In the first animation class we extensively covered the 12 principles of animation as outlined by the founders of the art form. While these principles are incredibly important in being able to produce good quality animation they are not the whole story. Even if you follow and adhere to every principle in your animation that doesn't mean it will end up good. Technically yes, artistically no.

If you took animation 1 and 2 with me (and you probably did) you hopefully remember me harping endlessly on the fact that you have to pay attention to who the character is, why they are where they are in the story, where have they come from and where are they going. While these aspects didn't directly focus on the techniques you were working on they matter a whole lot once you get to the place where your character must be a part of a performance. As outlined in the introduction Animation 3 (Acting) is all about character performance. This module we will be looking at what it means to create a good performance by discussing the principles of acting and how they pertain to the art of animation.

Also, before we get started I want to call out a book that I think would be very good for you to get if you are interested in pursuing a career in animation. This book is written by Ed Hooks who some say is the foremost acting for animation teacher alive today. A lot of the principles and skills that make a great actor pertain to acting through animation, but not all of them. This book will help you in honing those skills.

Acting for Animators

There are some essential things that you should keep in mind when approaching any animated shot. I found these essentials to be very helpful and well presented in the video below, but here they are for your quick reference later:

Bobby Beck is one of the best animators of our day and one of the heads of the very successful program "Animation Mentor." He has shared a lot of great wisdom and assistance to the community through his blog, videos on youtube and through AM. In the video below he discusses some of the aspects of acting that make great actors and how that translates to your approach to acting through your animated characters as well as what your goals as animators should be.

Shooting video reference is not a new thing for us. The very first thing we covered in Animation 1 was the gathering and shooting of reference video. I have emphasized in every assignment how important it is to do a lot of planning and gathering of reference before putting your pencil on paper or mouse pointer on a character rig. Up until now we have been using reference to look at timing, posing and techniques as it relates to our objects and characters body. Now you will need to start exploring many different options for performance for your reference. This is an exercise in exploring the character and how they will act in this shot given different constraints and/or perspectives. Some things you won't have control over like the recorded voice track or set pieces. What you do have control over though is how the character performs to that dialog and within that set. Each constraint you explore will open up new ideas to others. The first idea is not necessarily the best one nor is it not necessarily the worst one. This process cannot be understated especially with acting.

This video explores this process very well in my opinion. It's time for us all to get much more comfortable in front of the camera :)

One of the best ways to learn how to animate well is through the observation of others who do it very well. It is not just about liking an animated movie or scene or even appreciating the technicality or artistry of it. This is only the start. You have to learn how to analyze a scene to really digest what is going on within it in order to learn how to apply it to your shots. Knowing how to copy something will only teach you how to do that one thing. One of the best ways to learn to analyze is to observe someone else analyzing and then practice it. Take a look at this analysis of a scene from Pixar's Monsters Inc. as a great example.

For our class time we are going to do a scene analysis of one of the best (and longest) animated scenes from a modern 3D animated film. The single shot opening scene for Bad Guys.

A big aspect of being able to produce good animation especially with good performances is to learn how to observe and analyze other peoples work. For this assignment you are going to do just that. Please analyze the following animated scene from Kung Fu Panda 1. In the first Kung Fu Panda movie this is a pivotal turn in story and character for both Po and Master Shifu and is in my opinion one of the best animated performances out there.

Watch the clip through the first time from start to finish. Then watch it through 3 more times and replay different sections to really analyze both characters for the acting essentials and principles we have covered in this module. Lastly watch it through a 4th and 5th time in entirety to really let the performances settle on you.

For your assignment you will write an analytical report of the scene that describes the key points throughout where key character development and transition of that development took place. Take some screen shots of those key moments and include them in your report. Don't just focus on the mechanics (Po looked here and then blinked...), but the actual performance and emotions being presented and HOW those mechanics make the emotion come through. When you call out a specific part of the scene please indicate what time in the clip it happens. Your report should be around 3 pages long including pictures, but can be longer if you include a lot of pictures with good analysis to support them. Please submit the report in word (.docx) or pdf format and include your name and date on the report. Also ensure you use 12pt font with double spacing.

Once completed submit to Assignment 2 on UNM Canvas