Saturday, November 15, 2014
LAYOUT TO ANIMATION WORK FLOW
LAYOUT TO ANIMATION WORK FLOW
For TV Animation Production
PLAN YOUR SHOT
Before you start on your layout process, determine what is the purpose of your shot?
• It is an upshot, down-shot or neutral?
• Is it a profile, 3 quarter, or straight on?
• Is it a left or right screen bias?
• Is the lead-space on the left or right, or is there no lead-space?
• Is it a wide, medium, or close up shot?
• Is it over the shoulder or foot? Is there clear foreground, mid-ground and background
elements?
• Are the camera moves fast or slow? Are times with the audio or a pose change?
Are the camera moves rostrum or move live action?
• Is it acting (emotional), exposition*, action, or utility?
• Do a top down drawing and get it cleared by a lead or supervisor if your sequence is
complicated.
* Exposition: a shot or scene that provides the background information needed to understand the characters and the
action. Must have a clear landmark as indicator.
WORK BIG TO SMALL
• Posing/Layout - reproduce the leica as a three dimensional asset.
One pose per panel in the board. Don't use stepped curve for keys when the camera is
tracking (moving). You need to indicate timing with the number of in-betweens you predict
the animation will need. 5 frames is a good average for most transitions between keyframes
(not including breakdowns).
• Apply the formula first!
If you run out of time you have a shot that at least does what it needs to. It won't be brilliant
but it will be serviceable.
CAMERA
• Try to keep the horizon at about 1/3 of the way up from the bottom of screen or lower.
• Keep horizons as consistent as possible from shot to shot.
• Keep backgrounds easy to read.
• Focal lengths can be 100 - 500 for close up and 20 - 40 for wide angles.
• If the shot is dramatic... try force perspective (for example: focal length as max as 14mm).
• Almost always compose the tighter fielding first! Even if it it a truck or zoom in, key it first...
then you can go wide by pulling the camera straight back.
POSING
• Go for broad, interesting action, strong poses, and try to make as few poses as possible.
• Find poses that are different from one another (high contrast - opposite line of action).
• Move every controller (slightly) for each pose. This helps keep things alive.
• First, key the hips, upper and pelvis controllers.
• Keep the poses as minimal and simple as possible. Don't rely on too many poses and avoid
too many arm gestures.
• A pose test should include all the necessary poses for a scene. No more poses should be
needed for animation. (You need to know the difference between 'poses' and 'keyframes'.)
THE FORMULA
Create Moving Holds between poses:
• First, copy each pose 2 frames from the next key.
• Turn the curve tangents (in curve editor) to Plateau.
• Turn the holds into moving holds by changing the second key a little, continuing the
character's movement in the direction he was heading.
┌─ 2 fr ─┐
|‹------ moving hold ------›| |‹------ moving hold ------›|
Pose 1 P1 copy Pose 2 P2 copy
Add Anticipation:
• Create antics by setting a new key 4 frames back from the 2nd of each pair of keys.
• Turn the 2nd of each pair of keys into an anticipation.
┌──── 4 fr ────┬─ 2 fr ─┐
|‹------ moving hold ------›| | |‹------ moving hold ------›|
Pose 1 P1 copy Antic Pose 2 P2 copy
Add Breakdowns:
• Create breakdowns by setting a key 2 frames after the first key of the next pose.
• Go 2 frames back and turn the first key into a breakdown between the antic and the next
pose.
┌──── 4 fr ────┬─ 2 fr ─┬─ 2 fr ─┐
|‹------ moving hold ------›| | : |‹------ moving hold ------›|
Pose 1 P1 copy Antic BD Pose 2 P2 copy
Pose copies should be changed in the trajectory of the last transition to create a moving hold.
FOR APPROVALS
• Always keep it clean.
• Never let stuff drift.
• If things explode, fix it right away.
• Don't do rough lipsync... only final.
For TV Animation Production
PLAN YOUR SHOT
Before you start on your layout process, determine what is the purpose of your shot?
• It is an upshot, down-shot or neutral?
• Is it a profile, 3 quarter, or straight on?
• Is it a left or right screen bias?
• Is the lead-space on the left or right, or is there no lead-space?
• Is it a wide, medium, or close up shot?
• Is it over the shoulder or foot? Is there clear foreground, mid-ground and background
elements?
• Are the camera moves fast or slow? Are times with the audio or a pose change?
Are the camera moves rostrum or move live action?
• Is it acting (emotional), exposition*, action, or utility?
• Do a top down drawing and get it cleared by a lead or supervisor if your sequence is
complicated.
