March 05, 2013
March 04, 2013
"Filmmaking - Show Your Work In Progress" by Kevin Parry
One of the most valuable, but often overlooked, parts of developing a film is showing other people ('fresh eyes') your progress. This is a crucial part of the storyboarding/animatic phase, because knowing how a viewer is reacting to your work BEFORE you start production lets you flag problems that will later on kill your film. As painful as it is to hear negative feedback, or even worse a blank expression, think about how that will feel when you've finished the project, instead of just throwing out a few sketches and reworking your ideas. Clarity is king before you hit production.
Film is visual storytelling. Once you have a full animatic edited together (storyboards with rough sound effects and a temp music track), show it to a fresh pair of eyes - someone who hasn't seen it before - and test if the story is in fact being told visually. A fresh pair of eyes can be absolutely anyone, and I typically like to screen for people who aren’t film savvy, because that’s your typical audience. Don't preface the screening with details either - just let someone watch through your animatic and ask them, 'What just happened?'
It's amazing what that one little question will tell you about your story. You're not looking for what they thought the film meant, but quite literally, what exactly took place. You want the security of knowing that your storyboards, which are the intended shooting script, are clearly getting across every single action and story point. If someone who has just watched your animatic is confused or can't tell you what was happening in a specific section, then a red flag should go up about your staging, shot choices, editing, etc. Maybe even your story in general.
Avoid the 'It's not finished yet!' mentality. If you're lacking story clarity in your animatic, then it's unlikely any amount of animation or performance will clear that up in production. It’s possible, but why take the risk? Opt for the comfort of knowing that your film is working BEFORE you start production.
I’ve embedded a video of mine that side-by-side compares the animatic to the final version of my animated short The Arctic Circle. They are almost identical. And I’ll admit a painful secret – this animatic was about the tenth version. The first nine were much, much different in terms of story and pacing. What I was realizing when I was showing these first versions to viewers was that they were absolutely confusing. It wasn’t until I rewrote and reworked the animatic to unmistakable clarity that I knew I could begin production and create a film that I not only wanted to make, but that would result in successful and clear storytelling.
Show your work!
- Kevin Parry
Source
Film is visual storytelling. Once you have a full animatic edited together (storyboards with rough sound effects and a temp music track), show it to a fresh pair of eyes - someone who hasn't seen it before - and test if the story is in fact being told visually. A fresh pair of eyes can be absolutely anyone, and I typically like to screen for people who aren’t film savvy, because that’s your typical audience. Don't preface the screening with details either - just let someone watch through your animatic and ask them, 'What just happened?'
It's amazing what that one little question will tell you about your story. You're not looking for what they thought the film meant, but quite literally, what exactly took place. You want the security of knowing that your storyboards, which are the intended shooting script, are clearly getting across every single action and story point. If someone who has just watched your animatic is confused or can't tell you what was happening in a specific section, then a red flag should go up about your staging, shot choices, editing, etc. Maybe even your story in general.
Avoid the 'It's not finished yet!' mentality. If you're lacking story clarity in your animatic, then it's unlikely any amount of animation or performance will clear that up in production. It’s possible, but why take the risk? Opt for the comfort of knowing that your film is working BEFORE you start production.
I’ve embedded a video of mine that side-by-side compares the animatic to the final version of my animated short The Arctic Circle. They are almost identical. And I’ll admit a painful secret – this animatic was about the tenth version. The first nine were much, much different in terms of story and pacing. What I was realizing when I was showing these first versions to viewers was that they were absolutely confusing. It wasn’t until I rewrote and reworked the animatic to unmistakable clarity that I knew I could begin production and create a film that I not only wanted to make, but that would result in successful and clear storytelling.
Show your work!
- Kevin Parry
Source
"Tegels" by Johan Rijpma
The hidden movements and melodies of street tiles.
Tiles is an animation made of a large photographic collection of street tiles. By viewing this collection of photographs as a sequence, different movements and processes become visible within the frame of the tiles. Both music and animation are trying to find a balance between a thought-out arrangement and an arrangement of ‘chance’ deriving directly from the tiles.
More info: johanrijpma.nl
John Lounsbery - Scene Progression
Scene of "Tony" from Lady and the Tramp, animated by John Lounsbery. The rough animation (on twos) and the finished color version on ones. You can see the animator's note to the assistant on the first drawing to put the scene on ones in Clean-up.
March 03, 2013
March 02, 2013
March 01, 2013
Empire Strikes Back - Rare Documentary
Excerpts from the lost 1980 Michel Parbot documentary. A good quality version of the footage from the original Dutch Broadcast combined with the clips released in 2007. All in the correct order with the main and end titles to make a coherent whole.
Harlem Shake
Three animation-related Harlem Shake parodies: by French blogger/animator Malec, and by Cartoon Network staff from Adventure Time, and a 3rd one with characters from the "Box Stories" web series.
February 28, 2013
Exquisite Corpse
17 employees of the French Ankama Animation Studio (Dofus/Wakfu) have taken part to this animated "Exquisite Corpse" (2 versions with alternate endings).
Animators: Naoki Araiza Tokumasu, Floriane Grivillers, Julien Maret, Thomas Fourniret, Büb, David Besnier, Vincent Legarrec, Valerie Ménard, Sophie Dupont, David Decobert, Jean-Philippe Florin, Simon Coroller, Remi Juillet, Kosal Sok, Claudia Delahaye, Benoit Somville, Lucie Mayjonade, Carlo Toselli.
Animators: Naoki Araiza Tokumasu, Floriane Grivillers, Julien Maret, Thomas Fourniret, Büb, David Besnier, Vincent Legarrec, Valerie Ménard, Sophie Dupont, David Decobert, Jean-Philippe Florin, Simon Coroller, Remi Juillet, Kosal Sok, Claudia Delahaye, Benoit Somville, Lucie Mayjonade, Carlo Toselli.
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