3D Character Animation

Choosing a sound Clip

In my third week of the animation project I had to choose one of three sounds clips, these short six second sound clips were sampled from various unknown movies. When selecting a sound clip I wanted to choose one which I thought was different and gave me more room to get creative with the context of the sound clip. I decided to use sound clip three, my reason being is the first two seconds of the clip had no dialogue, and faint footsteps could be heard.  I decided with the first two seconds of sound I could build anticipation with a scared looking character, carefully and wearily sneaking along. 

With the remaining four seconds of sound, the dialogue “There coming to get you Barbra” I wanted to tell the story purely by the expressions and actions of the character Barbra, rather than introducing other characters to react with.  I felt that by only animating Barbra meant I could focus on just her actions and make her character the centre of attention, rather than spending time animating other characters and shifting the attention.

 

Creating a Back Story

Before I animated even the first frame I knew that it was essentially to create a back story behind the animation. When creating a back story, I thought what could make the animation more interesting, and what story could I create that would focus just on one character (Barbra).  I wanted a back story that would have some context to the sound clip, but would still provide an unexpected action that would create appeal and anticipation. 

Back Story

First two seconds of animation – The Nervous Blind Walk (No Sound)

Barbra is navigating her way through a tight corridor of a poorly lit crypt, with one hand outstretched and a forward poised posture, she stumbles along in the darkness with every sense heightened.  As Barbra walks along she becomes more and more anxious and nervous with only her belief in God to Guide her.

Remaining four seconds of animation – A Startled Barbra followed by screaming and running

(There coming to get you Barbra!)

Barbra suddenly stops on the spot and frantically checks behind her, frozen with fear, her hands start to shake, her lip quivers, and her body tightens up in anticipation. Without another seconds delay she turns to her faith, going down on one knee she closes her eyes and begins to pray to God to save her. Barbra’s prayers are answered and she feels Gods presence lift her up and away to the safety of heaven.

Story Boarding

After creating a back story to my animation and the character Barbra I knew it was time to storyboard. Remember the importance stressed by Richard Williams in "The Animators Survival Kit" I knew a storyboard was essential to the planning of any animation. When storyboarding I took the main points of action and interest of my back story, and put them in to six scenes of a story board.  With the actions of each scene planned I then draw an accompanying image.