* Exposition: a shot or scene that provides the background information needed to understand the characters and the
action. Must have a clear landmark as indicator.
WORK BIG TO SMALL
• Posing/Layout - reproduce the leica as a three dimensional asset.
One pose per panel in the board. Don't use stepped curve for keys when the camera is
tracking (moving). You need to indicate timing with the number of in-betweens you predict
the animation will need. 5 frames is a good average for most transitions between keyframes
(not including breakdowns).
• Apply the formula first!
If you run out of time you have a shot that at least does what it needs to. It won't be brilliant
but it will be serviceable.
CAMERA
• Try to keep the horizon at about 1/3 of the way up from the bottom of screen or lower.
• Keep horizons as consistent as possible from shot to shot.
• Keep backgrounds easy to read.
• Focal lengths can be 100 - 500 for close up and 20 - 40 for wide angles.
• If the shot is dramatic... try force perspective (for example: focal length as max as 14mm).
• Almost always compose the tighter fielding first! Even if it it a truck or zoom in, key it first...
then you can go wide by pulling the camera straight back.
POSING
• Go for broad, interesting action, strong poses, and try to make as few poses as possible.
• Find poses that are different from one another (high contrast - opposite line of action).
• Move every controller (slightly) for each pose. This helps keep things alive.
• First, key the hips, upper and pelvis controllers.
• Keep the poses as minimal and simple as possible. Don't rely on too many poses and avoid
too many arm gestures.
• A pose test should include all the necessary poses for a scene. No more poses should be
needed for animation. (You need to know the difference between 'poses' and 'keyframes'.)
THE FORMULA
Create Moving Holds between poses:
• First, copy each pose 2 frames from the next key.
• Turn the curve tangents (in curve editor) to Plateau.
• Turn the holds into moving holds by changing the second key a little, continuing the
character's movement in the direction he was heading.
┌─ 2 fr ─┐
|‹------ moving hold ------›| |‹------ moving hold ------›|
Pose 1 P1 copy Pose 2 P2 copy
Add Anticipation:
• Create antics by setting a new key 4 frames back from the 2nd of each pair of keys.
• Turn the 2nd of each pair of keys into an anticipation.
┌──── 4 fr ────┬─ 2 fr ─┐
|‹------ moving hold ------›| | |‹------ moving hold ------›|
Pose 1 P1 copy Antic Pose 2 P2 copy
Add Breakdowns:
• Create breakdowns by setting a key 2 frames after the first key of the next pose.
• Go 2 frames back and turn the first key into a breakdown between the antic and the next
pose.
┌──── 4 fr ────┬─ 2 fr ─┬─ 2 fr ─┐
|‹------ moving hold ------›| | : |‹------ moving hold ------›|
Pose 1 P1 copy Antic BD Pose 2 P2 copy
Pose copies should be changed in the trajectory of the last transition to create a moving hold.
FOR APPROVALS
• Always keep it clean.
• Never let stuff drift.
• If things explode, fix it right away.
• Don't do rough lipsync... only final.
ANIMATION GUIDELINES
ANIMATION GUIDELINES
For Film and TV Character Animation
PERFORMANCE
As animators, your job is MORE than simply making things move. You are an integral part of
the process of storytelling. When you animate the character, you must become the character,
and you must make the character perform to tell the story. Unlike a live-action actor, you must
determine your performance on a frame-by-frame basis. Here are some things you should
keep in mind as you approach each scene you animate:
I. BEFORE YOU ANIMATE...
... there are three things you should ask yourself.
KNOW THE STORY!
Knowing the story will allow you to better play your part in helping the Director to tell it.
It will also let you know how your scene(s) fit in to the bigger picture.
KNOW THE CHARACTERS!
Knowing the character is crucial to being able to animate them. Just because YOU can
make a character move or express themselves in a variety of ways, that doesn't mean
the character would do it. A big, mean bully isn't going to have the same kind of actions
as a toddler. You could animate them the same... but it would look and feel wrong. The
same is true on a more subtle level of how the characters will express emotions,
gesture, and even how they walk.
KNOW THE ENVIRONMENT!
This might seem simple, but sometimes animators forget that the environment can
often dictate the limits of how things should move. Characters in space will move
differently from characters on earth. Make sure you know what rules of physics can
apply to the way your characters move. Simple Newtonian Laws are a big help, unless
you characters live on "Planet Helium Balloon".
*** If you don't feel you know the above elements, you MUST GET TO KNOW them!
II. READY TO ANIMATE?
When you get your scene and you are preparing to animate, there are two new questions to
ask yourself:
• First, you need to determine what is the purpose of the scene?
• What must I do to achieve this purpose?
