Mini Project

Critical Evaluation

This is the playblast of my Mini Project. unfortunately, I could not complete 10 second of animation. This is my work. In my opinion, it could be improved. I apologize.

Video and Still Examples of Staging

In this task I am asked to critique a video and still examples of one of these principles :Exaggeration, Staging, Solid Drawing and Appeal. I chose the principle of staging, because my team members and I presented it in the lesson.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-SXLaQGg50

In this video, the narrator states that it deals with various elements. According to him, the guidance of the attention of the ones who watch the animation, is one of them. In my opinion this is very important, because the artist demonstrates the events in the timing they desire. I agree that the "far away" (AlanBeckerTutorials, 2015 3. Staging - The 12 Principles of Animation) is very useful for something great that happens, and a "close up"  (AlanBeckerTutorials, 2015 3. Staging - The 12 Principles of Animation) is appropriate for the face. Additionally, if the significant "action"(AlanBeckerTutorials, 2015 3. Staging - The 12 Principles of Animation) is filled with other elements, confusion would be caused. In my opinion, this is also an appropriate statement to be mentioned, because the viewer has to know what happens in that particular time. Finally, according to the narrator, the appearance should also convey the desired message. In my opinion, the acting, as its one of the examples, is more related to exaggeration. However, appearance of a particular space could express a message, but the extravagance is not associated with staging.

Figure 1

According to the video, this "close up" (AlanBeckerTutorials, 2015 3. Staging - The 12 Principles of Animation) describes Simba better. In my opinion this size is very appropriate, because the significant topic is the expression.

Figure 2

Additionally, this long shot describes both the destruction in the great number of the army, but also contains the three protagonists in the foreground. I believe that this shot demonstrates successfully both the significant part of the action, and of course, the difference between the three soldiers and the large army, and also the great destruction coming.

References:

AlanBeckerTutorials (2015) 3. Staging - 12 Principles of Animation [online]. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-SXLaQGg50 [Accessed: 19th April 2015]

Lasseter J. (1987) Principles of traditional animation applied to 3D computer animation. SIGGRAPH '87 Proceedings of the 14th annual conference on computer graphics and interactive techniques, ACM. San Rafael, CA

Cabral Gomez C. (2013) Cartoon Fundamentals: How to Create Movement and Action [online]. Available from: http://design.tutsplus.com/tutorials/cartoon-fundamentals-how-to-create-movement-and-action--vector-19904 [Accessed: 19th April 2015]



Image References:

Figure 1: https://www.fanduel.com/insider/wp-content/uploads/Simba-the-lion-king-cubs-29352574-704-400.png

Figure 2: http://ashlandsummercamps.weebly.com/uploads/2/1/0/0/21006432/7200016.png?429

"What Is Composition?" - Statement that relates to Staging (Optional)

The relation of "What Is Composition" with Staging

http://onanimation.com/2014/09/03/what-is-composition/

In this task, I am asked to write a statement about the relation of staging in this video. I apologise for the delay.

Initially, the video mentions that the film makers' scope was also to guide the attention and feelings. This is also an aspect of staging, as the editing of the shots and the motion of the characters are used to depict the most significant action.

Secondly, the narrator states that colour was also used to grab the attention and influence the feelings of the audience. That is also connected with staging, because it could be applied to enhance anything significant in the shot.

Reference:

Comez Cabral C. (2013) Cartoon Fundamentals: How to Create Movement and Action [online]. Available from: http://design.tutsplus.com/tutorials/cartoon-fundamentals-how-to-create-movement-and-action--vector-19904 [Accessed 12th April 2015]

Exaggeration, Staging, Solid Drawing, Appeal - Screenshots from "Up"

Exaggeration

The acting of the characters is intense, with quick moves and overacting facial expressions which depict their excitement . Additionally, the fire shooting and the character who moves the legs upside down, are elements which enhance the joyfulness of the people thanks to the wedding, for the purpose of comical effect.

The motion of the woman is very intense as she suddenly falls on the man and kisses him with plenty of energy , which is efficient to depict her strong character, love for the male one and the happiness she feels thanks to their marriage.

Staging

The shot is very dark in order to match with the sadness of the characters due to the loss of the child, and also, the lighting is stronger inside the room to emphasize the importance of this story part and the acting of the characters.

The male character has already reached the top of the cliff and the female appears lower than him, thus, the framing reinforces her weakness and also her struggle to walk. The sunset omens the end of her life as the day also ends, plus, the inability of the woman to reach the top and the tree probably symbolizes her death, as the tree could be used as a symbol of life and health. This camera placement enhances these messages.

