Rules of animation; Squash and stretch

Squah and stretch 

  

Squash and stretch are the terms given to the types of action you can give to animations to create more natural, life like animations. It is used to mimic forces such as gravity like when you bounce a ball, the ball will squash on impact with the floor, then strech as it bounces back. This morphing will change depending on different factors, such as speed the ball is thrown and the weight and consistency of the ball. These effects are used in animation to add a life like feel to the animation.

As can be seen in this image.



http://www.epichuynh.com/2011/01/animation-notes-12-principles-of.html



Motion Design Brief

In this assignment, you will be exploring the key principles of motion design, you will design three pieces of animation which demonstrate a range of these animation principles. and you will then go on to produce one of these animations as a finished, polished piece.

You will design and storyboard 3 short (20 second) abstract animations which explore different aspects of motion design.  For example, you could vary the number of objects which are interacting on the screen from one to many across your three designs. You will develop all three into animatics which test the timing, movement and sound, and you will pitch your research, ideas, storyboard, animatic and mock up of the look and feel to the group and for discussion. 

The aim is to produce animation which is abstract and will be made from shapes rather than complex drawings or recognizable objects.  Given that the graphic objects are relatively simple drawings, the choice of colour palette and drawing style are important design concerns.  Each animatic and animation must have a suitable music or sound track of your choice. 

You will research animation/motion principles, generate ideas for animated sequences which apply to these principles, draw storyboards for three sequences, and develop these into animatics with sound. 

You will pitch your work at this point, and use the discussion to choose the one animation you will complete to a finished, polished piece by producing the artwork, sound and animation in line with storyboarding.

Deadlines

Pitch: Monday 10^th October (12.00 – 5.00)

Crit: Wednesday 19^th October (10.00 – 12.00)

Final submission:  Monday 31^st October by 12.00 midday

Sussex Lives Podcast - Update

After having filmed and edited my interview, I felt it lacked something and that it wasn't particularly working. I tried to re-work the video but it still didn't feel like it was successful. Due to this I decided that I would start again with my interview and chose somebody completely different for my video.

Due to Brighton Fringe Festival being on at the moment, I felt it would be interesting to speak to one of the performers and acts from this. I felt this would be a perfect opportunity to really get to the 'heart' of Brighton, as this festival is all about Brighton and encouraging up and coming talent. The atmosphere at the Fringe Festival is also positively buzzing and I felt that here would be a good place to base my interview, on the streets as it were, getting involved with the people. I decided to interview Doug Segal, a mind reader. Doug has performed on the BBC on New Years Eve and I felt that his skills and personality would make for a frank and honest interview, and would also be quite entertaining and something a little different.

Sussex Lives Podcast - Camera Angles

For an interview the shots necessary are generally close-ups and mid-shots, you don't tend to need long-shots as you want the interview to feel personally and the viewer to feel like they are talking to the interviewee. For this the interviewee should talk to the camera as if it was a person. The angle of the camera will stay mostly at eye-level or slightly above or below, this again to make the interview feel 'real' and the audience to feel like the interviewee is talking directly to them. (For camera shots and angles see below).

Sussex Lives Podcast - Research

To understand what a short interview or a podcast usually looks like, I decided to do some research. I hoped my research would allow me to have a clear idea of possible camera angles and shots that I could use. I also hoped I would learn how the mood of an interview went and what sort of questions are usually asked.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMpBwiSdm-w

After having watched this podcast, I established that usually they have quite an informal, relaxed feel to them. I realized that the interviews are quite natural and led by a list of questioning. However unlike this interview, the interviewer would be off camera and behind the scenes, I would also cut out the questions so it felt like the interviewee was giving a short talk about themselves.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0fEMw5k2CI&feature=relmfu

Again this interview is quite relaxed. But unlike this where the 'fans' are asking questions, as stated above I will ask the questions myself. I think I will incorporate more cuts than this video, as it may be more interesting for the viewer if the camera is not just positioned in one place the whole way through. It is evident that when asking a question, it is down to the interviewee to take the question wherever they like. They may answer the question but then it may lead them on to talking about something else.

Sussex Lives Podcast - Response

In order to represent the diversity of Brighton, I wanted to interview somebody not necessarily from Brighton originally, but who had chosen to reside here instead. I thought that this would be effective as it would be interesting to investigate why somebody from perhaps another country would chose to specifically live in Brighton. I wanted to learn about the differences between here and the place where they were from and what they loved about Brighton. To fulfil this I decided I would interview Eduardo from Spain who had lived here for a year and a half. I chose Eduardo as he had specifically decided to live Spain to come and live in Brighton.

Crash, Bang, Wallop - Camera Angles

It is important to chose the correct camera angles when shooting a video. The camera shots and angles help to set the scene. In this situation, because my piece will be contain fast cuts, it is important to keep the viewer interested. To do this, I think it will work best with the use of a combination of close-ups, extreme close-ups and mid shots. This will allow the viewer to not become distracted and concentrate on one scene at a time. For the last scene of me running out the door, I will use a longer shot as the viewer needs to be able to see the whole shot in order to understand what I have just done. There would be no point using a close-up for this shot as the viewer wouldn't be able to see me running out the door. 

Examples of camera shots


Extreme close-up
This shot is usually used for a dramatic effect
and generally exaggerates what the eye would
normally see.












Close-up
This shot shows very little background and
concentrates on something specific or a
particular detail. This is used to show
importance.










Medium shot
In this shot the background detail is
minimal, it is used to show action and
usually contains a figure from the waist
up.










Long shot
This is a full shot, showing the full length
of the human body, it is 'life size'. The focus
of this shot is usually the character.














Examples of camera Angles


Camera angles are important as they give the audience the emotional information of the object being filmed.


Bird's-Eye view
This shows a scene directly from above, looking down on the action. It puts the audience in a God'like position.


High Angle
This angle is used to make the object seem less significant and small. The camera is elevated above the action.


Eye Level
The camera is positioned as if it is a human observing a scene.


Low Angle
Low angles increase height and add a sense of confusion to the viewer.