Basics of Motion / Sound

* Principles of Animation PrinciplesPrinciples of Animationof Animation

In 1981, former ‘Nine Old Men’ animators Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas wrote the animation book “The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation.”

In the book they laid out the 12 basic principles of animation. We are going to begin by adding two of the principles including “arcs” and “timing” Beginning of Animation

Since the beginning of history humans have attempted to capture motion.

From Grecian urns of people running to fun ‘parlor’ trick type machines that would recreate the concept of motion.

Some of these devices include: 480 BC

● (1825) ● Phénakisticope (1833) ● (1833) ● (1868) ● (1877) ● Zoopraxiscope (1879)

Phénakisticope 1833 Zoetrope 1833 KeyframeKeyframe

Keyframe: A ‘key’ or important part of an animated action is referred to as a keyframe. This action usually occurs at the beginning and the end of an action.

Keyframes are very important to creating animation, thus, someone whose job is it is to create keyframes is referred to as a keyframe animator.

The role of keyframe animator was a very important job and typically given to a veteran. Keyframe

Action

Beginning Keyframe End Keyframe Keyframe

action

End keyframe Beginning keyframe Anticipation Anticipation Follow - Through Follow-Through Secondary Animation Secondary Action ArcsArcs

Arcs in animation was the concept that most natural action tends to follow an arched trajectory, and animation should adhere to this principle by following implied "arcs" for greater realism. This can apply to a limb moving by rotating a joint, or a thrown object moving along a parabolic trajectory. TimingTiming

Timing refers to the number of drawings or frames for a given action, which translates to the speed of the action on film. On a purely physical level, correct timing makes objects appear to obey the laws of physics; for instance, an object's weight determines how it reacts to an impetus, like a push SquashSquash and and StretchStretch

“Squash and Stretch” as defined in The Illusion of Life, written by Ollie Johnson and Frank Thomas

“The most important principle is "squash and stretch", the purpose of which is to give a sense of weight and flexibility to drawn objects. It can be applied to simple objects, like a bouncing ball, or more complex constructions, like the musculature of a human face” SquashSquash and and Stretch Stretch Squash and Stretch Sound Concepts SoundSound Setting Setting the the Mood Mood of a of Visual a Visual Piece Piece Sound Conveys Information that is Off Screen Audio ResourcesAudio Resources

Applications ● Audacity.com - Download the Sound Editing Application ● Nero Wave Editor (pc)

Websites ● Freesound.org - Free open source sound archive ● sounddogs.com - Free low quality sound archive ● Archive.org - Free and vintage sounds Storyboard Basics

Storyboarding

A storyboard is a basic plan for a /animated movie or game. It looks similar to a comic book or comic panel. It was first used by the Disney studio in the early 1930s.

The purpose of the storyboard is to lay out the key actions, movement changes and staging of the environments.

Thoughts of characters, placement and other elements should be developed in the storyboarding phase. Five C’s of Composition

1.) CONTINUITY: Shot Flow, Logical Sequence of Events...

2.) CAMERA: Zooms, Pans, Tilts, Tracking 3.) COMPOSITION: Staging, Blocking, Rule of 3rds, Positive/Negative

Space,

4.) CUTTING: Dissolves, Fades, Wipes, Cut To, Jump Cuts... 5.) CLOSE UPS: CU (Close Up,) Med (Medium,) Wide, Long, ECU (Extreme

Close Up,) OTS (Over The Shoulder…) Basic Storyboarding Terms

Wide Shot (wide): Establishes a location and environment Full Shot (full): Shows a character(s) from the feet up Medium Shot (med) Show the character from the waist up Close Up (CU): Where the character dominates the entire shot Extreme Close Up (ECU): A close up of a part of a character face, usually the eyes or mouth. Point of View (POV): The camera shows the perspective of the character Over the Shoulder (OTS) Shows the camera from just slightly behind the character that the main character is talking with. Bird’s Eye - Shows the scene from a top position looking down. Worm’s Eye - Shows the scene from a low position looking up Wide Shot Full Shot Medium Shot Medium Shot Close Up Shot (CU) Extreme Close Up (ECU) Over the Shoulder Point of View (POV) Bird’s Eye Worm’s Eye Staging

Staging is the presentation of an idea so that it is clear. This idea can be an action, a personality, an expression, or a mood. The key idea is that the idea is made clear to the viewer.

One way to test good staging is the silhouette test, meaning can the audience tell what action is occurring by just referring to the silhouette of the action. Show Don’t Tell Blocking

Blocking is an animation/film technique in which key poses are created to establish timing and placement of characters and props in a given scene or shot Rule of 3rds

The guideline proposes that an image should be imagined as divided into nine equal parts by two equally spaced horizontal lines and two equally spaced vertical lines, and that important compositional elements should be placed along these lines or their intersections.

Proponents of the technique claim that aligning a subject with these points creates more tension, energy and interest in the composition than simply centering the subject would. Rule of 3rds Solid Drawing

The principle of solid drawing means taking into account forms in three-dimensional space, giving them volume and weight.

“Too many beginning artists, and even some old-timers, tend to concentrate on height and width, while neglecting the vitally important dimension of depth.”

- Stan Lee