Untitled - uScreen

Hello,
This is the second edition of Animate & Create’s animation information pack, aimed at
getting young people started in the world of animation. This guide has been put together by
the Animate & Create crew to help support the teaching of animation in the classroom and
also for those of you who want begin animating for the first time at home.
I’ve made over a hundred films with young people in the last five years and have put
together this pack using my experiences to make it simple. I’m aware that technology
can be scary and that finding resources can be difficult, but I’ve tried where ever possible
to simplify techniques so that everyone can take part. In this pack we cover a range of
techniques and show step by step demonstrations included in hand outs.
This guide is also supported by an online resource series of ‘How to’ videos, which contains
demonstrations and further tips about getting started with your animations. The short series
covers all six of the exercises in this pack, showing exactly how to make your own creations.
The series can been found on our website here.
I really believe that animation is an important learning tool and a really great way for young
people to express themselves. I hope that this pack can help you take your first steps into
animation or build on from previous work.
Good Luck with your animations!
Dan Richards
Animator
Animate & Create
Free Software
PC, Animator DV Simple
http://animatordv.com/download7
PC, Helium Frog
http://www.heliumfrog.com/
PC, Stop Motion Recorder
http://www.familievandeput.nl/stopmotion/index.php?n=SMR.
HomePage
PC, StopMoJo
http://www.mondobeyondo.com/projects/stopmojo/
MAC, Frame Thief
www.framethief.com
MAC, Frame by Frame
http://web.mac.com/philipp.brendel/Software/FrameByFrame.html
Software for Sale
PC, ZU3D
http://www.zu3d.com
PC, Stop-Motion Pro
http://www.stopmotionpro.com
MAC, Dragon Stop-Motion
http://www.dragonstopmotion.com/
MAC, iStopmotion
http://boinx.com/istopmotion/overview/
Would you be interested in having a specialist workshop
provided? Animate & Create offers a variety of flexible
animation workshops for all ages.
Our workshops cover every element of production; from
script to screen with model-making, animation, sound
recording and editing. All workshops are led by industry
professionals, who help and inspire the young peoples’
films. The ideas and development processes are led by
the young people, who keep all the artwork and models
produced during the workshop, plus a copy of their
completed film on DVD and a certificate.
Past films made during Animate & Create workshops have
gone on to be screened at national and international film
festivals, winning a number of prizes and awards. They
have also been recognised by the animation industry, by
studios including Aardman Animations.
Workshops range from two hour model making sessions,
all the way up to five day animation projects. Any topic,
theme or issue can be covered and we always aim to fit
around specific requirements.
For more information, visit www.animateandcreate.com
or email [email protected]
Canterbury Anifest is an annual event which
in 2011 takes place between 30th September
and 2nd October.
For more information visit www.
canterburyanifest.com or email info@
animateandcreate.com
Getting involved!
At Anifest each year there is the ‘Smallfilms
Award’; a competition young people under
seventeen from the across the UK can enter.
The competition is named in honour of the
Canterbury animators who brought us such
classic animations as Bagpuss. It gives young
filmmakers and schools the chance to see
their work on the big screen and compete to
take home a glitzy award! Information about
the competition can be found on the Anifest
website.
Flip books are a great starting point for animation. The process is simple and the only cost is the price of
a pad of post-it notes. The idea of a flip book is to show a short action or event over a series of drawings.
When planning your flipbook, don’t over-complicate the animation. Draw a simple character doing a
single movement or action. In Episode One, Dan chose to draw a bouncing ball.
For your animation, take a pad of post-its with at least 40 sheets and a pen. When choosing your pad,
make sure that the pages are tightly secured at the top, to keep your book together to flip. It’s also
important to have a pad with pages which are slightly transparent to help judge where your drawing
needs to be positioned. When you choose a pen, you’ll need to make sure it is one that doesn’t bleed
through to the page below - so test your pen before starting. When drawing, try not to press down too
hard with your pen or your sheets will be marked.
Start by drawing your first image on the very last page of your pad, so as you are working through it you
can always see your previous image. This will help as a guide for you to judge where your next picture
will go.
When working through your pad, stop and test your flipbook regularly to check that your animation is
working. If your animation is moving too fast, it means the space between your drawings is too big. If
your animation is too slow, it means the space between your drawings is too small.
Once the book is finished, hold the sticky end in your left palm. Using your right hand, flick the sheets
with your thumb, starting from the back.
There are some great examples of animated flip books made with post-it pads. Here is an example,
which has been captured into a computer and made into a video.
Title: Yellow Sticky Notes
Director: Jeff Chiba Stearns
Link: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=7IeSqVboADw
Rostrum: This describes the position of the camera when capturing drawn and cut-out
animation. Instead of the camera facing forward, the camera is placed on a stand and points
downwards vertically to the surface, where the animation is placed. See Episodes Three and
Four.
Rotoscope: ‘Rotoscope’ is used to describe a technique which utilises live action as a style of
animation for your model or drawing.
Rotoscoping: Rotoscoping is the process of tracing live action video, using it as a guide for your
models or drawings. The process starts with live action video being imported into a piece of
capturing software and the footage being used to influence the animation through tracing.
