Animation Process

The main focus for myself in this module is the animation, I wanted to push myself further and work with more than one character on the performance and acting of the shots. As I've been working through the shots I've found it quite a challenge in some respects, as I've never really pushed my poses before and trying to achieve more performance is not as easy as I thought it was going to be. I took reference videos of myself but that in itself is something I need to work on. I need to exaggerate more when I do them, I think it's more of a confidence issue and being able to free up and get into the role of my character. In that respect, it's more like acting so I need to be more accustomed to the whole process.

Working my my pre-viz I had worked out the rough timings of each shot and from here I blocked out the main poses in stepped mode, before changing to linear to add in more of the subtle details and then onto spline. Some of the shots that I have been working on have taken me a lot longer than anticipated and has set me back quite a bit on my schedule. At the minute I'm just working through each shot (the majority are all blocked out now) and polishing up the animation. As I've been working through them I've realised I could cut a few of the shots out which will free up some of my time, but also they weren't really needed as they tended to be walking shots. Walking isn't storytelling unless an emotion is portrayed through it, a lot of the time you don't see characters walking to their destination. Instead you see them about to embark and their destination in sight, then in the next shot they arrive. If I had more time I would have liked to keep the shots in, then make the decision when it comes to editing, but at the moment, I have more important shots to complete which attribute more to the storyline.

The animation below is a test I've done with sound. It took me awhile to get the slap sorted, I took a reference video, but also looked at other examples. I think the sound adds more of a believability to it, as without it seems flat. I've added in some extra details, such as the movement/fidgeting when the man is sleeping, I found that without this it was lacking and there needed to be something else. I hadn't really thought about putting this in until the other day and for me, it really makes a difference. I think it still could be improved but for now, I think I'm going to move onto another shot. I find that if I spend too long on one shot I end up adding things that don't need to be there, it's best to get a fresh eye on it on another day. I want to keep adding these extra details in within the other shots, but only when necessary. Before this module I've never really gone into this detail, I've just concentrated on the main pose and left the rest of the body. It's something I need to practice more and get my head around as I always find it quite overwhelming as there is just so much to think about and do, what with overlapping and secondary motion, the little nuances to make it that much more believable. It's a process and hopefully it's something I can keep improving on and will get to a stage where I feel comfortable and happy with what I've produced.