{Logo Stinger}

READING & WRITING

In the movie Elf, director Jon Favreau was insistent on creating a classic Christmas movie. He wanted to create something that would withstand the test of time and did not want technology to date his film. Favreau looked to old holiday movies for inspiration. After watching Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, he found the stop motion animation technique was a perfect way to bring his mythological creatures to life.

Favreau found the perfect technique to bring his movie to life, which is precisely what Liz Blazer advises in her book Animated Storytelling. She states: “Selecting the right animation technique can be the key to expressing your big idea, it can amplify the very soul of your story, and if used inventively can set your project apart from the rest.”

Side note: If you’re interested in learning more about how Buddy the Elf came to life, click here

Just as Favreau did, Blazer writes, it’s important to consider a variety of animation styles from hand-drawn to stop-motion to 2D and 3D CGI. Each technique evokes a certain feeling. For example, stop-motion is very quirky and feels magical at times. On the opposite end of the spectrum, 3D CGI can feel very life-like and modern, giving the impression that you’re in a whole new fantasy world.

Format

When determining the type of animation best suited for a story, consider the format in which the content will be viewed. Will it be small-scale and only viewed on a tablet or smartphone? Or will it be large format and displayed on the side of a building? Think about where your audience will be viewing your story and build your animation to suit the setting. A good tip is to use a vector format that keeps crisp lines no matter the size.

Bringing The Idea To Life

Once a style and size are established, it’s time to execute, but what happens if you don’t know how to create the style you want? Some ways to get around this are by adapting your own style or find a workaround. Another solution would be to hire someone with the style you are looking for to help. Again, there are a variety of ways to make your vision of your story come to life.

RESEARCH TO INFORM

While executing any animation, there are specific rules and guidelines to follow to make the movements in the story more convincing. Disney animators, Ollie Johnston and Fran Thomas wrote a book, The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation, that outlines the 12 principles of animation. After reading up, I found five examples of some of these principles I notice most often. Here’s what I found: 

Staging

Staging is a way to make sure the idea is clear to the audience. It could be the lighting or camera angle. In my example below, Kyle the “dog” is first shown in dark lighting, and then there is a close up on his face to show his sharp teeth and how frightening he is. Then the scene cuts to the children cowering away. With this staging, it is clear that Kyle is not a friendly animal.

Follow Through

The principle of Follow Through is based on the fact that a movement does not abruptly stop; instead, there is drag or a reaction that follows. In the example below, every time Arial, the mermaid, stops swimming, her hair and tail keep moving until they settle down around her.

Secondary Action

A secondary action is an overlapping action that helps reinforce the primary action. Below is a clip from the movie Coco and Miguel mimicking the guitar on TV. While he’s trying to learn the song, he sticks his tongue out to show his concentration.

Exaggeration

This principle of animation is used to take the action to the next level and present the action in an extreme way. The character Genie in the movie Aladdin has a larger than life personality. When he is first introduced in the film, he comes out of his lamp with fireworks, giant clouds of smoke, and a screaming Genie who then busts out into a song and dance routine.

Anticipation

This principle is when the animator gives a clue as to what will happen next. In the clip below, the backpack begins to move by itself. Then the zipper starts to open slowly. The audience is now very curious as to what is in the bag.

CREATE

Based on my reading and research, I created a logo animation. I first started with sketches that mapped out the basic movements I wanted each element in my logo to do. Because it’s circular, I thought it made sense to make various rotations, and it would be neat if the petals of the flower swirled into place. Then, I started watching multiple After Effects tutorials to figure out how to bring my ideas to life. 

Next, it was time to put my new skills to the test. At first, I felt like I didn’t know what I was doing, but when I dove into the program, the concept of “keyframes” finally clicked! Hallelujah! I was ready to roll. The trickiest part of my animation was figuring out how to animate the petals to move along a path. It was also a challenge because each of my petals needed their own unique path. Once I figured how to get the petals to maneuver the way I wanted, then I focused on the timing of each one. I wanted the timing of the petals to speed up as they animated. 

Once my animation was in a good place, I added the sound. Unfortunately, I struggled to find a good royalty-free option. Often I would find something I liked, and even though the website said ‘free downloads,’ I would be prompted to subscribe or pay an exorbitant amount for 15 seconds of sound. Although the selection is not my favorite, it works.

Overall I’m happy with how the animation came together. The way the petals swirl around are what I had in mind and I’m glad I was able to bring my idea to life.