her luggage, cowering with fear as to what is going on, which isn't a lot. She is very hesitant to move but after thinking about what to do she looks out the window only to be frightened back to her seat by some unknown rumblings from the train.

Until this scene there has been an underlying musical score. It was a very slow ponderous melancholy theme. Very solemn and mournful, it reflected the slow pace of the film and movements and mood of Madame Tutli-Putli. But now the music has stopped and all that is heard are sounds effects like the groan of the train and rattle of luggage. This really changes the atmosphere of the film, the restrained sound design combining silence and subtle sound effects make you feel quite uncomfortable and not at ease.

Sequence Four:

Here we have the introduction of the three intruders as they look down on Tutli-Putli in her attempt to write a letter. Her uncertainty and hesitation in the simple task of writing a letter supports the notion that she is unsure and not confident within herself.

You can also really feel her fear and anxiety when the intruders have boarded the train just through her positioning in hiding behind her luggage, the difficulty in the way she forces herself to move and through her facial expressions.

When the intruders are first seen there is a hint of a new sound breaking the silence. This really kicks in when the train starts to move again where it slowly builds and builds creating extreme tension with sustained notes and uncomfortable noise until the train impacts with the deer. The camera angles and very fast editing of the 'Deer in the Headlights' sequence also adds to the tension created by the intense sound design.

Sequence Five:

Once Tutli-Putli leaves the carriage her only desire is to escape. All of her actions support this goal as she tries to get away. Still driven by fear, her movements reflect this when she is slowly working her way down corridors and checking round corners until the point where she cant hold her fear in any more and starts to run frantically through the train carriages until she trips over in the dining car. As she is moving through the train the camera reflects the frantic nature of her running as it becomes almost like a hand-held camera trying to follow and catch up with her. The result is a very kinetic sequence that heightens the tension and makes it more real. The sustained notes and uncomfortable noise is present in this sequence but not as prevalent, it is the sound effects of the moving train that are used to create the tension but are much louder and more intense than before.

Sequence Six:

Throughout the film there has been the image of a moth flying around. Once at the start of the film just before the train arrived at the station and then again just before the intruders entered the train. The moth also reappears in this final sequence. As Tutli-Putli picks herself off of the floor we can see by her movements and facial expression that she is emotionally and physically exhausted from her ordeal. The audience too is exhausted, but seeing the moth flying round the carriage and then resting on the fork seems to imbue Tutli-Putli and us as an audience, with a sense of calm and ease that up until that point we have not seen from her. As she rises from the floor she initially struggles but after a moment composes herself with a breath and then begins to follow the moth to the end of the carriage. Unlike all of her other movements the way she walks here is very calm, composed and she moves quite confidently. The moth seems to be a guardian to Tutli-Putli, earlier acting as an indicator of impending danger but now as a symbol of hope or guide to safety. The music used here also adds to this sense of calm and hope.

It is the emotional responses of Madame Tutli-Putli that drive the atmosphere and mood of the film for the audience. All of this is conveyed by the way the character is animated, through the poses, movement and especially by the facial expressions. The combination of live action eyes composited onto stop-motion puppets creates a unique look visually but also really emphasises the emotional state of the characters.

Animation Fun Times

2010-11-16T21:38:00.000Z

After a hiatus of over 2 years I was finding it difficult to get back into producing animation. I think the main hurdle putting me off was a severe lack of practice combined with trying to jump in at the deep end thinking I could just pick up were I left off. My skills are rusty so to warm up I have decided to go back to the basics for some practice and also to get comfortable working again in Maya. Just a quick bouncing ball and run cycle. Underwhelming but essential.

The Bouncing Ball

The Running Man

The Goon Rig was used for the run cycle.

Meet The Spy

2010-11-15T22:10:00.009Z

Meet the Spy is is the 8^th short animation based on the game Team Fortress 2 created by Valve Software.

The Meet the Spy short is a very good example of the style of animation that I am interested in creating. Everything from the way it is rendered to the character models and animation is very stylised and exaggerated. Although quite cartoony everything still moves in a believable way so as to not be too unrealistic.

