Case Studies Framework
I have thought about frameworks for my case studies for a while now, I essentially need them to validate my case studies I believe, based on lectures.
My thoughts are though that I either need to have one framework I use for the case studies...but then say for instance I have in the framework a bit on eye contact, in some case studies that section will be a lot longer than others, it might feel like I am repeating myself from case study to case study.
The second option is that I have many frameworks to analyse different aspects...but then I might find a case study where I should apply more than one of the frameworks, then I find myself writing way too much analysing every little detail.
so...my intention is to create a framework where I will choose the relevant sections to apply to the case study. So it will almost be like a 'build your own framework' sort of thing.
All this is more for case studies on character performance rather than animation.
Framework
Body language
I will look into how characters are using their bodies to communicate attitudes to the audience without dialogue, or, how they use their bodies while listening to another character talk. This could be the folding of arms or the opening of the overall body to accept another character. Steve Roberts book, Character Animation in 3D, will be the main source for this topic along with Ed Hooks, Acting for Animators.
Eye contact
Eye contact is on its own because it is one of the most obvious way of directing a character focus in the scene. It is also one of the main things that an audience will pick up on. Again, Steve Roberts book will be the main source for this topic.
Body posture
Body posture is one that will be used in most, if not all, of the animated case studies. It is something that is often used to utilise a pose. If a character leans back in a chair in a depressed manner, then that pose will be fully exaggerated to really give the audience a sense of the character's attitude. Body posture is one of the key aspects that animators exaggerate. Again....I will use Steve Roberts book along with Ed Hooks for this topic. I will also use Hayes and Websters book, Acting and Performance for Animation.
Lines of action
Line of action is the line of which dictates a character's action.
This image below is from:
This one image sums up line of action and its importance in animation. This will be used more for the animation case studies but it can also be used on the live action ones since a lot of animation is based on real life.
12 Principles
I will obviously breakdown the 12 principles into their own and they will be mentioned in case studies where appropriate. These are important to analyse because it will allow me to see where they are being used and see how they are being exaggerated.
Squash and Stretch
This gives a sense of weight to a character. It shows the audience how flexible a character is and how heavy.
Anticipation
This is where the animator prepares for an action, it allows the audience to read what is going to happen. The most famous example is a pitcher in baseball preparing to throw the ball.
Staging
This is how clear something is, and action and expression or even a mood.
Straight Ahead Action and Pose to Pose
This one is no likely to be used but I wrote the 12 principles, not the 11.
These are basically two ways of animating, straight ahead involves drawing one frame after the other, and pose to pose involves doing the key poses and filling the inbetweens.
Follow Through and Overlapping Action
Follow Through - Loose parts of the body keep moving when we have stopped an action. One of the best examples are the arms in a walk, when we stop our arms keep moving forward (or backwards if you were walking backwards) until they are brought back to the centre of gravity.
Overlapping Action - This relates to how different parts of the body move at different rates than others.
Slow In and Slow Out
Perhaps more commonly, ease in ease out. This accounts for characters needing time to accelerate and also time to slow down in a movement. Example: a 100 metre sprint, the runner is slowest at the beginning as they accelerate to their top speed, then they are at that speed for the rest of the 100 metres, then they need to slow down but they can't just stop so they keep running beyond the finishing line until they have slowed themselves down.
Arc
This relates to parts of the body following arc trajectories. People use arcs in their movements so applying this to an animated character will help to create a believable performance.
Secondary Action
This is where a secondary action is happening alongside the primary one. This could be a character whistling while walking or the arms swinging while walking.
Timing
This is one of the big ones and most crucial. The timing of a walk cycle for instance can be the difference between a stroll and an urgent walk.
Exaggeration
Exaggeration can affect many aspects, emotion, posture, a gesture, dialogue and I'm sure many more that don't come to mind in this moment.
Solid Drawing
This involves giving a character a sense of 3 dimension...of course this is more applied to 2D animation since in 3D the character is already there.
Appeal
This involves making a character appealing to the audience even if they are a nasty villain. Even if they are not supposed to me liked they still need to have appeal in order to convince the audience of their character.
Summary:
This framework will be used to help inform my case studies. I will choose the most relevant topics from here when doing them. This will allow me to be more specific but also allow me to use this one framework on all of my case studies from the animations to the live action ones.
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