Weekly Comments

   So this week we started the 11 second club project. Which means we start lip syncing for the first time. I'm not sure how I feel about this, but learning how to lip sync is pretty neat. I didn't know that you have prethought out mouth possitions that cover multiple letters/sounds. I'm pretty behind on it so hopefully I'll catch up fine. 

   I hope to learn to make smoother movements and maybe I can while working on this. I'd also like to work on time management because  I'm not confident with this project on that right now. I haven't turned in anything late yet but I'm cutting it close. 

   Well the most that I'm worried about is time. I can't take my projects home with me so I have to rely on the time I have in class. But I have been able to work on the mouth chart at home and better my ideas. 

Science and Film Working Together

   The more animation and digital graphics evolve, the more it's necessary to involve physics.  Ron Henderson is a physicist who teaches at DreamWorks to help animators bring more realism into their creations. To learn how to create bubbles, the animators were given a demonstration with real bubbles along with a lesson on how they work and react with different things. Physicists, engineers, and even former NASA employees have begun working in the growing film field. Head of digital strategy for DreamWorks, Jim Mainard, said "often we end up at the same place, but from different directions." Which shows how both physics and animation are needed to make a whole. 

   I thought this article was very interesting. I didn't know that companies hired specifically scientists to work on the film along side animators. Or that many do it. It's cool to know just how many possitions are needed to create a quality film. I often forget how much science and math is put into animating. 

Weekly Comments

   This week has been nonstop working for me. I've learned a lot about movement and weight from the walk cycle and diving board exercise. A walk cycle is a lot more difficult than it looks and I hope I'll be able to get the hang of it. I plan to use my free time to study the different steps for the walk cycle so maybe the next time we use it I'll do okay. The flour bag exercise has been another fun project for me. It's exciting to create emotions in general; which is something I haven't put into other animations we've done. I'm still having trouble with speed, though. What I have so far is a little too fast. We may be getting our computer fixed soon so I can finally take my projects home and put more time and work into them. 

Here's an article briefly explaining the flower sack exercise. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=7&ved=0CBwQFjAG&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.animatorisland.com%2Fhello-world%2F&ei=nOdDVMO0EveRsQT4z4L4Bw&usg=AFQjCNF6AaeN5WsohHrLucm3y_6SRC2gzw&sig2=0txPzf50tNy4c_7iwTd62A

And this brief animation gives a good idea of how a flour bag might move, if it could. 

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OiSkn_JR2-s&autoplay=1

Weekly Comments

   This week has been nonstop working for me. I've learned a lot about movement and weight from the walk cycle and diving board exercise. A walk cycle is a lot more difficult than it looks and I hope I'll be able to get the hang of it. I plan to use my free time to study the different steps for the walk cycle so maybe the next time we use it I'll do okay. The flour bag exercise has been another fun project for me. It's exciting to create emotions in general; which is something I haven't put into other animations we've done. I'm still having trouble with speed, though. What I have so far is a little too fast. We may be getting our computer fixed soon so I can finally take my projects home and put more time and work into them. 

Here's an article briefly explaining the flower sack exercise. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=7&ved=0CBwQFjAG&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.animatorisland.com%2Fhello-world%2F&ei=nOdDVMO0EveRsQT4z4L4Bw&usg=AFQjCNF6AaeN5WsohHrLucm3y_6SRC2gzw&sig2=0txPzf50tNy4c_7iwTd62A

And this brief animation gives a good idea of how a flour bag might move, if it could. 

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OiSkn_JR2-s&autoplay=1

Weekly Comments

   This week so far has been my favorite. Animating is as fun (and frustrating) as I thought it would be. The first few animation assignments did not go so well. But I think I started to catch on with the tail exercise. I at least know I put the most work into that. It took me a long time to get the hang of the movements of the tail and hopefully it paid off. The ball and tail assignment has been my favorite. It's just calming, even if I'm not great at it. I was a little terrified when my frames disappeared on me but thankfully they came back. 

This video I found gives a brief description on how to make a short film. It was neat to see the layout and process first hand. 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rJaN643ri7s

The Science Behind Viewing Movies

   Scientists have begun studying films to learn more on perception. A vision scientist, Tim Smith, collected data from 75 people by monitoring them while they watch Iron Man 2. Using cameras to track their eye movements and a heat map, Smith is able to find where their attention goes most. After collecting his data, Smith presented it to Jon Favreau, director of Iron Man 2. Favreau stated that "everything you're looking at is real, and everything you're not looking at is fake." Because of how the brain interprets information, simple backgrounds can be created with CGI. Brains take in separate bits of information then merges them together as one whole. "The best visual effects tool is the brains of the audience", claims Favreau. 

   This article helped me learn to use perception to my advantage and that some things can be too complex to capture the realism of live acting. The use of manipulation of the eye is very useful for the animation field and I think especially 3D animation for its tendency to be more realistic than the classic 2D styles. 

Cloudy With a Chance of Animation Principles

   The twelve principles are seen in every animation. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is a prime example of the uses of the principles and how they can be exaggerated into the favor of the art style. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs uses principles such as squash and stretch, anticipation, slow in and slow out, and exaggerating. Every movement seems to use squash and stretch in this film. From the way the characters walk that gives a little bounce to their strut, to their facial expressions. It's used simply when the food falls from the sky and bounces off the ground or in the jello mansion when Flint and Sam jump around. Anticipation when Flint first turns on the machine to create a burger. He waits ready with a plate in his hands for the burger to be made while the machine prepares to make it. Of course the power surge caused the machine to stop which added to the anticipation. Another example would be when the crowd of people looking into the sky, gasping, before the view showed what they were seeing, causing anticipation for the viewers. Slow in and slow out was used while the food was falling from the sky. Secondary arcs were seen in most characters such as Sam giving her report and adding a wink at the end and the mayor continuing to eat while he's speaking. Both showing more about their characters besides what their primary action is.