1. Take one of your storyboarded panels, and practice with the camera controls. Try to get an accurate camera shot you are happy with. Remember that I want you to make an animatic of your entire film for next Monday! It's great practice for timing for animation!
2. Go to http://www.dropbox.com and create a new account. We will use these to help us transfer work as the semester continues!
3. I will take a look at everyone's blogs and acts 1 and 2 and grade them accordingly. If you did not turn in complete work, you have until next class to turn it in for partial credit.
4. For March 19th: Check the Syllabus post, and order Your Career in Animation: How to Survive and Thrive.
5. As a final note and reminder: Remember that you need to create a design guide for drawing your characters! Refer to the Adventure Time Art---> Charadesign folder for creating your characters. There is a pdf called "How to Draw Adventure Time" take a look at it.
6. Start working on Act 3! I'll give you revisions to make for your story. Our stories are solid enough that we are at the point of revising and refining everything for our pitch.
Remember: EVERYTHING IS DUE MONDAY. NO EXCEPTIONS! =D
Monday, February 24, 2014
Recaps and Reviews for Camera Angles!
Note: The following resources were compiled from various resources on the internet. Pick and choose and find what works best of you! That said, there are three books that will need to be in your library if you want to be the best at what you do, be it animation, illustration, or more cinematic photography.
Why are we learning shot types? The only way for you to expand your knowledge as a visual storyteller is to know all of the formulas and conventions you have at your disposal. Even one new frame could be the difference between an amateur production and presentation and a visual masterpiece of storytelling!
A list of helpful books for cinematic storytelling, good for both Animation and Live Cinema!
THE RULE OF THIRDS:
VARIOUS CAMERA SHOTS:
Basic Shots: http://www.mediacollege.com/video/shots/
Advanced shots begin to manipulate the camera and treat it as more of a character in the film, moving and swaying between angles and shots to create a more lived in space:
Dolly shots are some of the most advanced, yet easiest to preform in animation. Dolly shots are where the camera trucks, weaving in and out of the scene, around characters key environment elements, and other places.
Two Shot: A medium shot with two subjects.
Overhead shot (bird's eye view): Camera is facing down from above.
Canted shot: When the camera is tilted on it's axis so that normally vertical lines appear slanted to the left or right. Ordinary expectations are frustrated. Often used to create mystery and suspense in films to create a sense of unease in the viewer.
Handheld Shot: "shaky cam" sometimes played up in action scenes to suggest a state of unrest.
Remember that the shots you use already come loaded with information for your character to use. Also remember that keeping the camera steady in some instances will give your character pivotal moments to come alive.
BONUS: Notes on camera angle diversity: Notes on camera diversity.
Staging and blocking for animation:
Why do we stage and block shots? To better plan our animation. It's a good idea to have a list of documents for what our cartoon will be. Printouts of our character and our character's expressions for easy reference. Printouts or organized sketches for your characters. Documents of the action and shot direction. Drawings of where you think your shots will be. And, it makes you feel better about the work you do. Seeing the pieces of your cartoon come together creates a sense of pride in your cartoon, as if you are doing something important that many people are simply unable to do. It's the truth.
Things to remember:
Practice your draftsmanship! Draw lighter in the beginning, sketch first, refine second! We will animate our character through drawing frames! Block out each shot.
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Homework for Monday
1. Read everyone's blog posts about their current script, story, character designs, and environment designs! Critique their progress! Give feedback on what works, and what needs improvement. As a guide, use the sliding scale below:
- Structure your critique of their work in a sliding scale of 5 comments, based on the following:
- 1st: What is the most successful thing about your walk? (STORYTELLING) (+ +)
- 2nd: (+)
- 3rd: (*) Something working, but still needs to be refined further.
- 4th: (-)
- 5th: What is the thing that needs the most improvement in your walk cycle? (- -)
Please document their comments, then write what you learned about your walk cycle. This can be typed or written down
2. Complete acts 1 and 2 in Toon Boom Storyboard Pro. Bring your files to class.
2. Complete acts 1 and 2 in Toon Boom Storyboard Pro. Bring your files to class.
3. Finish reading chapters 2 and 3 in directing the story. I will assess you knowledge of these chapters on Monday.
4. Read this link on cinematography for The Incredibles. It provides a great deal of information about storyboarding, layout, and cinematography for animation:
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Reminders For Wednesday:
As we are having a workday in class tomorrow, the homework I assigned on monday will help you better understand what is possible when storyboarding for animation. Remember that I need you to read chapters 2 and 3 fully by next monday, and 4 and 5 fully by the monday after.
- Storyboarding example 1: Watch Bee and Puppycat at this link.
- Review the storyboards for the pilot here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/179687713/Bee-and-PuppyCat-Storyboard
Make note of differences between the initial boards and the final show. We do not know if these boards were the final draft or not, but the accuracy and clarity of storytelling shines through. - Storyboarding example 2: Watch Seoul Sessions Vol 5: Putting it all together. This is a precursor into creating layouts for animation. In class, I will ask you about the video, in terms of the importance to layout design for animation. Layout is the next step in the animation process, and we will do it as we animate together. From a psychological standpoint, think of layout as "setting up your scenes to be animated properly."
- As requested, here is Lesean Thomas's storyboards for Lin Beifong's pivotal scene in Legend of Korra, along with a clip from youtube. (Storyboards are huge! Download file and zoom in to view everything!) Note the vertical format for the storyboards, an eastern tradition in storytelling. You can check his deviantart page for many more samples of storyboarding.
- Storyboarding example 3: Here is a link for storyboards from 25 EPISODES of ADVENTURE TIME. Pendelton Ward classifies himself as an okay artist, yet note the clarity of message and storytelling in the boards. If you have any trouble as you are working on your boards, or in establishing shots, take a look at these and see if you can get some ideas for your cartoon.
