Finals Checklist:

I.  On the Server, in the "FINALS" folder, turn in final videos for the following:

1. The ball bounce project.

2. The shape emotion project.

3. The research assignment.

4. Walk cycle 1. (The standard walk)

5. Walk cycle 2. (The walk cycle with personality!)
6. Your 6-10 second character animation
7. A PDF of your storyboard
8. A movie file of your animatic.
9. A document detailing your experience in the class! (what you enjoyed, what could be improved, what you would like to see in future classes, what you learned!)

(#9 can be emailed to me personally if you prefer confidentiality)

I will grade based on the following:

A. Craftsmanship: Line-art quality.  Are your lines clean? Is your character the focal point of your animation, or are the rough lines the focal point?

B. Modeling: How consistent is your character between every frame of your animation?  Do limbs get too thin and then too thick?

C. Performance: Are we captivated by the actions on screen?  Is your animation about the character? Are the performances believable and relatable if we look at your animation as an actor and as the audience?

D. Clarity of storytelling:  What is the story of each animation?  Is the story coming across?

E. Technique:  Are you demonstrating the principles we've learned in class?

Arcs - The way we add weight to how your character moves.

Easing - speeding up and slowing down of actions over time.

Positioning - (spacing)

Pacing - (Timing)

Staging
Storyboard development.
Cinematography
Character acting and performance.


NOTE: THE DEADLINE FOR TURNING IN ALL WORK IS 12:00AM MONDAY, DEC 7th.  All work is timestamped automatically, so I will know if your work is turned in late, and will dock points accordingly!

Storyboards Case Study: Batman The Animated Series Intro: Bruce Timm

As you work on your storyboards, it's easy to pour too much work into the wrong section of your story. The most important thing your storyboards should do is COMMUNICATE the actions on screen TO US.

Again, COMMUNICATE..... TO US.

So fancy drawings mean nothing if they are not clear!  As an example, take a look at the intro to the award-winning Batman: The Animated Series Below:


Batman The Animated Series: From Storyboard to Animation
Storyboard Images

You see the storyboards have been put together to create an animatic for us to view. While there are some slight changes, the storyboards are drawn in such a way that we can very well understand the action at hand without needing much else.

They achieve this with

1. Clear, simple drawings.
2. Efficient camera movements, where the camera serves the characters and setting, not the other way around.
3. Drawing the BEATS, or changes in action between panels!


Storytelling is always important in animation, but even more important than storytelling is character performance.  Showcasing how your character moves between shots uses your acting skills and makes the characters much more interesting to us!


On the server, I've included links to the boards from the above video, as well as storyboards from an episode of adventure time, and the first 4 episodes of the Bee and Puppycat Kickstarter project.  Review these to help improve your skills in storyboarding!


I'll add some additional links below for you to check out at your leisure!

SHAZAM: Superman Animatic
Scribd.com: Adventure Time Stoyboards (need to sign up with an email address to download)

Homework for Wednesday:

Now that you have learned the basics of storyboard pro,  take the rough sketches of your thumbnail drawings and create a draft of your storyboard in Storyboard Pro!

1. Roughly sketch out the drawings for your story.
2. Add proper timing to the drawings, and export out a .MOV file that we can check out Wednesday!

At this point, do not spend a lot of time making perfect drawings. I will ask you to revise your stories to make them better!

Email me if you have any questions!

Introduction to Cinematrography: Shot Types, Blocking, Rule of Thirds, and More!

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!

http://www.amazon.com/Cinematic-Storytelling-Powerful-Conventions-Filmmaker/dp/193290705X

http://www.amazon.com/Master-Shots-Vol-2nd-Techniques/dp/1615930876/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_y

http://www.amazon.com/Master-Shots-Volume-Shooting-Dialogue/dp/1615930558/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_z

THE RULE OF THIRDS:

http://digital-photography-school.com/rule-of-thirds

http://vimeo.com/14315821

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:

Examples:  http://revision4gcses.wordpress.com/media-studies/camera-anglesmovementshots/

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.  (in short, move the camera from one side to the next)

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.

http://www.slideshare.net/StaceySmith1/camera-shots-and-angles-5618222

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.

http://www.demotix.com/blog/advice/1072724/creating-shot-list-diversity-your-camera-angles-and-image-submissions

FOCUSED CASE STUDY that Teaches Cinematography: 
The Cinematography of the Incredibles, parts 1-3.

