Character Animation Experience

Write a short paragraph about your experiences during this production. Describe any challenges you faced. Talk about what you would do differently next time.

      Character Animation, as I experienced it, gave me incredible joy and insight as well as incredible pain and sorrow. At the beginning of the course I was a naive student hoping for a chance to make wonderful animations, but quickly I realized that I was far removed from my league. In all reality I was not ready for this class, however I don't think there was a better way to prepare me and develop my skills than by taking this class that I was not ready for.
       My first problem arose from trying to create a story that was compelling and meaningful. In the past I had written stories, but there were a few things hindering my progress this time around. The first and most apparent hindrance was the time limit, because communicating substance quickly is an art in and of itself that I had little practice with in the past. Meaning was also a difficult thing to work through as well, yet my biggest set backs were my own skills.
      Clarity is something that story telling requires, and my drawing ability was never so definite, it more or less gestures towards things. Overcoming the idiom of my drawing was something I battled against when trying to storyboard and create the 2D animatic. Also I had never drawn well without a reference, and trying to do so really challenged me to become more familiar with facial and other parts of human anatomy. It was difficult to deal with an unsure story, and an unsure style of drawing and I think that a lot of this showed in my work. Much of the work seemed incomplete, but I truly was trying to pull something off.
     Once we got into the technology the learning increased, but the confusion and lack of skill did not. I was glad to have a crash course in after-effects, but I wasn't really proficient with after or effects or maya. My modeling skills came a long way in this class, as did my texturing skills. Overall I felt more comfortable with Maya, but there was a very real fear of it at the beginning of the class.

     If I could go back I don't think I would have nearly as much trouble as I did. Much of my struggles resulted from not knowing how to do anything. Atia taught me a bunch of what I was supposed to do, and that was outside of class as well as inside. If I took the time I spent trying to learn what to do/how to do it I probably would do much better, but the class is really fast paced so it's difficult to keep up with if you fall behind even on one assignment.
     If I could go back I probably wouldn't take this course; instead I'd take a modeling course or a more basic animation course or even a digital painting course would've helped me. Then after learning one of those things better I would attempt character animation.

Music

It's fun try to find sounds for my animation.

I imagine that most of my animation will be relatively silent, because I want there to be a lot of reaction to the moment. In Ben Hur they had a wonderful soundtrack, but when something very tender happened they turned the sound off and just let the human characters take center stage without distractions. I think that when they see the cupcake faces...that there should be some music, but a lot of it should be quite to create sort of dry humor, especially when he's explaining that he should be eaten by the maker (it should be pretty quiet).


Here is what I found though:

This technically isn't music, but I just though it related to my story. It's a yell track that I think might work well for the story. 

http://www.freesound.org/people/thanvannispen/sounds/9432/

This is some tension music that would do well for picking up cupcakes or when he needs to make a decision of what to do with them. 
http://www.freesound.org/people/ERH/sounds/30306/

 This is a choir and I thought it would be great to do a lens flare on the maker, and then play this music right when the 1st cupcake sees him.
http://www.freesound.org/people/ERH/sounds/29594/
Here's another choir that could be used for the same reasons.
http://www.freesound.org/people/ERH/sounds/29593/

This ominous sound I thought I could use for some of the omg moments (it's not music though)
http://www.freesound.org/people/ERH/sounds/34187/

Something like this would perhaps be effective during the credits. 
http://www.freesound.org/people/suonho/sounds/51483/

This type of music could be for an opening...although this is a little too ethnic and cultural. 
http://www.freesound.org/people/RHumphries/sounds/1981/
 
I was also thinking of messing with basic rhythms (no tones) to create a sense of tension, because my character is tired, and weird things are happening. It communicates to the audience that there is this sorta' beat, but leaves the atmosphere less controlled. I don't want to overwhelm my animation with music. In other movies that I've made music is very important, but this one I think is all about the script and reactions. So here are some basic rhythms:
http://www.freesound.org/people/suonho/sounds/3788/
  This one is a bit think, but something similar would work well.
http://www.freesound.org/people/Walter_Odington/sounds/18019/


This is some classic Led Zeppelin (Dazed and Confused) that I think translates some of the feelings of my animation, as a whole. However I don't think I can condense my animation into one song.
http://youtu.be/-Yd0zTf8DLA