- Have your designs and environments posted to the blog for grading! I will ask you to comment on each other's work in the next couple days!
Thursday, February 13, 2014
Notes and Prep for Monday's Class
Hello Class!
I know we missed a day of animation class yesterday due to potentially inclement weather. We would have covered an introduction to storyboarding for animation that day, but our introduction will be pushed to next Monday. This will give you less time to storyboard your projects, but we will make the most of the next few weeks we have.
For those of you who want to get ahead on things, do the following:
1. (Repost from this monday) Post all of your design elements (characters, environments, script, etc) to your blog. Start fleshing out secondary characters. Remember what the other post asked for in scripts, etc! I will check for it all on Monday, and you will be asked to comment on these posts very soon.
2. Read chapters 2 and 3 of Directing the story. There is so much great information in there that will will help you understand what we cover on Monday so much more. It's way more text-heavy than the Animator's Survival Kit, but the information in there is NEED to KNOW for anyone interested in a career in storyboarding.
Next Monday, we will continue where we left off. Have a great weekend! Email me if you have any questions! Those of you who have, I will contact you shortly.
I know we missed a day of animation class yesterday due to potentially inclement weather. We would have covered an introduction to storyboarding for animation that day, but our introduction will be pushed to next Monday. This will give you less time to storyboard your projects, but we will make the most of the next few weeks we have.
For those of you who want to get ahead on things, do the following:
1. (Repost from this monday) Post all of your design elements (characters, environments, script, etc) to your blog. Start fleshing out secondary characters. Remember what the other post asked for in scripts, etc! I will check for it all on Monday, and you will be asked to comment on these posts very soon.
2. Read chapters 2 and 3 of Directing the story. There is so much great information in there that will will help you understand what we cover on Monday so much more. It's way more text-heavy than the Animator's Survival Kit, but the information in there is NEED to KNOW for anyone interested in a career in storyboarding.
Next Monday, we will continue where we left off. Have a great weekend! Email me if you have any questions! Those of you who have, I will contact you shortly.
Thursday, February 6, 2014
Links to Class Elements and Assignment for monday!
List of Links Covered from Class:
Sites on Scriptwriting:
Sites on Scriptwriting:
- The 3 Main Elements of a Script:
- http://www.bloopanimation.com/writing-a-script/
- REMEMBER: MOST IMPORATNT PARTS OF SCRIPT: Location, Action, Dialogue.
- Jeffrey Scott's Website (super amazing writer for cartoons)
- http://www.jeffreyscott.tv/Scripts.htm (tons of example scripts for download; also a lesson on excellent website design)
- http://www.jeffreyscott.tv/
- A great resource for color selection and color thoery:
On the server lies the reference folder of awesomeness! It will be appended to as the class continues. Use the resources and examples for designing characters, designing environments, and the like. Use them to your advantage!
--------------------------------------
Assignment for Monday:
Begin work on building your story! Write out a detailed beginning, middle, and end of your stories, referencing either the scriptwriting examples at the links above, or the Powerpuff Girls and Adventure Time examples in the folder.
Use the mouse works model pack as a reference, as well as the scripts on the server and the links above. Flesh out your acts, and remember that your script's descriptions should match the pacing of your film! A more detailed description of an action indicates a slower, more deliberate and methodical timing of your character's movement, or of the scene itself. If you're going to have dialogue, we need to have the dialogue fleshed out.
Trim the fat on unnecessary scenes like we discussed in class! Each action, each word, and each element of plot should be exactly what needs to happen in the story. Pace it out so you're not writing more or less than the allotted time. Your sense of pacing will evolve as you write.
Use the mouse works model pack as a reference, as well as the scripts on the server and the links above. Flesh out your acts, and remember that your script's descriptions should match the pacing of your film! A more detailed description of an action indicates a slower, more deliberate and methodical timing of your character's movement, or of the scene itself. If you're going to have dialogue, we need to have the dialogue fleshed out.
Trim the fat on unnecessary scenes like we discussed in class! Each action, each word, and each element of plot should be exactly what needs to happen in the story. Pace it out so you're not writing more or less than the allotted time. Your sense of pacing will evolve as you write.
BY MONDAY, I NEED TO SEE:
- A written script for your story, with the acts, dialogue, action, and locations clearly defined. You can either use the script links provided, or the Powerpuff Girls reference on the server.
- Preliminary Character Designs for your major characters in a refined state. Make them colored, and draw the different sides of your characters! Have them arranged as front, side, three quarters, and back, similar to the example below:
More examples are on the server in the character design folder, and even more are visible with a quick google search for "character design model sheets"
- You can have more than one potential design idea. (use your visual references. Break down what is most important for your story.
- Preliminary environment designs for all of your major environments. (Color, etc, just like for your characters.) You are allowed to include photographic reference.
- I need color palettes too. For your environments and your characters. Use the site http://kuler.adobe.com for help in case you need it. (major environments are the ones your character spends the most time in.)
- Preliminary Environment Designs for all your major environments as well. You are allowed to use photographic reference.
For those of you that want to make some solid art, remember that an animated film is many pieces of art, all coming together in one amazingly epic production. Use this weekend to assemble the first major pieces of your story, and email me if you have any questions! I will send you grades, feedback, and the like this weekend.
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
=D
Sites on Scriptwriting:
The 3 Main Elements of a Script:
Location, Action, Dialogue.
Jeffrey Scott's Website (super amazing writer for cartoons)
http://www.jeffreyscott.tv/Scripts.htm (also a lesson on excellent website design)
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)