Project 3: Character Animation

Yes, it's Jeff...

Create some animation studies of a character in movement. In class, we talked about animation design - that is, how the character will change from frame to frame to create the illusion of movement. These should be SHORT studies. Certainly no more than 100 frames! Maybe as few as 10 or 20. The key is to jump in and try stuff out! We'll do small group crits on Wednesday, January 29.

Here's a very rough break down of animation design approaches. Most contemporary animation designs involve a combination of multiple approaches.  

Frame by Frame Animation. Each frame is drawn by you - the animator. An oldy and a goody. Still the best way to achieve naturalistic movement and full control of a character. Each frame is a unique drawing with an attendant organic, non-mechanical feel. This approach can be obsessively naturalistic (Disney, Miyazaki), "cartoonish" (Warner Brothers, Adventure Time), abstract (McClaren's  Lines), or anything in between... If you can draw it, you can animate it. Notably pioneered by Winsor McKay.

Some of Milt Kahl's work on Disney's Jungle Book...

Replacement Animation. Instead of drawing a new frame, you swap out a pre-built symbol. This approach was used in the facial animation of Jack Skellington on Nightmare Before Christmas, and less famously, in Miles' Jeff animation. The effects can be subtle or rough.

 A few of the over 800 heads used to animate Jack's face.

Limited Animation. Made famous by anime productions with ruthless production schedules and low budgets, this technique puts the weight on cinematic composition and editing while minimizing the amount of time spent creating naturalistic character movement. Uses lots of "tweening" to slide characters around the screen and simulate camera movement.

 Speed Racer c 1967 - Whole lotta 'tweening' goin' on! 

Cut-out Animation. Creating distinct body pieces that are tweened to create the animation. In Flash this would entail using nested symbols and tweens. Lotte Reiniger's shadow puppets and South Park are examples of this style of animation.

Cut-out animation characters from an unknown American TV series.

Pro tip: Don't spend a long time designing your character without trying to animate it. Your design will end up being radically altered and simplified by the time you get to the second frame! Let the character evolve by animating it. Trust the process to discover the underlying structure behind your character's movement.

Project 2: Short abstraction

Check out Oskar Fischinger... cut paper and string... yikes!

Okay, let's work with abstraction! We've started to play with narrative - beginning, middle, and end. Let's apply this same concept to abstraction. We don't have characters as such, but we have stuff changing over time, so heck, we've a veritable possum stew of possibility... definitely.

Your challenge is to create a 5 second animation with a beginning, middle and end using color and shape. Extra special credit-- include sound in your video. When working with sound in Flash, make sure it is set to STREAM - not event. Stream, yay. Event, boo. All due on Wednesday, January 20.

This is as much an exercise in design as animation. Let's get crazy and call it... motion design or motion graphics. Commercially, you see a lot of this kind of nonsense used in branding in the form of animated logos, interstitials, and the like. Think about how amazingly cool you can make someone's drab life for five seconds... 

Technically, you'll be working with symbols and tweens in Flash. Miles lays out these basic goodies in these here videos. Folksy. Important! Make sure you are using ActionScript 3.0 and set your symbol types to GRAPHIC.



Once you've gotten the hang of symbols, you're ready to do some tweens. "Tweens" stands for "in-betweens" as in you, the human, set the keyframes, while the computer interpolates (figures out) the changes between the keyframes for you. The tweens we're doing will require that the drawing to be tweened is first converted into a symbol. Behold.



And for that extra magic touch... nested and instanced tweens!
ooh:


And here is a quick gif of some nested tweens... er, uh, dank?

Winter 16 Project 1: Gettin' started.

Due: Wednesday, January 13

1. In class make a 100 animation. Upload it to Vimeo or Youtube.
2. Storyboard and script  a 100 frame narrative animation.
3. Create a blog and post your script and storyboards to it.


Here's an intro to the most basic of the Flash basics...

Final Project

Hey all, our final project screening will be on Thursday, December 10 at 1:00 in MA 110. Have your film uploaded to youtube or vimeo with a link posted on your blog.

A couple of updates for you...

1. It looks like you'll be able to do a youtube link for your animation submission. This is good news! Details to follow. Here is the information for the Ashland Independent Film Festival LAUNCH competition.

2. I just received word from Jeff Golden that IP films is looking for material as well. They are focused on public television distribution, so this would be a great opportunity to get some broadcast exposure for your work. Very nice! The deadline is similar to AIFF, so you should submit here as well.

Really looking forward to seeing your stuff!

Week 3: Symbols & Tweens

Okay, hope you're all well and good. Here's a basic intro to Symbols in Flash.



Once you've gotten the hang of symbols, you're ready to do some Tweens. "Tweens" stands for "in-betweens" as in you, the human, sets the keyframes, while the computer interpolates the changes between the keyframes for you. The tweens we're doing will require that the drawing to be tweened is first converted into a symbol. Behold.



And for that extra magic touch... nested and instanced tweens!
ooh:

Ouch!

Animation Week 2: Symbols and Tweens

Okay, let's work with abstraction! Oskar Fischinger did it, so let's give it a go...
In order to facilitate our lazy 21st century approach (no paper and wire), we'll learn how to work with Symbols, Instances, Nesting, and Tweens. It'll be fun...

To begin with, watch these videos that give you the basic tools you'll want to play with to start making some cool animations. These videos are important! Especially in a 2 credit course. Absorb the delicious knowledge.

For next Tuesday, October 13, post your efforts, and we'll take a look at what you come up with. Throw some sound in as well - good times.

Animation Week 1: 100 frames

Due: Tuesday, October 20

1. Make a short animation.

• 5 - 10 seconds long.
• Include sound.
• Any combination of frame by frame and tweenin' is fine.
• Convert to video and post to youtube or vimeo
• Both your writing and your video should be posted on your blog.

Here're the basics...


2. Write about your process of creating the animation. How did it develop? What changes did you make in the process? Discuss your use of the "iterative process."

3. Write about something you like and why you like it. It could be an object, an experience, a place, a person... What are the key emotional/subconscious processes you've noticed are essential to your like/love of this something? How does your something activate your physical senses... Try to go beyond the superficial/widely accepted reasons for liking something... What are the "wrong" reasons for liking your something? Misprision, baby... Dig until you start getting somewhere unique to you... Uh like William Blake did with Milton, y'know? Yes, post this writing on your blog.


William Blake, Milton, c1810, etching, watercolor.

Here are the films we watched in class: