Class 4 - Week 2

Introduction To Pantomime

This week our duty was to show contrast acting beats using only one character in a single shot.  

As you know, timing and main (storytelling) poses generate the keystones of a blocking pass. There is a couple of things to always keep in mind in this stage:
- If information comes too fast, it could be distracting and you may loose the audience 
- If it comes too slow, your shot might be boring
- If the poses don't have clear silhouettes, they are not able to sell the IDEA
- DO NOT change the camera in every pass! Set a camera before you begin and stick with it until the end of the shot.
- Be sure to set a key on every controller in each pose, so that you can edit easily
- Try to give enough information, but don't set a key on every single frame

I personally try really hard to complete the general timing in this first pass, however there's always something to adjust even in refining. Hopefully, it'll no longer be a problem for me after some time, because these kinds of things comes with experience. 

My blocking pass for this week : 

Class 4 - Week 1

Acting 101

Finally winter term has begun and my new mentor is an awesome animator: Ray Chase. 
In class 4 we will be dealing with some body language and acting stuff. According to the syllabus, our first assignment is a "pantomime" shot, which means we will be animating an acting shot without any dialogue. 
This will be a very tough one, because the character should have a clear communication with the audience even there is no sound in the scene. For this reason, the very first thing you need to have is a clear idea! 
   
Sometimes it's really hard to be creative and find something unique. What I've done to find a good acting choice was very simple: 
-Every time when I went out, I took my pen and notebook with me
-I observed people (especially their attitude and how they react to the circumstances)
-I took quick notes right away
Everyday when I came home, I sat in silent and read my notes few times. Than, I started writing the first idea came up to my mind. The very first ideas are usually the most cliche ones. However, if you think of every single detail while writing your ideas, there will probably an other idea come up to your mind. That is actually what happens to me. 
Anyways.. 
I've done the same thing over and over again for one week. And at the end of the week, I got 10 ideas in the hand. This time I started to eliminate and picked the best 3 ideas. 

I hope this helps you too :)