Every scene has a purpose. the purpose is determined by what the DIRECTOR is trying to
reveal to the audience about the story you are telling.
THE PURPOSE OF A SCENE?
The purpose will drive the story forward by revealing something about the characters, the
action or the location. Basically, scene purpose can be defined as one or a combination of
EMOTIVE/FEELING, ACTION or LOCATION.
1. EMOTIVE/FEELING
One of the most difficult scene / shot purposes to determine is the first one...
EMOTIVE/FEELING.
When you get your scene you need to ask, "Does the scene show an emotional change in the
character and/or story?" This might be very broad (Happy to Angry), or very, very subtle
(Regretful to Guilty). This change might be as subtle as an eyebrow move... a head tilt... or a
small smile. It might be as big as a huge animated 'TAKE' where the character goes from being
neutral to extremely shocked, or scared, or surprised.
You may have a scene in the story where the character is startled by something, then relieved,
there will be 2 EMOTIONAL changes on the character's expression. First from (1) Neutral to
Surprised and from (2) Surprised to Relieved. If the character must be shown as remembering
something... the eyes can convey this thought process. Eyes looking up, and off into the
distance is an indication of the character remembering something long ago. Eyes looking down
can indicate the character is thinking of something recent. Even though the 'emotion' is not
clear, the FEELING is that the character is thinking and remembering.
If your scene involves a CLOSE-UP, there will almost certainly be an emotional changes.
Try to think of some easy, and some difficult examples of this kind of scene. As a general rule,
any more then THREE changes in EMOTION/FEELING in a shot will be too many. As in most
cases, keeping it simple usually most effective. ONE or TWO emotional changes works best. A
character remembers something he did recently, and the memory makes him smile. These are
TWO distinct shifts. In this case, adding a third expression would only be superfluous, and
would likely confuse the audience.
2. ACTION
ACTION scenes are much easier to determine than Emotive/Feeling ones, though often more
difficult to properly execute.
In any story the characters move from place to place as they interact with the environment
and other characters. Vehicles and objects react to these interactions. Action take the
characters and the story from location to location. They can be dynamic, and fun to watch, or
they can be small and simple as the story dictates.
The action might be extremely obvious and simple (A character sits at a table. A character
waves at a friend. A character walks or runs across the screen), subtle (A character notices
another character and quickly glances at him/her), or big and complex (A group of
characters have a kungfu fight atop a burning school bus while frightened passengers leap to
safety).
Often an ACTION will come with an EMOTION (for example: a sad walk, or a frightened run).
What you need to do is determine the SIMPLEST POSSIBLE MOVEMENT to serve the purpose,
and if you can... add complexity as you go. This will result in a more believable action, and will
be easier to finesse to make it look good. In the case of complex moves (dancing or fighting)
you should ALWAYS get AS MUCH REFERENCE AS POSSIBLE! Even if your particular style of
animation is simplistic, the reference will help make it better.
3. LOCATION
LOCATION scenes are the easiest to determine, and frequently the easiest to animate.
Location can play as big a part in any story as the characters. And as the story progresses the
location frequently changes. These shots can help with mood, passage of time, building
tension, or as a prelude to a joke. A shot of a sidewalk and simple banana peel followed by a
shot of a happy-go-lucky character walking along, oblivious to his surroundings gives us an
idea of what is going to happen next. The shot of the banana peel might not involve any
animation at all, but if it does, then you must be careful that the animation doesn't upstage
the focus of the scene.
As another example: You get a shot that shows a summer morning in a meadow. There are
several elements given to you in the scene that can be animated: a tree, a pair of butterflies
and clouds. If it is supposed to be a tranquil scene that sets the mood as being a calm, lazy
summer morning... all the animation needs to do is add a minute detail. The tree shouldn't be
waving around as if being blown by a hurricane. The butterflies shouldn't be blocking the
camera and doing formation-flying aerobatics, and the clouds shouldn't be vibrating. These
points seems obvious, but as animators we often want to impress others with our skill.
However, in this case, the animation described may impress your friends, but will certainly
annoy the director.
As in the other types of scenes, what is most impressive to a DIRECTOR is when the animator
has an understanding of what the shot is supposed to do, and how it can help the story. If you
understand these purposes, you will go a long way to getting that respect.
QUALITY CONTROL AND TIME MANAGEMENT
Once you have finished animating your shot your work is not over. Just because the character
moves around, and does so within the assigned number of frames, it doesn't mean your work
is over.
