Week 8 Midterms are here!

Activity: Watch Richard Williams DVD, Dialogue part 2

Notes: hit all accents early by 3-4 frames, progress the action.

Demo: Animating the jaw using the graph editor. Adding head accents using the graph editor.


Tip: According to Richard Williams, Jim Henson doesn't have 1/3 of the material than we have and he's doing a better job of the lip action than we are. Why? The secret is
PROGRESS THE ACTION. GO SOMEWHERE.
Jim Henson, has the puppets either going backwards forwards, he's going somewhere. And somehow with the opening and closing of the mouth he gets it pretty good!

Please make sure to post your midterm work in progress animation on the blog for midterm grades.

Homework for next week:


Animate the jaw. Think about the phrasing. On the second and third pass, try to tone down the chatter and focus only on the key phrases where the jaw is open.

Finish your phoneme library. Keep it simple. Even with a limited number of controls try to create interesting mouth shapes that reflect the personality of your voice. Create asymmetrical shapes that give you an extra touch of character and are peculiar to this one personality. Find an actor to use as reference for your character, and try and get their mannerisms into your character.

Use your exposure sheets! Write down your keys for the dialogue. Use the extra columns for thumbnail sketches.

Refine and add head accents. Subtle movements over the main poses. Hit accents early. Head accents at least 3-4 frames early. Head accents can be modified in the graph editor. Act it out, and look at reference.

Use reference for your characters. Study the great actors. Get some of their mannerisms into your characters.

extra class: Monday 9 am to noon, room 350