Tom Lerher made this song that I think captures the type of comedy in my skit, which is sorta' just ridiculousness.

http://youtu.be/DYW50F42ss8

This song by flight of the Conchords called "Think About It" is similar to my skit, because it makes light of some real issues.
http://youtu.be/TLEK0UZH4cs

This song from the Pokemon  soundtrack has an alien and childlike feel to it with some dissonance. It captures that weird side of my story, and also the playfulness of it as well. That's what is really at the center of my story, that there is this serious subject portrayed in a strange way that has a sort of childlike quality to it.
http://youtu.be/jDtmMKe4X1w

This is a rendition of a bach tune, and it is perfect for my animation. It's done in a modern style that makes it a bit more upbeat.
http://youtu.be/jHcNHL8AyfU

3 Expressive Faces

When I first was given this assignment to discuss 3 expressive faces 2 names jumped to the front of my mind, and they were Dick Van Dyke and Jim Carrey. Both of them are similar to one another in showmanship, and in occupation. Comedians have very expressive faces, because the audience has to be let in on the joke. They must exaggerate any character they do to make it funny. This is true of broadway or stage actors as well, because they are so far from the audience that everything must be exaggerated in body language and facial expression in order to communicate it well.

Most of the Dick Van Dyke's work revolved around some sort of short comical skit or jovial wonderment, like Mary Poppins. In his comical skits his acting was wonderful at communicating what the problems were, because otherwise the audience has no idea what is going on.

Jim Carrey is the epitome of exaggeration, in fact he is a bit of an over-exaggerater in some of his early films where his face becomes incredibly contorted. Much of his early career was based off of how strangely he could contort his face. Although he has dabbled in some more serious work, like the Truman show and the Majestic, which showed us the more subtle emotions that are a bit harder to convey. As he ages now he is becoming much more adept at how to control his face, but we all remember when he couldn't keep it under control in his youth.

My last expressive face is Charlton Heston. I can't think of a more expressive face. He is able to capture subtleties, misunderstanding, and the extremely dramatic in emotions with his face alone. He's had quite a few close-ups, and each one needed to be brimming with what he chose to show us. He wonderfully conveyed his characters, and brought us into the worlds his characters occupied.

All of the above have defined features that lend themselves to easy interpretation, which truly make an expressive face.

The Lion King Emotional Scene

I analyzed the scene where Simba talks to Mufasa after Mufasa has died.

http://youtu.be/maARmxjj3f0

You are brought into the scene through Simba's eyes being led by Rafiki to this magical place under the moonlit night, which creates a sense of wonder and mystery. Also, the first person perspective creates a sense of entering into the unknown. Quickly after there's a shot that shows Simba's reaction to where he is. Then there's a shot from below that shows Simba walking down to meet the water, and the camera follows Simba as he descends into the area of the pool. This shot creates a feeling of being watched from below, while showing the reactions of Simba and Rafiki.

At the start of the scene Simba and Rafiki both have back lights as Rafiki leads Simba to the water, where simba is supposed to see his father, but when Simba gets up close to the water he only has a key light on his face and a bit of a fill. The back light at the beginning is from the moon, and creates an intimate calm setting and also showcases the forms of the characters for setting the scene.

As Simba peers into the water, and the camera flips to show his reflection similarly to how one would show a new character. The pool at this point is similar to a character, and shows the difference between who Simba is and should be. There is a lot of tension, in the music and otherwise, because this pool is supposed to help poor confused Simba out. 
In the close up near the water the moon light is taken away leaving one key light and a bit of a fill. This set up shows Simba's body while emphasizing his face and emotions, as he is disappointed from not seeing his father in the pool first time. 

Then Simba gives up, sighs, and says that's only a reflection of himself. The shot for all of that happening is from above showing a more objective view where you can see both Simba and his reflection, although it is a bleak looking picture.

Then Rafiki gets very close to Simba, and. Simba is always on the right. Rafiki tells him to look once again into the pool, to look harder, and then points to the pool again as the camera swivels around. The pool this time is very dark and ominous looking, providing a mysterious hope. Waves begin to form in the pool, and there's an under the chin camera shot giving us a better idea of where Simba is and where his attentions lie. The next shot is of Simba's face with an emphasis on his eyes. Then back to the pool, this time only showing Mufasa.