Even if you spend a week working on your shot... once you settle back in your chair feeling
good about yourself for having pulled off what is no doubt a work of pure genius... look at your
scene again and ask yourself the following FOUR QUESTIONS:
1. Does it work?
This is generally a very simple question to answer. If you know the Story, Characters,
and Environment and have clearly identified the Purpose of the shot, and satisfied the
needs to meet that purpose, then the answer to this question is YES! You can move on
to question 2.
2. Do I like it?
Hopefully you will be satisfied by your own work. However, if there is something there
that bothers you, or something that is obviously standing out then you should move to
the next question.
3. What will it take for me to fix it?
If you can fix whatever detail is bothering you easily and without help from anyone,
then just go ahead and DO IT! Don't waste anyone's time by asking if you can fix it. If it
doesn't look good to you, then it almost certain it won't look good to your supervisor, or
director. If you need help to fix it, then bring it up to your supervisor. Don't be afraid to
make a mistake or ask for help when you need it. It will only teach you what you need
to know and make you better at what you do.
4. Do I have time?
If you do decide to fix something that's bothering you... be sure you are not blowing
your deadline by doing so. If you have answered YES to question 1, and need to submit
the work for approval in 30 minutes... DON'T start changing it. Move on to your next
assignment until you get a revision. You may be surprised to learn that what you've
done is already up to snuff.
It is important to realize that you should NOT OVERWORK a scene. Sometimes in an attempt
to impress, you might continue to make what you believe are improvements to the scene, and
inadvertently compromise the animation style, or put too much focus on an element of that
shot which then distracts from the 'PURPOSE'. Once again, what is most important is
understanding what the shot is supposed to convey to tell the story.
For Film and TV Character Animation
PERFORMANCE
As animators, your job is MORE than simply making things move. You are an integral part of
the process of storytelling. When you animate the character, you must become the character,
and you must make the character perform to tell the story. Unlike a live-action actor, you must
determine your performance on a frame-by-frame basis. Here are some things you should
keep in mind as you approach each scene you animate:
I. BEFORE YOU ANIMATE...
... there are three things you should ask yourself.
KNOW THE STORY!
Knowing the story will allow you to better play your part in helping the Director to tell it.
It will also let you know how your scene(s) fit in to the bigger picture.
KNOW THE CHARACTERS!
Knowing the character is crucial to being able to animate them. Just because YOU can
make a character move or express themselves in a variety of ways, that doesn't mean
the character would do it. A big, mean bully isn't going to have the same kind of actions
as a toddler. You could animate them the same... but it would look and feel wrong. The
same is true on a more subtle level of how the characters will express emotions,
gesture, and even how they walk.
KNOW THE ENVIRONMENT!
This might seem simple, but sometimes animators forget that the environment can
often dictate the limits of how things should move. Characters in space will move
differently from characters on earth. Make sure you know what rules of physics can
apply to the way your characters move. Simple Newtonian Laws are a big help, unless
you characters live on "Planet Helium Balloon".
*** If you don't feel you know the above elements, you MUST GET TO KNOW them!
II. READY TO ANIMATE?
When you get your scene and you are preparing to animate, there are two new questions to
ask yourself:
• First, you need to determine what is the purpose of the scene?
• What must I do to achieve this purpose?
Every scene has a purpose. the purpose is determined by what the DIRECTOR is trying to
reveal to the audience about the story you are telling.
THE PURPOSE OF A SCENE?
The purpose will drive the story forward by revealing something about the characters, the
action or the location. Basically, scene purpose can be defined as one or a combination of
EMOTIVE/FEELING, ACTION or LOCATION.
1. EMOTIVE/FEELING
One of the most difficult scene / shot purposes to determine is the first one...
EMOTIVE/FEELING.
When you get your scene you need to ask, "Does the scene show an emotional change in the
character and/or story?" This might be very broad (Happy to Angry), or very, very subtle
(Regretful to Guilty). This change might be as subtle as an eyebrow move... a head tilt... or a
small smile. It might be as big as a huge animated 'TAKE' where the character goes from being
neutral to extremely shocked, or scared, or surprised.
You may have a scene in the story where the character is startled by something, then relieved,
there will be 2 EMOTIONAL changes on the character's expression. First from (1) Neutral to
Surprised and from (2) Surprised to Relieved. If the character must be shown as remembering
something... the eyes can convey this thought process. Eyes looking up, and off into the
distance is an indication of the character remembering something long ago. Eyes looking down
can indicate the character is thinking of something recent. Even though the 'emotion' is not
clear, the FEELING is that the character is thinking and remembering.
If your scene involves a CLOSE-UP, there will almost certainly be an emotional changes.
