(IN ADOBE CHARACTER ANIMATOR) BEN MANSUR LIVE 2D ANIMATION (IN ADOBE CHARACTER ANIMATOR) BEN MANSUR

WHAT IS IT NOT? Traditional 2D animation Homer & June Bellamy [Image]. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kp6tegGhUi1qzaiueo1_500.jpg

WHAT IS IT CURRENTLY? Essentially facial motion-capture for 2D motion graphic animation with extra features Facial Motion Capture [Image]. (2015). Retrieved from http://www.digitalartsonline.co.uk/news/motion-graphics/adobe-character-animator-this-new-animation-software-animates-characters-based-on-your-words-facial-expressions/

EXAMPLE OF WORK: The Simpsons S27E21 “Simprovised” featured a 3-minute live-broadcast Q&A segment Animation on FOX. (2016, May 17). THE SIMPSONS | Homer Live: East Coast | ANIMATION on FOX [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bz0ShKbYOuw

EXAMPLE OF WORK: Made use of Adobe’s Character Animator in After Effects (lip sync & keyboard command triggers) Simpsons director, David Silverman, was in charge of Homer’s on-air animation control (Failes, I., 2016) Homer’s voice actor, Dan Castellaneta, was required for live audio & lip sync A stable lip sync update of Character Animator was produced specifically for the segment (Simons, D., 2016) Homer Keypad [Image]. (2016). Retrieved from https://twitter.com/tubatron/status/732279450277138432

HOW IT WORKS: Webcam to recognise head & facial expressions (pupils & eyebrows, head rotation & scale) to animate puppet’s head Microphone detects audio to sync mouth position Can customise keyboard command triggers for set animations Can set up click & drag sections of character (e.g. limbs) Can set up physics for secondary animation & visual effects (dangle, particles, etc.) Can record a performance with multiple takes for different sections of the character Not limited to standard characters Okay Samurai. (2015, June 15). Top 10 Tips for Getting Started (Adobe Character Animator Tutorial) [Video File Screenshot]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vWEvjes5hc Okay Samurai. (2016, June 20). Making Your First Character (Adobe Character Animator Tutorial) [Video File Screenshot]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_smLXODTd6U

MAIN CURRENT LIMITATIONS: Doesn’t use a bone system (i.e. rig), it uses origin points instead, therefore limb deformation occurs Limited to 5 head positions (Left, ¾ Left, Centre, ¾ Right, Right) (with no tweening) Only 13 mouth shapes (with no tweening) Adobe After Effects. (2016). Character Animator Tutorial: Scene 01. Getting Started [Screenshot]

THE SIGNIFICANCE TO ANIMATION: Very quick to begin motion-graphic character animation Very simple to set up for custom puppets (layers simply need to follow naming conventions & ‘tags’ shown in example character files) (Warner, D., 2015) Aiming to incorporate Universal Bone System (i.e. 2D character rig) for full body motion-capture (Simons, D., 2016) Could lead to smooth 2D motion-graphic character animation with rotation Could lead to real-world, real-time character animation in film & T.V., amusement parks, etc. Anh Huyen Nguyen. (2014, May 1). Use After Effects to Motion Capture And Controller For Character 2D Animation [Video File Screenshot]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpwozjHLDZE

References: ABC News. (2016, May 16). Homer Simpson Appears Live on “The Simpsons” | ABC News [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=105&v=crAk8bL0qCQ Adobe Creative Cloud. (2015, April 8). Bringing 2D characters to life with Adobe Character Animator | Adobe Creative Cloud [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmPo0_WZyPU Animation on FOX. (2016, May 17). THE SIMPSONS | Homer Live: East Coast | ANIMATION on FOX [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bz0ShKbYOuw Failes, I. (2016).How ‘The Simpsons’ Used Adobe Character Animator To Create A Live Episode. Retrieved from http://www.cartoonbrew.com/tech/simpsons-used-adobe-character-animator-create-live-episode-139775.html Intern Team. (2016, May 18). BEHIND THE SCENES: THE "SIMPROVISED' SIMPSON'S EPISODE. Retrieved from http://shop.studio44productions.com/blog/Behind-the-Scenes-The-Simprovised-Simpson-s-Episode Kopriva, T. (2015, April). Adobe Character Animator revealed. Retrieved from http://blogs.adobe.com/creativecloud/adobe-character-animator-revealed/ Okay Samurai (Warner, D). (2015, Octover 14). Making Your First Cartoon (Adobe Character Animator and After Effects Tutorial) [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkDG3vU5oNE Vizrt NEWS. (2014). Fox Sports uses virtual graphics powered by Vizrt for Daytona 500. Retrieved from http://www.vizrt.com/news/newsgrid/40045/Fox_Sports_uses_virtual_graphics_powered_by_Vizrt_for_Daytona_500

Image References: Adobe After Effects. (2016). Character Animator Tutorial: Scene 01. Getting Started [Screenshot] Anh Huyen Nguyen. (2014, May 1). Use After Effects to Motion Capture And Controller For Character 2D Animation [Video File Screenshot]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpwozjHLDZE Facial Motion Capture [Image]. (2015). Retrieved from http://www.digitalartsonline.co.uk/news/motion-graphics/adobe-character-animator-this-new-animation-software-animates-characters-based-on-your-words-facial-expressions/ Homer Keypad [Image]. (2016). Retrieved from https://twitter.com/tubatron/status/732279450277138432 Homer & June Bellamy [Image]. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kp6tegGhUi1qzaiueo1_500.jpg Okay Samurai. (2015, June 15). Top 10 Tips for Getting Started (Adobe Character Animator Tutorial) [Video File Screenshot]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vWEvjes5hc Okay Samurai. (2016, June 20). Making Your First Character (Adobe Character Animator Tutorial) [Video File Screenshot]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_smLXODTd6U