Timing for Animation

Bouncing Ball Exercise

Today

• Thoughts on Timing• Clips - Animation• Bouncing Ball• Group animation

Timing is…

• The placement or occurrence in time• The spacing of events in time• The measuring of elapsed time• The ability to select a precise moment in

time

Our Primary Concerns are…

• Space• Time• Movement

On-Screen Space• Size of the Screen/Resolution• Aspect Ratio (Width to Height)• Scale of objects relative to the Screen• Change in position/location of objects from

frame to frame• Illusion of Space/Depth/Perspective

– Deep or Shallow– Ambiguous– Off-screen Space

Cartesian Space

• Coordinate system that specifies each point uniquely in a plane by a pair of numerical coordinates

• The coordinates can also be defined as the positions of the points in relation to the coordinate axes and the point of origin (0,0,0)

• X, Y, Z axis

Time• Speed of Composition

– Frames Per Second– 12FPS, 24 FPS, 29.97 FPS, 30 FPS

• Real Time or Abstracted Time– Slow/Fast-Motion, Time-Remapping

• Length of movement/action– Keyframes: defining point/drawing in time– In-Betweens: points/images/frames between keys

Movement• Animate Objects Vs Inanimate Objects• Realism Vs Abstraction/Stylization• Interaction/Natural Forces

– Gravity– Wind– Other

• Moving Camera and/or Moving Subject

Animation Curves

• Interpolation is a method of constructing new data points within the range of a discrete set of known data points

• Bezier curves are used to model smooth curves that can be scaled indefinitely.

Principles of Animation

• Disney’s Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston

• The Illusion of Life• A few Principles…

– Overlapping Action/Follow-Through

– Arcs– Ease In/Out– Squash and Stretch

Personality (character) Animation

• Acting/Animation– Believability/Illusion of Life– Personality– Motivation

Animation

• “Game Over” - PES• “Paraguas” - Troshinsky• “Octopodi” - Goeblins school• “Free Radicals” - Len Lye (1953)• “Gerald McBoingBoing- UPA/Cannon

(1951)

Group Stop-Motion/Pixilation Animation

1. Divide into two groups2. Decide on a VERY SIMPLE story idea3. Set up the“stage” – 1 location, camera is “locked

down”4. Everyone takes position and freezes5. Director takes 2 photos6. Wait until the director says “move”7. Think about timing/movement –Less is more8. Move it into a new location9. Repeat steps 3-7• 120 frames (10 seconds at 12fps)

DEMO: BOUNCING BALL

• Composition Settings– Length (24 frames)

• Set Keys/Blocking• Adjust Keys/Test

– Keyframe Assistant– Ease In/Out

• Set Interpolation– Linear– Bezier– Hold

• Curves/Graph Editor

COMMON PROBLEMS• TOO FAST• CLICKY/ROBOTIC MOVEMENT• FLOATY/SLIDING MOVEMENT• OVERKILL/TOO MUCH MOVEMENT• OVER-ACTING • NO APPEAL/NO PERSONALITY