Meeting 01 - Brian Robinson

Brian Meeting

Yesterday I had my meeting with Brian Robinson. The key point was me asking for advice on either doing a narrative based animation or more like short animation actions for a show reel. The outcome was that I want to do 3D animation when I leave university so it would be far more beneficial for me to start animating as soon as possible and forget about the narrative side of things for now.

My main project, as of now, is going to consist of media tests throughout the year with the aim of producing near perfect animated performance for my final piece.

When it comes to pre-made rigs, I am going to find a variety of different ones as the character of the rig will ultimately determine what sort of performance I portray onto them. I aim to have a set of rigs by the end of today so I can begin animating in the next couple of days.

Some of the key aspects to come from the meeting were:

I need to focus on performance, and that could mean I look at theatre performance and film performances as much as real life and animation. All the great animated performances have come from observing real people performing in theatre, film or as a direct reference.

Style of animation, this refers to my own style as much as the style of some famous animators. It would be a good case study for me to pick two very different animators from different backgrounds and eras to then compare against each other so I can get a better understanding of the different styles utilised by animators. This in turn will hopefully allow me to become aware of my own style of animating and thus actively respond to it and improve it.

Project of media tests, my project is going to be all about media tests where perhaps I will focus on a particular style and then analyse it or I could focus on a particular action and analyse the performance of the animation. I will be doing this throughout the year to not only develop a better understanding of animation but to also improve my animating skills in Maya.

How the 12 principles of animation relate to my own animation? I would like to explore the 12 principles of animation in my own animations so I can knowingly use them in the future. I feel at the moment I used them on a subconscious level, mainly follow through, secondary animation and anticipation. I think the only reason I haven’t perhaps used them all is because I haven't done much exaggerated animation so I would like to explore that as well, to help me develop my animation skills.

Below is a link to the 12 principles of Disney guide.

http://minyos.its.rmit.edu.au/aim/a_notes/anim_principles.html

Find Particular animators who have animated characters I’ve liked and try and find interviews with them and read what they have to say in the hope they give an insight into their process of 3D animating. 

Summary

This meeting yesterday has refined my project into a project of short action/performance based animations to develop my overall animating skills and my overall knowledge of animation.