The 12 basic principles of animation are used all through this animation but I will only be focusing on 3 of those 12 principles.

1. Staging

2. Secondary Action

3. Exaggeration

Staging.

Some of he different ways that staging is used in the animation are to introduce the different characters and also to emphasise the action or reinforce the dialogue.

The introduction uses a very over the top camera move to introduce the audience to the story. It zooms round a rather large elaborate computer system that displays a relativly small amount of information. This staging really emphasises from the start the tone and humour of the animation and that it is something that should not be taken too seriously.

The introduction of characters and the reveal of information.

The shadow of the Heavy is seen approaching before we see him turn the corner.

The camera zoom between 2 characters to introduce the Blue Spy.

The camera move as the Sniper is dropped onto the desk to reveal the knife in his back.

As the Scout bends down we see the Soldier and Heavy checking out the photos.

Secondary Action.

The use of secondary action is implemented well as shown in these examples.

The Scout cutting himself while trying to close the knife and then moving his hand to his mouth.

The Blue Spy closing the knife and lighting the cigarette.

The Sniper checking his wound during the fight. The Red Spy brushing his suit after killing the Sniper.

The Soldier holding onto his hat while running and then tapping the foot of the Blue Spy to see if he will change colour.

Exaggeration.

As well as the images above here is a collection of some more of the exaggerated poses and facial expressions. For me a large part of the appeal of this visual style is the use of exaggeration in the animation.

The 'The Meet the Spy Presentation' power point file.

12 Principles of Animation from Animation Toolworks.

'Meet the Spy' is from Valve Software's Team Fortress 2 'Meet the...' series of short animations.

All of the shorts can be found here: Meet The Playlist

Valves own publications incuding those on the visual style of Team Fortress 2 can be found here: Valve Publications.

Character Research

2010-11-14T23:44:00.103Z

One of the things I want to have done as part of the masters course is to make a short film. Initial discussions revolved around idea of a science fiction story with the main character being a robot or a cyborg. Preliminary research was to look at films and television programmes (such as The Terminator Series, Star Trek, Aliens, Battlestar Gallactica, I Robot, Ghost in the Shell and A.I.) and how they have portrayed that kind of character. What interested me most visually is the stark contrast between the organic and the mechanical and the way they would be connected.

Below are some of the images I have gathered for research followed by a couple of quick sketches.

Life Drawing 04

2010-11-12T16:13:00.005Z

The Left 4 Dead Intro

2010-11-07T12:00:00.003Z

The Left 4 Dead intro is quite unique in that it as well as setting up the context for the story and introducing the characters it also acts as a gameplay tutorial. Every moment of the trailer is there to inform the player of all of the main game mechanics and gameplay devices before they even start to play the game. By using the framework of a short film the developers are able to inform the player of the techniques and knowledge needed throughout the game to survive. But doing so by showing them through the actions, choices and mistakes that the characters make throughout the story in the trailer.

The player is introduced to most of the games enemies, their individual gameplay mechanics and how to deal with them. They are:

Common Infected: Roam in large groups. Very fast. Attracted to noise: Car Alarms and Pipe bombs.

Witch: Aggravated by proximity of survivors. Startled easily especially by the light from torches. Very strong, fast and aggressive. Best to avoid if possible.

Smoker: Long tongue to drag the survivors away from the group and incapacitate them. Explodes into a smoke cloud when killed.

Hunter: Ability to jump large distances and from high places. Pounces on survivors incapacitating them. Very fast.

Tank: Huge creature on a rampage. Very strong, can throw large objects like cars. Almost unstoppable, can take alot of damage.

Each of the special infected have an unique audio cue that accompanies them so that when you are playing the game you generally hear what's going to be coming before you see it. (The Witch crying is an example of this). Even the regular infected have their own unnerving musical cue to signify an approaching horde increasing the players sense of dread rather than relying on scaring them with cheap shock tactics.

Left 4 Dead is a 4 player co-operative game. It is based round the ability to work well within a team. Including strong communication between players, the need to stay together and not run off alone, and to help other players if they get into trouble.