Sand Animation: Uses the same principles of stop-motion and cut-out animation, with a camera
set in a rostrum position facing a desk surface. Sand is laid out onto a light box or tray and
shapes and images are created with the grains and then photographed frame by frame.
Shooting on Twos: Creating one image and capturing it twice on two frames of film.
Stop-Motion Animation: This technique is produced by moving models frame by frame and
photographing them. This style of animation has been used since the start of cinema, from King
Kong to Jack Skeleton. See Episode Two.
Storyboard: A breakdown of a script or story into pictures. Other details are included, such as
shot number, shot duration, camera shot and notes such as dialogue.
Squash and Stretch: Any model or character can be pulled and manipulated to improve an action
or movement. ‘Squash’ is a term used to reference the exaggerated or over-emphasized state
used in animation to create a flattened position of an object. ‘Stretch’ is the term for an object
which is elongated for drama or performance. A ‘squash and stretch’ exercise is a common
exercise for animators to practice their technique with.
Timing: Timing relates to the number of images required to create an action. The more images
per action, the slower that action will be. The fewer images there are, the faster the action will
be.
Tracking: The term used to describe camera movement. ‘track in’ or ‘track out’ are the terms
used for moving in and out with the camera.
Zoetrope: A device invented in 1834 which produces the illusion of movement from a rapid
selection of pictures. The device works using images inside a drum, which when revolved allows
the viewer to look through a slot in the side to see a simple action.
2D Animation: See Drawn Animation, Episode Four.
3D Animation: See CGI animation.
Animation Books
Cracking Animation: The Aardman Book of 3D Animation, Lord, P. & Sibley, B. (1999) Thames &
Hudson
Stop Motion Craft Skills for Model Animation, Shaw, S. (2004) Focal Press
The Animator’s Survival Kit, Williams, R. (2002) Faber and Faber
Animation Websites
Animation World News (www.awn.com) provides general news and information about animation
around the world.
Stop-motion animation Forum (www.stopmotionanimation.com) Online stop-motion community
resource. Has articles and advice on everything stop-motion, including model building, animation
techniques and other technical issues.
Canterbury Anifest (www.canterburyanifest.com) Kent’s animation festival. This annual event
happens at the start of November. The website is the place to find out about animated events in
the area.
Animate and Create (www.animateandcreate.com) Animation workshop company running workshops
for young people, based in Kent. The workshops are run by Dan Richards. Examples of projects made
with Kent schools can be found on the site.
Zu3D (www.zu3d.com)
Aardman Animation (www.aardman.com) details the activities of the Bristol-based independent
animation studio and presents online animation series.
Other Interests
Canterbury Christ Church University (www.canterbury.ac.uk/arts-humanities/media) The Kentbased university has a wide range of exciting Film, Media and Animation courses to study.
Film Street (www.filmstreet.co.uk)A great resource for young people interested in film- from
watching to making them! They have a special section on animation.
First Light Movies (www.firstlightonline.co.uk)
Screen South (www.screensouth.org) Kent’s regional film and media agency. A resource for support,
funding and anything else film orientated.
Plasticine
A really good quality Plasticine is ‘New Plast’ made by New Clay Ltd, which is used by a lot of
leading UK animation companies.
http://newclay.co.uk/Newplast.htm
Animation Armatures
For those of you who would like a more professional skeleton for your characters, Animation
Supplies based in the South East provide a range of quality armatures.
http://www.animationsupplies.net/
Animation Wire
Animation wire is really useful to make models with. The beauty of the wire is that it is made
from aluminium and is strong but soft enough to bend. Recommended wire diameter thickness is
1.22mm.
http://rowancable.co.uk/page5.htm
Polystyrene Balls
The Polystyrene balls which are so useful for characters eyes are available online from a company based in Thanet. A selection of 40 different sized balls is just 92p, plus postage.
http://www.purplenimbus.com/product/40_polystryeneballs_WD507010
Drawn Animation Kit
To produce drawn animation, you will need a few materials including a peg bar, cell paper and
possibly an easel. All of these materials are sold by Chroma Colour.
Peg Bar
http://www.chromacolour.co.uk/store/animation_pegbars.asp
Animation Paper
http://www.chromacolour.co.uk/store/animation_paper_economy.asp
Daylight Light Box
http://uk.daylightcompany.com/product/art-craft-light-box-white/
Sound Recording
Samson ZOOM H2 Handy Recorder
This piece of sound recording equipment is like a big ipod with a microphone built in. It’s a
great bit of kit which can be used to record both sound effects and voice overs for your animations. Each recording saves as individual tracks in the wave (.wav) format and is both PC and
Mac compatible.
http://www.samsontech.com/products/productpage.cfm?prodID=1916&brandID=4
Be sure to shop around for the best price.
Editing Software
Once you have produced your animation shots, you will need to put them into a piece of
editing software to put them together along with sound. There are many different types of editing software. Most computers have a very basic piece of software already on them -PCs normally
have ‘Windows Movie Maker’ and Apple Macs should have ‘iMovie’. Below are links to some of
the editing software available:
http://tv.isg.si/site/?q=node/873
http://www.zs4.net/
http://cart.thedaft4artncraftsuk.co.uk/index.php?p=product&id=18142&parent=418
For more information on anything you have read in this booklet
just send us an email at: [email protected]