Solid Drawing

The lighting describes the volume of this house as the shadow cast demonstrates the size of the roofs and the other parts of it. The vibrant colours make it more living and also relate to the happiness of the couple.

The texture of the various kinds of fabric is the most successful element of this screenshot. The detail of the seams and folds are described very well, and also, thanks to the rendering, the different kinds of textile are clearly depicted.

Appeal

The joyful facial expression of the woman as she watches her husband depicts her cheerful personality, and also her love for him.

The depressed facial expression of the man portrays his sadness about his moribund wife and reinforces the situation.

References:

Video Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kg9lsacQj3k

Gomez Cabral C. (2013) Cartoon Fundamentals: How to Create Movement and Action [online]. Available from: http://design.tutsplus.com/tutorials/cartoon-fundamentals-how-to-create-movement-and-action--vector-19904 [Accessed: 25th March 2015]

Still Images from the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kg9lsacQj3k

Good Pose to Pose Example

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwnAd955KE4

In this task I was asked to criticise a good pose to pose example.

First of all, the timing of this animation is very efficient, because it demonstrates the appropriate speed of each action, the ease in and out of the arm, and also the quick, strong motion of the gun. Additionally, the follow through and the overlapping is very successful, as the chest and some other parts of the body also move in different timings after the shooting.

Digger Jump - Blocking and Pose to Pose

Critical Evaluation

This is the Pose to Pose Jump exercise playblasts, using Autodesk Maya. I animated them using the pose to pose technique.

Initially, the main theme of these projects was the Straight Ahead Action and Pose to Pose principle. I set the keyframes on the first video, the blocking, and made the tangents Stepped, so the software did not create any inbetweens. In my opinion, the timing of this exercise is very successful to depict this particular motion. The digger anticipates and stays, which demonstrates the gather of the energy needed for the jump, and also the next poses are quick and strong to portray the jump and fall. Finally, the timing of the follow through as the object is on the ground again is slow enough to show the force due to the jump, and also the appropriate time needed for the object to rest.

The second video is the complete pose to pose animation. I changed the stepped tangents to linear and flat ones, in order to add the inbetweens.  I believe, that the spacing is very efficient, depicting the slow in and slow out of the anticipation and follow through, and also the deceleration and acceleration when the digger jumps and falls. Additionally, the overlapping action is appropriate enough, because the antennae continues to move as the head rotates before and after the jump. Furthermore, I believe that the arcs are very well constructed, as they are curved enough to describe the movement of the object.

However, with the creation of the inbetweens the timing was not correct, because the movements appeared very slow. Plus the digger seems to stay in the air a little bit longer, which creates a slightly unnatural motion. This could be probably due to the sharp point of the peak of the jump, even though I edited the points of the Motion Trail to form the best arc I could. Finally, the overall animation appears smooth, even though I edited the spacing.

Thanks to these two exercises, I was more occupied with the timing and spacing editing. In my opinion, the animation was better with the inbetweens and the corrections of timing.

Digger Jump - Straight Ahead Action

Critical Evaluation

This is the Pose to Pose Jump Blocking exercise playblast, using Autodesk Maya. I animated the object using the straight ahead action technique.

First of all, the main topic of this project was the Straight Ahead and Pose to Pose principle. This was a challenging exercise, because the use of straight ahead action could not produce an appealing animation easily. However, I believe that the timing is successful, even though I could not set keyframes and let the software to create the inbetweens, in order to organize the motion. The anticipation is quick to prepare the object for the upcoming action, also the follow through is very well depicted, demonstrating the force due to the jump. Furthermore, spacing was also a difficult part of this project, because I set keyframes on each frame of the time slider, and placed the positions of the controllers progressively, from the start to the end. However, in my opinion, the ease in and out portrays the movement of the base and the head during the follow through efficiently, as the latter shows an aspect of slow in and out, also the deceleration and acceleration as it lifts and falls, depicts the jumping very well.

On the other hand, this technique created various problems. Firstly, I could say that the arcs are not curved enough, and the animation appears abrupt. Even though I edited the points on the Motion Trail, the arcs were still straight. Secondly, I believe that the spacing of the head is not correct. This could be probably because I animated it in various positions when it moves forward before the jump, or backwards when the digger is on the air, and forth again during the fall. Additionally, I did not have a great control over the rotation, because the ghosting of the controller could not depict the poses of this attribute. Thus, the whole animation of the head is odd and unnatural in some parts. Thirdly, this animation has no secondary motion, due to the fact that it was very tough for me to animate the antennae frame by frame, and also produce an appropriate movement.

This exercise was a great opportunity for me to deal with spacing, when actually positioning the controllers progressively. Additionally, using Motion Trails and ghosting, I could be more occupied with the ease in and out.