Monday, March 7, 2016

Little wooden man does the hokey pokey

Here is my stop motion video with my daughter singing the parts of the song that are relevent to the video. She loved the way it sounded when we synced it to the video so I left it alone. Maybe I'll revisit this some time down the road and make it longer so I dont have to speed her up quite so much.


Sunday, January 31, 2016

Juan Zaramella

Background

Other than reading his bio on his website I couldn't find out much about him which after looking at his bio I must say surprises me since he has won so many awards for his work.

Video

I think my favorite video of his was At The Opera. I was watching it and kept thinking these characters reactions were ridiculous and then the ending was a great twist.




Tim Burton

Filmography

Writer (14 credits)
 2012 Frankenweenie (original idea)
 2005 Corpse Bride (characters)
 2000 Lost in Oz (TV Movie) (story - pilot)
 2000 The World of Stainboy (Short)
 1993 The Nightmare Before Christmas (based on: a story and characters by)
 1990 Edward Scissorhands (story)
 1987 Amazing Stories (TV Series) (story - 1 episode)
- Family Dog (1987) ... (story)
 1984 Frankenweenie (Short) (based on an original idea by)
 1983 Hansel and Gretel (TV Movie) (idea - uncredited)
 1982 Luau (Short)
 1982 Vincent (Short) (written by)
 1979 Stalk of the Celery Monster (Short) (writer)
 1979 Doctor of Doom (Short) (writer)
 1971 The Island of Doctor Agor (Short) (adaptation) / (screenplay)

Favorite Tim Burton Animation

Of Tim Burton's animations I think I would probably have to list Frankenweenie as my favorite. I am not a huge fan of Tim Burtons so I haven't watched to many of his animations and if not for my children I probably wouldn't have watched Frankenweenie either.

Style

In his bio on IMDB it says he grew up as a fan of Vincent Price which I believe is proven by the fact that the main character in Vincent is also a fan and looks suspiciously like Burton plus he was able to get Vincent Price to narrate it. I would have to say that I also think the fact shows through in that like the main body of Vincent Price's work Tim Burton's style is very dark and gothic.

Five C's of Cinematography

Camera Angles

 Camera angles are the angle the camera is held at as a means to further the film's narrative.





A high angle looks down on a subject.




A low angle is used to make the subject appear bigger or more dominant.




Wide angle shots are often used to set a scene or environment.


Continuity

Continuity is basically the timeline and consistency of a movie. This means that if things like clothing, sets and objects in a scene are changed between takes and is noticable it could ruin the continuity of the movie.






Cutting 

Cuts in a movie have to be made as seamlessly as possible to make it possible for the audience to follow what is occuring.





 

Closeups

Closeups are done close up to the subject usually to show more detail or emotions on someones face.


 

Composition

Composition is the visual order of a shot. Space, colors, balance of light and dark and other visual elements are important to composition and are used to help direct the audiences eyes.






Sunday, January 24, 2016

Principles of Animation

Squash and Stretch

This principle is what gives the impression of how solid or strong an object may be. The stiffer an object is the more solid it seems. The more pliable the object the softer it appears. Take for instance if you dropped a baseball vs. a tennis ball.





Timing and Motion

The speed of an object or action gives your audience a better idea of whats going on in a scene. Timing takes into account the weight, size, and density of an object. By making two objects of equal size move at different speeds can make one seem lighter or denser than the other. For instance imagine the x's below represent each time that type of ball hits the ground after dropping it.

 

Anticipation

Anticipation is the preparation of an action and a good way to indicate what is going to occur. Anticipation can also be used to draw the audiences attention. It can also be used to reveal something that is about to occur. In the example below you see the guy bending at the knees and can anticipate that he is going to jump.


Staging

Staging is setting a scene so it is clear what is about to happen. In an action scene the eyes of the viewers will be drawn to an object that isn't moving and the reverse is also true.


Follow Through and Overlapping Action

Follow through is the termination of the action you anticipated earlier in the animation but not necessarily the end of the movement. Overlapping action is what you see when a bigger object stops but something smaller that is attached to it keeps moving for a few frames.


Straight Ahead Action and Pose-to-Pose Action

Straight ahead action is usually used for scrambling actions and is created by drawing frame to frame. Pose-to-pose action is used when poses and timing are whats important.


Slow In and Out

Slow in and out is what occurs between poses in a scene.


Arcs

Arcs are the paths the animation should take from one keyframe to another that gives a natural look and feel.


Exaggeration

Exaggerating is useful in emphasizing a scene or character but be careful to not overdo it.


Secondary Actions

Secondary actions are used to enhance what is occurring in a scene. You have to be careful not to let it detract from the scene though.

Appeal

Appeal in animation equates to an actors charisma. It is the likability of the character.