Try to think of some easy, and some difficult examples of this kind of scene. As a general rule,
any more then THREE changes in EMOTION/FEELING in a shot will be too many. As in most
cases, keeping it simple usually most effective. ONE or TWO emotional changes works best. A
character remembers something he did recently, and the memory makes him smile. These are
TWO distinct shifts. In this case, adding a third expression would only be superfluous, and
would likely confuse the audience.
2. ACTION
ACTION scenes are much easier to determine than Emotive/Feeling ones, though often more
difficult to properly execute.
In any story the characters move from place to place as they interact with the environment
and other characters. Vehicles and objects react to these interactions. Action take the
characters and the story from location to location. They can be dynamic, and fun to watch, or
they can be small and simple as the story dictates.
The action might be extremely obvious and simple (A character sits at a table. A character
waves at a friend. A character walks or runs across the screen), subtle (A character notices
another character and quickly glances at him/her), or big and complex (A group of
characters have a kungfu fight atop a burning school bus while frightened passengers leap to
safety).
Often an ACTION will come with an EMOTION (for example: a sad walk, or a frightened run).
What you need to do is determine the SIMPLEST POSSIBLE MOVEMENT to serve the purpose,
and if you can... add complexity as you go. This will result in a more believable action, and will
be easier to finesse to make it look good. In the case of complex moves (dancing or fighting)
you should ALWAYS get AS MUCH REFERENCE AS POSSIBLE! Even if your particular style of
animation is simplistic, the reference will help make it better.
3. LOCATION
LOCATION scenes are the easiest to determine, and frequently the easiest to animate.
Location can play as big a part in any story as the characters. And as the story progresses the
location frequently changes. These shots can help with mood, passage of time, building
tension, or as a prelude to a joke. A shot of a sidewalk and simple banana peel followed by a
shot of a happy-go-lucky character walking along, oblivious to his surroundings gives us an
idea of what is going to happen next. The shot of the banana peel might not involve any
animation at all, but if it does, then you must be careful that the animation doesn't upstage
the focus of the scene.
As another example: You get a shot that shows a summer morning in a meadow. There are
several elements given to you in the scene that can be animated: a tree, a pair of butterflies
and clouds. If it is supposed to be a tranquil scene that sets the mood as being a calm, lazy
summer morning... all the animation needs to do is add a minute detail. The tree shouldn't be
waving around as if being blown by a hurricane. The butterflies shouldn't be blocking the
camera and doing formation-flying aerobatics, and the clouds shouldn't be vibrating. These
points seems obvious, but as animators we often want to impress others with our skill.
However, in this case, the animation described may impress your friends, but will certainly
annoy the director.
As in the other types of scenes, what is most impressive to a DIRECTOR is when the animator
has an understanding of what the shot is supposed to do, and how it can help the story. If you
understand these purposes, you will go a long way to getting that respect.
QUALITY CONTROL AND TIME MANAGEMENT
Once you have finished animating your shot your work is not over. Just because the character
moves around, and does so within the assigned number of frames, it doesn't mean your work
is over.
Even if you spend a week working on your shot... once you settle back in your chair feeling
good about yourself for having pulled off what is no doubt a work of pure genius... look at your
scene again and ask yourself the following FOUR QUESTIONS:
1. Does it work?
This is generally a very simple question to answer. If you know the Story, Characters,
and Environment and have clearly identified the Purpose of the shot, and satisfied the
needs to meet that purpose, then the answer to this question is YES! You can move on
to question 2.
2. Do I like it?
Hopefully you will be satisfied by your own work. However, if there is something there
that bothers you, or something that is obviously standing out then you should move to
the next question.
3. What will it take for me to fix it?
If you can fix whatever detail is bothering you easily and without help from anyone,
then just go ahead and DO IT! Don't waste anyone's time by asking if you can fix it. If it
doesn't look good to you, then it almost certain it won't look good to your supervisor, or
director. If you need help to fix it, then bring it up to your supervisor. Don't be afraid to
make a mistake or ask for help when you need it. It will only teach you what you need
to know and make you better at what you do.
4. Do I have time?
If you do decide to fix something that's bothering you... be sure you are not blowing
your deadline by doing so. If you have answered YES to question 1, and need to submit
the work for approval in 30 minutes... DON'T start changing it. Move on to your next
assignment until you get a revision. You may be surprised to learn that what you've
done is already up to snuff.
It is important to realize that you should NOT OVERWORK a scene. Sometimes in an attempt
to impress, you might continue to make what you believe are improvements to the scene, and
inadvertently compromise the animation style, or put too much focus on an element of that
shot which then distracts from the 'PURPOSE'. Once again, what is most important is
understanding what the shot is supposed to convey to tell the story.
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