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 when planning cinematography:

Practice your draftsmanship!  Draw lighter in the beginning, sketch first, refine second!  We will animate our character through drawing frames!  Block out each shot.  Export your drawings out of Storyboard pro as a pdf.  You can board on paper, or photoshop, and scan in too.  but we will make an animatic of your work for the final.

STORYTELLING: Three Act Structure:

Review the formula for a movie's "Three Act Structure" at these links:http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ThreeActStructure
http://www.cod.edu/people/faculty/pruter/film/threeact.htm
http://scripteach.com/?page_id=223

HOMEWORK FOR WEDNESDAY, 11/11/2015

Hello Class!

Today we did an AWESOME exercise where we storyboarded an entire episode of a cartoon in 22 minutes!

I hope it was a rewarding experience for all of you, and a way to practice drawing clear, easy to understand storyboards!

What you are to do for homework is this:

1. Take an episode of Samurai Jack from the ones I have selected for you on the server, OR an episode from a cartoon of your choosing. (The episode must be at least 22 minutes.)
2. When watching the episode, draw each shot as clearly as you can, trying to tell the story on your paper with clear images.
• You want to focus on actions and environments that you feel are KEY shots and KEY environments.
3. If you were absent, I STRONGLY ADVISE you to get a copy of notes from our talks today from another student. It will help you a lot when trying this assignment on your own. Further more, any student whom was absent needs to board following episodes we did in class.
• Jack and the Ninja (S4, E1)
• Jack and the Blind Archers (S1,E7)
4. Bring both a hard copy and a digital copy of your storyboards to class on Wednesday! We will talk camera techniques and storyboards with purpose on Wednesday!

The movies you need are in the STORYBOARDING SAMPLES folder on the server. In that folder is also a copy of the storyboarding sheet you need to use to do this assignment. I've included a copy of it here for download!

Print as many as you need, and try to stay within 35-50 minutes when you do this exercise.  That way, if you feel like you're messing up, you can try multiple times!

HAPPY BOARDING!

INSTRUCTOR HAS THE FLU - CLASSES CANCELLED - INSTRUCTIONS BELOW

Hello Everyone,

It's with regret I inform everyone that I caught the flu over the weekend and have to cancel classes. The timing isn't great considering it's the first class of November, but we should be fine as long as we continue our current pace! If you find a student that is in my class, please inform of the following email.

I'll leave a folder on the server for each class labeled (QUESTIONS_AND_FEEDBACK) for all of you in case you have questions about your animation projects for me.  The one required thing I will ask of every student is to drop the current versions of any art you have today on the server, and email me any questions you may have. When I'm not getting medicine and the like, I'll be sure to answer and send them back to you.

The following post below mentions what each of my classes will be doing today look for your class in question for details:

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AN200 

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Continue working on your performance animation. Place a version of your project in the folder mentioned above. Send me an email with your current progress for your animation, and any questions you may have. While we were going to talk color for animation today, we will begin talking about it Wednesday instead. Your due date for your current animation is Next Monday. 

On that day, I will be expecting a complete black and white animation with clean line art and excellent performances!

Today you should be at the stage where your animation's story is complete, and your biggest priority is cleaning up your line art. If you have questions for that, email me!

In addition, I want you to conduct some research:

1. On Wednesday, bring in 3 screenshots from cartoons that have compelling use of color and camera angles. I would like 3 images per cartoon, for a total of 9 images in all.

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Again, my apologies on missing class with you today. I'll be available via email for anyone whom has questions. If you need anything, please be sure to contact me ASAP. I will be back in class Wednesday.

Happy Monday Everyone!