Solid Drawing 

The ability of the artist to use 3D shapes, anatomy, weight, balance, and light and shadow in his renderings.

Personality

This refers to the likability of the personality of the character.


If you wish to know more here are some links.
https://www.evl.uic.edu/ralph/508S99/contents.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/12_basic_principles_of_animation
http://www.cgmeetup.net/home/timing-and-spacing-in-animation/
http://www.animationbrain.com/solid-drawing-2d-animation-principle.html
http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/animation/character_animation/principles/personality.htm





Saturday, January 23, 2016

History of Animation

Traditional Animation
Traditional animation (also called cel animation or hand-drawn animation) is the that most of us born in the 20th century would know and recognize. This style of animation is drawn by hand and every image that follows has a slight difference to it to give it the appearance of movement. In traditional animation there are subcategories of animation.  
Full animation is what you would see with The Lion King (1994) and The Secret of NIMH (1982).
Limited animation is what you would see in 1968's Yellow Submarine. There were a lot of animators involved in the making of the movie, for a full list follow this link and scroll down to Animation Department.

                                                                                                                                                            
Yellow Submarine Trailer

Rotoscoping is what you would see if you have ever watched Bakshi's Lord of the Rings (1978) or 1981's Heavy Metal. Here is a link to the animator's that were involved in making Heavy Metal, again scroll down to Animation Department.

                                     

Heavy Metal Trailer

Live-action/Animation this style of traditional animation is what you would see in the movies Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) and Space Jam (1996).

Stop-Motion Animation
Stop-motion animation is where you physically move a real world object the desired amount at a frame by frame rate of speed to give it the appearance of motion. Like traditional animation there are subcategories for stop-motion animation as well. The following are a few examples.
Puppet animation is what you see when you watch The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) or Robot Chicken (2005- Present).
Clay animation is what you've seen if you have ever watched The Gumby Show (1956–1968) or the movie Chicken Run (2000).
Cutout animation was seen in Monty Python's Flying Circus (1969–1974) and the pilot episode of South Park (1997– Present).



Monty Python's Flying Circus Opening Credits

Monty Python's Flying Circus ran from 1969–1974 with Terry Gilliam as there animator and
Bob Blagden as their graphic designer.
Model animation was used in Jason and the Argonauts (1963) and King Kong (1933).
Pixilation was the stop-motion animation style seen in The Secret Adventures of Tom Thumb (1993) and Angry Kid (1999-Present).

Computer Animation
Computer animation is the creation of animated objects or characters using computers. Like the other forms of animation there are also sub-categories for computer animation. Here are a few examples.
2D animation is used a lot in flash and powerpoint animations.
3D animation is what we see when we watch Futurama (1999-2013) or play a game like The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (2002).
Motion capture is the style we see when we watch Polar Express (2004) or Beuwolf (2007).
Polar Express 
Polar Express's Animation Department can be found at this link. Animation Department.
Photo-realistic animation can be seen in the movies Ice Age (2002) and How to Train Your Dragon (2010).
How to Train Your Dragon's animators can be found at the following link about 1/2 way down the page. Animation Department

I tried placing in more videos but apparently Blogger will not allow more than three so I just supplied the links instead.

Friday, January 22, 2016

Early Animations

Fantasmagorie

This cartoon was created in 1908 and is considered to be the first hand-drawn animated cartoon. It was drawn on paper and then shot on film twice which is called "animated on twos." My personal opinion of it is that if animation had stayed like this I could be an animator but since it didn't I don't see much hope for me when it comes to hand-drawn animation.

Gertie the Dinosaur

Made in 1914 this naturalistic cartoon was one of the first to use keyframes, registration marks, tracing paper, motoscope action viewer, and animation loops. I found it really boring with only the music and no synchronized audio.

Steamboat Willie

Created in 1928 this was the first Disney cartoon with synchronized sound. I have seen clips of this many times but never the entire thing. While watching it I kept thinking that I'm surprised PETA hasn't boycotted its reshowing.

Monday, January 11, 2016

Richard Cole Introduction

1. Introduction

Hi, my name is Richard Cole. I am currently 35 years old, I'm married and have 2 children.

2. Photo

Here is a piece of my work, later I will put in a picture of myself.


 
3. Academic Major

I am currently working on obtaining my A.A.S. in Computer Graphics.

4. Goals

I hope to obtain and retain as much information as I can.

5. Continuing Education

I intend on looking into the Interdisciplinary Studies degree offered at NAU.

6. Favorite Animation 

Wall-E

7. Future

I hope to be working in a job that allows me to put my education to use.

8. Favorite Vacation Spot

I would love to be able to go to Alaska.

9. Pets

I currently have 3 dogs and a cat.