The second time he gazes into the pool Simba's eyes are the most enlightened part of his body, and everything else is in moderate shadow emphasizing his perception. Then as Mufasa materializes in the water he appears with a strong key light on his face. Then the lighting becomes dark, and Simba's whole face is cast in shadow until he hears his name called by his father.

In the moment that he is called, there comes a strong light from above that grows stronger, and his father is riding on the clouds. The lack of light before his father's appearance emphasizes his despair in the moment, and the dim light that shines from above symbolizes some of his hope that grows. The director uses a head shot of Simba in the darkness and as the light grows it catches simba's attention and draws his gaze above.The camera goes to an establishing shot showing the grandness of Mufasa on the skies towering over his son creating this amazingly beautiful spectacle.

Mufasa's front is cloaked in darkness, but a bright light shines from behind him and grows brighter. At this moment he is a dim specter, and he says, "You have forgotten me"
Then there is a shot of most of Simba's body as he tries to tell his father that he hasn't forgotten him.
Then there is a shot of Mufasa's face, as if he is looking down at the camera surrounded by a swirling mess of dark clouds. Mufasa again states that Simba has forgotten him and then goes into greater depth. In this shot, Mufasa starts off looking down at us, but slowly edges downward to more of an eye level view, creating a greater intimacy.

Then it is back to Simba's reaction, asking how he can achieve what his father is telling him, which is very simple shot, similar to the shot before, except the light is much brighter.

Then it is back to Mufasa, but it is a full body shot showing all his majesty.
All the light is coming from the sky behind Mufasa, but it is bouncing off the clouds that swirl around him creating a brilliant golden, god-like effect. Again Simba's eyes are highlighted, as he listens to what his father tells him. This scene illustrates enlightenment from the supernatural very well, as Mufasa tells Simba to remember who he is.

Simba has a very close up shot after this, and then Mufasa has one mirroring it as he repeats "remember" and rescinds into the clouds.

Simba begs his father not to leave in a close up that then pulls out to see Simba running and the clouds rolling away.

The light behind Mufasa fades, as does his figure in the sky. Simba's face loses the highlight, and it appears as if a fill light has now become a key light. Again he picks up a backlight from moon to highlight his figure.

The most emotional part was when the light almost went out on Simba, and Mufasa showed up telling Simba what he needed to hear. That whole part of the sequence was done with just one key light, creating a great intimacy between father and son. Also there was a good amount of music that added to the emotionality of the scene. The intimacy was very created with very simple camera angles of faces,which allowed the emotion of the face to shine through. Most the emotionality was led by Simba's predicament, his hopelessness concerning his past and who he is, and his father reminding him who he is. Most of the story telling was just letting that shine through.

Concept Art

Textures in Animations

Iconic animations that have an identifiable style and look to them  generally have a great deal of unique texturing that coheres with the point of their story, and there is nothing quite so iconic as the Toy Story movies when it comes to animation.

Toy Story Trailer: http://youtu.be/KYz2wyBy3kc

Toy Story 3 Trailer: http://youtu.be/TNMpa5yBf5o

Despite the movies spanning over a decade, the texturing is pretty similar throughout all three movies, because animators wanted to make the toys look like actual toys giving most all of them a plastic make over with varying degrees of roughness etc. All the Toy Stories will eventually show their age, because of the limitations of technology. However, the kid-like attributes that the Toy Story trilogy gives to all of the surroundings is quite iconic. There is a lot of detail in the textures, yet a simplicity that holds everything in the movie back from being completely life-like.

Similarly Shrek is an equally big name in animation, although perhaps not as legendary or respected.

Shrek Forever After Trailer: http://youtu.be/u7__TG7swg0

Around 2:15 in the above trailer Donkey and Puss in Boots have a texture that I've never seen in an animation, which is wet fur done well.

Like Toy Story, the Shrek movies have a distinct grotesque, medieval balance with a life-like appearance that is slightly off. Again the texturing reflects the grunge-like quality of fairy tales, where reality is slightly twisted to a darker more magical place. In a lot of ways the textures look like a realistic oil painting and the modeling reflects portraiture, but Toy Story looked more veristic in its cartoon portrayals. (Painting vs. Photography within Cartoon Animation).

Spyro Commercial: http://youtu.be/iRrn9akG-qg

In this commercial for some sort of new Spyro something or other the creatures have a different type of 3D animation that mimics a claymation/toy look that is very unique. 