Again, the trailer introduces these key gameplay concepts and shows them through the story and the actions of the characters. The characters are always working together, communicating what they are doing and helping each other out if they get into trouble. Examples of this are when Louis and Francis keep guard when Bill and Zoey investigate the crying Witch. When Franics saves Bill from a Smoker, Zoey saving Louis from the Hunter after running off alone after the helicopter and again at the end when Francis catches Zoey from falling off the roof.

The expected flow of the game is also introduced. There is a balance between calm slower sections and intense action set pieces escalating until a certain point or area of safety has been reached.

As well as introducing the main game mechanics to the player the intro also does a good job of introducing the games main characters as each survivor has a very clearly defined personality, the relationships and group dynamics are obvious from the start.

Bill: Vietnam Vet: Military Clothing, Assault Rifle as weapon of choice. Natural Leader/Father Figure: Front of the group, gives the orders, group listens to his advice, oldest.

Francis: Biker: Leather clothing, covered in tattoos. 2^nd in Command. Physically imposing. Enjoys the situation, Smart ass

Louis: Office worker: Shirt and tie. Very reckless: Charging into the witches room. Running off alone after helicopter. Detrimentally emotionally reactive to situations.

Zoey: Youngest of the group. Still a valuable member of the team. Throwing the pipe bomb and saving Louis from the hunter. Emotionally driven: her reaction to the possibility of someone else being alive.

Valve's official Left 4 Dead blog has some interesting discussion about the ideas behind the trailer, the process of making it and also some videos of earlier versions.

http://www.l4d.com/blog/post.php?id=2081

The Abstract

2010-11-04T14:47:00.017Z

Adam Thomson - MSc Animation and Visualisation 4/11/10

Research Skills and Methods - Abstract

Research Title: Research developing character and personality through movement, action, appearance and performance.

“When we speak of the illusion of life in animation, it boils down not to mannerisms and naturalistic movement, but to emotion.” - Ed Hooks

As an animator I feel that I have reached a point where on a technical level I am quite advanced but in terms of character performance my work is far more functional than emotive. With this in mind I wish to become a more accomplished animator with a better understanding of performance animation with more of a focus on why something moves than how it moves. The production of animation exploring and experimenting with character and performance will help me to really be able to get to the heart of why characters move the way they do.

These animation tests will include but not be limited to basic walks and runs to more complex performance based animations with single and multiple character interactions and dialogue pieces. Some of this work will be used to take part in the monthly 11 Second Club animation competitions.

To support the practice based research I will be reading into different acting and movement theories such as Stanislavsky and The Actors Studio, Ed Hooks Acting for Animators and Laban Movement Analysis and will also talk to local actors and performers to find out about their approaches.

The work I want to create is very much based within the context of researching and producing animation focusing on developing my understanding of character performance and then applying this to short character led animations.

Hooks, E. (2003) Acting for Animators: a complete guide to performance animation. Revised Edition. Porstmouth, NH, Heinemann

Life Drawing 03

2010-10-29T16:10:00.006+01:00

Out and About Sketching

2010-10-19T15:44:00.000+01:00

Life Drawing 02

2010-10-15T15:58:00.010+01:00

The Contextual Review

2010-10-14T10:24:00.029+01:00

Adam Thomson - MSc Animation and Visualisation 10/14/10
Research Skills and Methods - The Contextual Review

Research Title: Research developing character and personality through movement, action, appearance and performance.

Throughout my search most of the books I have found that claim to be about character animation, especially those focused on computer animation actually have very little content on the process and techniques of animating. They instead deal with the technical side of building and rigging characters for animation. Content, which is much more, like that of a text book or software manual.

Anyone wanting to know about the basics and actual process of animating would need to go back to Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston's book The Illusion of Life that sets down the 12 basic principles of animation as used by the Disney Animation studios since the 1930's. A version of these principles has been adapted for computer animation by John Lasseter in 1996 but the process of developing a character performance using animation isn't really catered for in either of these texts. Ed Hooks book Acting for Animators stands out as the only book covering this topic. ‘When we speak of the illusion of life in animation, it boils down not to mannerisms and naturalistic movement, but to emotion.’ (Hooks, 2003)

Ed Hooks main influences stem from the acting methods used by Konstantin Stanislavski that were later the basis for Method Acting developed by Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio.

