NEVER have flowers been so epic. Visit the page and in the box that loads on the right of the screen change View from ‘Equalizer’ to ‘Flowers’. Trust me, ‘Flowers’ is the best one. I think this post fits nicely with Steve’s Musical Shorts post.

http://music.zackhemsey.com/track/mind-heist

Enjoy!
|Ben

*Thanks to Tom Jech for the heads up!

Every once and while commercials come around that are just brilliant. This commercial caught my eye, not only for it’s originality and attention to detail, but also for the acting choices. This is not meant to be anything in depth, but I thought I’d point out some things I thought worked well and what maybe didn’t.

First watch the clip:

The first thing that stuck out to me was how fresh and spot on the acting choices were for our main character. Besides his surroundings and what he’s literally saying, you get so much support about who he is by how he acts and the way he moves.

I’ll just list my favorite parts and what I think they communicate:
- Overall, his movements are slower and more controlled. One of my former acting teachers told me that an easy acting choice to show class is to think that the poor and lowly move very fast and scurry around while the rich and powerful move only a minimal amount since everything is done for them. When he sits back into the chair, notice it’s at his pace. His point towards the bust he prefers lingers there and he only retracts his index finger. Again, all very minimal, but of course, meaningful at the same time.
- His status is also portrayed at the very beginning because he neither looks at the grape he’s about to eat nor does he look back when he hands the bowl away. This shows that he expects everything to be in it’s place and bending to his very will. Again, small choice, but makes a big difference.
- When he chooses the bust he likes best, two things stick out to me. First, he never has to look back at the other bust to compare. Second, the fact that he chooses so quickly. Both of these things show that he knows what he likes and always gets what he wants.
- When he sits down on the couch and turns on the TV his movement is, again, very minimal. Think about how powerful that is and then think about how you would have animated it if you got that line of dialog. I don’t know about you, but I would have over-animated it. I can already think of a couple of head accents and such that I would have added. I would have been wrong.
- “I jump in it.” is another great example of how we, as animators, would have totally over-animated a piece of dialog. My first reaction to the line would be to maybe add an eyebrow accent, but all he does is a head nod. Just awesome.
-That laugh and reaction to kissing the mini giraffe is priceless. Not only does it cap off the commercial with a fun idea, but it serves a few interesting purposes. First, the most obvious is to show how spoiled he is. He laughs like a kid in a candy store. Second, considering he was pretty minimal throughout the commercial, this adds brilliant contrast. The minimal movement earlier in the commercial serves not only to show his character, but also to accent this last acting choice. If he was as giddy for the whole commercial, this last bit would not have sold.

Now this commercial isn’t all roses. The pretty lady sitting right next to him on the couch WAY overacts. My assumption is that she should be playing bored and unimpressed maybe. Just too much movement and too many ideas going on to be believable.

Let me know your thoughts.

|Ben

In animation, reference is very important because you have to know your subject before you can animate it. Makes sense. Sometimes searching for reference can be a difficult task. Thankfully a new Vimeo group, at least new to us, is posting a bunch of animation reference videos for us all to check out. There seem to be a lot of high quality clips both in real-time and slow-motion. Some of the horse trots are worth a visit alone.

CLICK HERE or on the image to visit the site!

Thank you to Ed Herft for sharing the link!

|Ben

Just realized the title to this post sounds like a movie sequel. I guess this is a sequel of sorts. In this sequel to Jacob’s post, we will see how Something Left, Something Taken was made. Red Giant TV put together this behind-the-scenes look at the short film created by Tiny Inventions. The amount of work and creativity that went into the short is astounding. It’s a must see for anyone wanting to make their own short film!

Click here to check it out!

|Ben

Bill Watterson's process

My good friend Christian Reese pointed out a speech to me recently that I had not read in a long time. I looked on the article and struggled to recall anything other than a vague emotional reaction I once had after reading it some time ago. At that point I decided to drop whatever I was doing and surrender to inspiration.

The speech I read was one that Bill Watterson, creator of the famous comic strip Calvin and Hobbes, gave to the graduating class of Kenyon College in 1990. Watterson is very reclusive and there are very few interviews with him anywhere. The few times he does speak, his words are lean, with purpose and full of wisdom. I had to reread quite a number of parts of his speech to fully digest his meaning. Needless to say, I was inspired.

Here is the speech: http://www.serverunderground.com/2009/11/16/speech-by-bill-watterson/

Or on our server: http://www.speakingofanimation.com/storage/watterson.html

I also have pulled out a few select quotes that I thought were particularly poignant.

- If I’ve learned one thing from being a cartoonist, it’s how important playing is to creativity and happiness.

- Our idea of relaxing is all too often to plop down in front of the television set and let its pandering idiocy liquefy our brains. Shutting off the thought process is not rejuvenating; the mind is like a car battery-it recharges by running.

- To endure five years of rejection to get a job requires either a faith in oneself that borders on delusion, or a love of the work.

- We all have different desires and needs, but if we don’t discover what we want from ourselves and what we stand for, we will live passively and unfulfilled. Sooner or later, we are all asked to compromise ourselves and the things we care about. We define ourselves by our actions. With each decision, we tell ourselves and the world who we are. Think about what you want out of this life, and recognize that there are many kinds of success.

-  …having an enviable career is one thing, and being a happy person is another.

- To invent your own life’s meaning is not easy, but it’s still allowed, and I think you’ll be happier for the trouble.

- Your preparation for the real world is not in the answers you’ve learned, but in the questions you’ve learned how to ask yourself.

Watterson’s words remind me of why I’m doing animation. Animation is what I love and for most of you I’m sure the same is true. Watterson speaks to a way of life that centers on loving what you do and following your dreams. While this comes across as cliche, I feel it speaks a very deep truth. Many times in animation, when we are lost in the principles and long hours at the computer/animation desk, it’s easy to lose sight of why we are doing what we’re doing. Remember why you fell in love with animation because it will show you how the “problems” you’re dealing with in your shot are the good problems.

“Ok Ben, that’s enough sappy stuff. Get to showing us those awesome Calvin and Hobbes strips.”

I hear you.

I will get to some of the awesome Bill Watterson art that is Calvin and Hobbes in a later post, but for now I just wanted to touch upon the roots of why we do what we do. Animation, just like any artform, requires countless hours of work and dedication. It requires a level of love that is irrational and unwavering. I feel that if you begin with that as a base, you are that much more prepared to soak up inspiring material.

My last note is something that I am beginning to consciously think about when blocking out a shot. Watterson says,

“…it’s been liberating to put myself in the mind of a fictitious six year-old each day, and rediscover my own curiosity. I’ve been amazed at how one idea leads to others if I allow my mind to play and wander.”

The intent is to allow your mind to think unconventionally. So often our minds are bound by reality and we don’t think to explore the impossible. Sometimes thinking like a child can allow you to explore new and fresh opportunities in your animation.

|Ben

P.S. I implore you to read the whole speech. It’s completely worth it and you’ll be glad you did.