Definitions and Film Analysis

Continuity: Continuity, as I have researched it, refers to unchanging elements within a story or a plot that create an understandable product through consistency.

Mise-en-scene refers to all the visual aspects that apply to telling a story. It is a general term that could apply to costumes, the type of film used in a movie or even the gestures that a person uses while narrating a story. The literal translation of Mise-en-scene is “put into the scene”, and any visual aspect the storyteller chooses to put into the story is rendered Mise-en-scene.

Composition: A composition is combination of simpler elements to create a more complex or diversified whole.

Here is the link to the scene I analyzed: http://youtu.be/VwLCLG218AU

I did not analyze past 2:25 on the movie.

Agent Smith vs. Neo

The scene opens up with some easy dialogue where the director uses some pretty stock shots. Neo walks towards the camera on the left of the screen with a low frontal shot, and then the camera cuts to who he is concentrated on and talking to, Agent Smith (a surprise! He was supposed to be dead). Agent Smith’s shot mimics Neo’s shot except he is shown walking on the right, and this spacing gives a good idea of where both persons are at this time during the film.

            Then, for barely an instant, there’s an expository shot of the backs of Morpheus, Trinity and Link in the Nebuchadnezzar watching Neo in the Matrix. This shot is very short, but it does an important job of laying out the setting as the viewer jumps between the real world and the matrix. Next we see a close up of the right side of Morpheus’s face, and then a straight on shot of Link’s face. This works well, because Link’s hair is visible in the shot of Morpheus’s face helping the viewer understand the placement of each character even from different angles.

            Then, when the camera returns to the matrix, Agent Smith and Neo switch sides, so now Neo is on the right and Agent Smith is on the left. Switching sides may have been used to jar the audience, because this is the come back of Agent Smith, a character who died in the last movie. Originally I thought that changing sides was a terrible idea, but considering the situation I now think it works.

A close up soon follows creating a more intimate setting, and communicates to the audience that the next portion of dialogue is important.

Agent Smith then unloads a monologue about how he survived, and anytime he says anything of worth the camera goes to a close up of him and then to a close up of Neo’s reaction. This back and forth creates a greater tension within the scene, because the audience is waiting for them to fight.

When either one of them says something ominously ambiguous the camera goes to a shot behind the shoulder of one of the two (not over, because it’s a lower shot). Sometimes it is the listener, and sometimes it is the speaker who gets his face in the picture. This type of shot creates a feeling like the viewer is being guarded like a child is guarded under the arm of a parent, and makes Neo and Agent Smith seem bigger and more threatening. This type of shot gives the ominous words more teeth, while building tension.

26 seconds into this particular scene Agent Smith refers to the connection he has towards Neo, and this is illustrated well with a shot that shows the two of them standing in profile facing one another creating a visual back and forth. 

As Agent Smith delivers his speech he edges closer to Neo three times, while Neo stands still. There’s a sequence that the first two movements follow, and then it is broken the third time that Agent Smith moves closer to Neo. Agent Smith is viewed by the camera with a close up the first two times he starts moving towards Neo. This creates tension and fear in the audience for Neo, because we don’t know what is happening to him. This shot is quickly followed, both times, by a shot behind and under Agent Smith’s shoulder creating the illusion that he is bigger. This all builds even more tension especially when done in sequence two times. The tension is raised to a higher level the third time Agent Smith walks closer to Neo, because Agent Smith’s words become more hostile and there is a visual break in the sequence that the audience was familiar with. The shot that was used for the third movement was the same profile shot that Agent Smith used when he said they were connected, and this creates a visual theme and fear because we have seen Agent Smith infect other people before.

Agent Smith then continues his monologue with another close up until it climaxes with Agent Smith talking about purpose. A second Agent Smith enters the screen talking about an attribute of purpose, and it scares the crap out of Neo. This is illustrated well by the camera shot that jars the audience once again by switching Neo to the left and Agent Smith to the right. The camera whirls around Neo on eye level, as one after another, the copies of Agent Smith close in on Neo listing the functions of purpose. This shot makes Neo seem normal and weaker than the early under the shoulder shots, and also creates a seemingly trapped reality for Neo.
            This is where I ended, because the rest is fighting, and while cool, it is not what I thought you wanted us to look at for this assignment.