Although the techniques used at the studio can vary between teachers in essence they are to help the actors get into the mindset of their characters, create believable emotional responses in an effort to develop lifelike performances.

An animator could look to these methods too but may struggle to find a way to make the techniques apply to animation. This is obviously due to the differences between the way an actor and animator work. Actors have an extensive rehearsal period before performing the material before an audience or camera. Even when this happens an actor can adapt their emotional performance moment to moment being able to respond dynamically to the other actors and situations as they demand. On the other hand, although the animator does go through a preparation process there is no actual physical performance for the animator, they have to create a performance in their head and then apply it to a series of drawings or a 3D model. When it comes to creating the animation the animator has to be able to hold a moment or emotional thought for hours or possibly weeks at a time depending on how long it will take to complete the scene they are animating. Where for an actor the moment is continually changing and moving onto the next.

What Hooks understands is that there is a clear ‘distinction between the way animators perceive and apply acting theory and the way stage actors perceive and apply it.’ (Hooks, 2003) What he is trying to do with this book is teach animators techniques and exercises to be able to apply acting methods for creation of believable character for use in their animations. Although he is not an animator or has any experience animating, on the whole it is quite successful. The main strength is that he has been applying and refining these techniques as an actor and acting teacher for over 30 years and working closely with animation and games companies specifically on the topic of acting for animators for over 15 years.

Given that the techniques outlined by Ed Hooks are rooted in improving the animators ability to add emotional performance and meaning to their animations, this is something I am very interested in as an animator. The work I plan to create in the future is very much based within the context of researching and producing animation to help me develop my understanding of character performance and then apply this to short character led narrative animation.

References

Hooks, E. (2003) Acting for Animators: a complete guide to performance animation. Revised Edition. Porstmouth, NH, Heinemann

Hooks, E. (2000) About Ed [Online] Available from: http://www.edhooks.com/abouted.htm [Accessed 13th October 2010]

Hirsch, F. (2001) A method to their madness the history of the Actors Studio. 2nd Edition. Cambridge, Da Capo Press

Lasseter, J. (1996) Principles of Traditional Animation Applied to 3D Computer Animation [Online] Available from: http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/animation/character_animation/principles/prin_trad_anim.htm [Accessed 13th October 2010]

Thomas, F. and Johnston, O. (1984) Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life. Popular Edition. New York, Abbeville Press

Choi, J. (2004) Maya Character Animation. 2nd Edition. Seoul, Korea, Sybex, Inc

5 Keywords
Character Animation Acting Performance Techniques

Mark Grindle Script Writing Lecture Notes

2010-10-12T20:10:00.002+01:00

Mark Grindle on Script Writing and Storytelling 12/10/10

The 2 things that a scriptwriter has to be able to tell their story is Sound and Image.

Each character in a script has and needs to have a story.
The Protagonists story is the main story while all other characters support the main story with their own stories.

Narrative – Story telling or the story told.
Story – The way in which the audience understands the characters
Plot – The sequence of events leading to a conclusion

Narrative Elements to consider while writing a script.
Events
Time Scale/Timeline
Story
Characters
Conflict

Character and Story
What character dominates the story?
Who do you empathise with?
A character needs motivation and an objective
Ask active questions .

Who are the characters?
Is there a Clear Protagonist?
Is there a Clear Antagonist?
An antagonist could be another character who is the opposite of the protagonist, nature or the protagonist themselves.
What do the characters want and do they get what they want?

Subject Matter
Theme – The overall meaning

Themes
Love
War
Good vs Evil
Justice/Revenge
Validation
Fear of the Unknown
Fear of Death
Chaos to Order

Themes can also be subverteed.

Tone
The Tonal Scale
Comedy - Drama - Tragedy

Programme of Study - Draft

2010-10-11T09:30:00.009+01:00

As part of the course we are to complete a document called the Personal Programme of Study that outlines our project for the year, the rationale for the project and the research methods we will use to achieve our goals. As this was the first draft of my Programme of Study some sections are still to be completed and as time goes on some will need to be updated.

