1. Crash Course On Independent Animation With Dan Henrick

2. Class Overview Introduction Step by Step Process in Flash and After Effects Look at Different Examples of Technique Working with Clients (if we have time) Start on a Collaborative Project Discussion and Q & A

3. Dan’s Qualifiers for This Class There are many ways to animate; this is just one way that makes it quick and easy. There are lots of programs out there, but the principles are the same. Anyone can animate, as long as they put a little time into it. The booklet is supplement to the class so that you don’t need to take notes.

4. Script and Dialogue Let’s assume the script and dialogue already recorded Ideally, you want your dialogue recorded previous to creating storyboards Kyle’s short as an example Page 1 of Handout

5. Storyboards Important to planning out your short Establishes pacing Determines shot composition Makes it easy for clients to give feedback Important for editing audio Page 3 of Handout

7. Editing Audio Purpose: Makes our dialogue manageable Allows us to add pauses between lines Establishes an organizational system for our short Easy to do with Audacity, GarageBand Page 4 of Handout

8. Model Sheets Establish sizing, consistent character look Occasionally includes directions on drawing characters Sometimes establishes character expressions Necessary if you are on a team of animators If you’re a single animator, it’s very helpful but not always necessary Page 6 of Handout

11. Starting Up Flash Title Safe HDTV 720 dpi 29.97 frame rate Explain workspace Import first 20 audio files Naming convention, “part” and “version” Page 7 of Handout

12. Setting up the Flash workspace Explanation of Guide Layer Rename content layer, create 10 graphic layers Place sound in sound layer, add labels Add frames, keyframes Repeat the process for rest of audio files Repeat the process for other Flash files (parts) This will facilitate pauses for animation Page 9 of Handout

13. Creating backgrounds On bottom layer, start sketching Convert to symbol, graphic clip Name symbol a descriptive title, when it appears Open up timeline, insert a layer Create fleshed out version Exit symbol Page 12 of Handout

14. Creating character art Similar to background art Start with sketch, Convert to Symbol Divide your character into layers to be animated Extrapolate for all movable segments Page 14 of Handout

15. Duplicate symbols DO THIS BEFORE ANIMATING Refer to storyboards for duplicate graphics Go into library, duplicate symbols with new names from when they appear Duplicate animated symbols will retain animation Page 16 of Handout

16. Intro to animation Two main kinds of 2D animation 1.Hand-drawn (drawn on a tablet counts) 2.Tween-based Page 17 of Handout

17. Hand-drawn animation Two main kinds of Hand-drawn animation 1.Straight-ahead action = Drawn chronologically, first frame to last frame 2.Pose-to-pose animation = Keyframes drawn first, every 5 to 30 frames or so Page 17 of Handout

18. Straight-ahead action Advantages – More fluid, expressive and dynamic motion – Effective for action scenes Disadvantages – Hard to compose shots – Hard to maintain consistent proportions – Hard to plan Page 17 of Handout

19. Pose-to-pose Advantages – Easier to plan / compose shots – Better for working in teams (animation assistants) – Easier to generate an animatic Disadvantages – Can look wooden or stiff Page 18 of Handout

20. Keyframes With in-betweens

21. Pose-to-pose within Flash Using Kyle’s head example, making him blink Keyframe at last frame, lock other layers Using the Onion Skin tool Working our way back every 2 frames Page 19 of Handout

22. Quick mention of Frame Rate Our current frame rate is 29.97 frames per second (roughly 30 fps) We are creating new drawings for every 2 frames (or “on the twos”) For broadcast… 15 drawings + 2 frames per drawing = 30 fps For video games… 15 drawings + 4 frames per drawing = 60 fps Page 21 of Handout

23. Tween-based Animation Allows Flash to create the in-betweens 3 types of tweens in Flash – Motion – Shape – Classic Page 21 of Handout

24. Tween-based Animation Advantages – Saves time creating in-betweens – Maintains consistency of character’s look – When done well, barely noticeable Disadvantages – Looks stiff – Can be limiting Page 21 of Handout

25. Tweens in Flash Using Kyle’s face again, lock all layers but irises Hide eyelids with Show / Hide Layer tool Make sure keyframe exists Create Tween Move irises Page 22 of Handout

26. Properties and Tweens Insert keyframe in middle of tween Show alpha tween Show color tween Page 22 of Handout

27. Using combinations of techniques More often than not, animated shorts are a combination of tweening and hand-drawn; straight-ahead and pose-to-pose Page 25 of Handout

28. Quick notes on puppeting Flash tool that allows you to make movable puppet characters Fast, but look particularly stiff Page 25 of Handout

29. Quick notes on walk cycles One of the first exercises animators learn Seems easy, but the nuances are not Start by tracing if you aren’t confident Preston Blair / Muybridge are good sources Page 25 of Handout

30. Lip-syncing 10 basic phonemes (12 if you work at Disney) Generally done by hand Software available, like SmartMouth, but it’s good to refine by hand Page 26 of Handout

31. Publishing Test Movie, Publish Settings, Publish Only good for browser-based viewer Need After Effects for Quicktime, Vimeo, YouTube Flash’s Quicktime export function is useless Page 28 of Handout

32. Post-production After Effects – You need to import SWFS and audio – After Effects doesn’t recognize SWF audio Media Encoder Page 29 of Handout

33. Dealing with Clients Attend conferences, meet-ups, join groups Manage expectations Learn to save time without detriment to your final product Be realistic about deadlines Don’t do spec work Page 33 of Handout

34. Collaborative Project “Exquisite Corpse” Everyone gets 32 frames Draw what you like July 15 th, ideally You get a copy of the finished piece and credit Experimental animation fest?