Adam Thomson - Programme of Study

Title: Research developing character and personality through movement, action, appearance and performance.

Project Rationale:

I studied at the University of Dundee graduating in 2006 with a BA (Hons) in Animation and Electronic Media. I would like to say that my main focus was in narrative and character animation, but a large part of what was needed to be done was in learning how to use the software effectively enough to make something professional looking and then going straight into making a short film in the final year. Although I did learn a lot and feel my time on the course was well spent I think I did not focus myself enough on really developing as an animator.

My main focus during my time on the course will be to continue to develop the animation skills I learnt through and since completing my undergraduate course. I wish to become a more accomplished animator with a better understanding of performance animation and the connection between how something moves and why it moves.

I feel that the best plan for me is to focus on animation as much as possible during the course of the year. I think that by producing lots of animation tests exploring and experimenting with character and performance I will really be able to get to the heart of how and why characters move the way they do.

Aims:
1. Investigate and understand movement and acting theory.
2. Investigate how this relates to character performance and animation using 3D computer animation.
3. Apply this research to the production of short animations and my own practice.

Objectives:
1. Study movement and acting theory.
2. Develop my own animation skills using this research.
3. Produce a series of test animation showing this development.
4. Develop a short animated film using these techniques.

Research Strategy:
My research strategy will incorporate a variety of different methods. I will be using Maya to create an extensive series of short animation tests covering different types of animation, including but not limited to basic walks and runs to more complex movements. I will also be looking at more performance based animation with single and multiple character interactions and dialogue pieces. Part of this will also be taking part in the monthly 11 Second Club animation competitions.

I plan to look at variously proportioned characters and how they move within their environments, and how the visual appearance of a character informs and limits the way it moves and behaves. No two people move the same way, so the aim is to show this with an animation that will incorporate 2 or 3 different characters and seeing how they move, interact and think their way through the same environment.

To accompany these animation tests I will also be reading into different acting and movement theories such as Stanislavsky and The Actors Studio. Ed Hooks Acting for Animators and Laban Movement Analysis.

I will study animated films in terms of acting and performance and read animation blogs to understand how other animators work differently. I will also look at live action films to see actors perform choose examples to study more closely and talk to local actors and performers to find out about their processes. I plan to video different actors performing the same script extract and then discuss with them about their different acting choices on the same source material.

I will continue with life drawing and observational studies. All of this will help me to develop a better understanding of how to create character and personality using animation and then feed this knowledge in to the production of a group short film with other class members.

Expected Outcomes:
tbc.

Schedule:

Semester One:
Research and animation tests.
Initial pre-production of short film.

Semester Two:
Continued animation research.
Fully start production of short film.

Semester Three:
Final production of short film.

Key Challenges and Issues:

tbc.

Resources:
tbc.

Reference Materials:

Books:

Playing to the Camera - Edited by Bert Carullo, Harry Geduld, Ronald Gottesman, and Leigh Woods
Acting for Film - Mel Churcher
Acting for Animators - Ed Hooks
Laban for All - Jean Newlove & John Dalby
Drawn to Life - Walt Stanchfield
The Animators Survival Kit - Richard Williams

Websites:

http://keithlango.blogspot.com/
http://blog.navone.org/
http://shaunfreemans.blogspot.com/
http://www.edhooks.com/
http://www.awn.com/blogs/ed-hooks-acting-for-animators
http://www.awn.com/articles/makereal/make-it-real-part-1-beaten-path

http://www.11secondclub.com/
http://www.animationmeat.com/
http://cgchar.toonstruck.com/forum/index.php
http://splinedoctors.blogspot.com/
http://animationpodcast.com/

Life Drawing 01

2010-10-01T17:55:00.015+01:00

New beginnings. It all starts here.

2010-10-01T10:10:00.000+01:00

This is my most recent showreel of animation work. The work contained in it is from 2008 so it's quite old. In a future post I am going to reflect back on the main projects, talking about whether I feel they were successful in their purposes and what I would change about them.