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WI2010 Model Schedule |
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NOTE: This quarter sessions are SPLIT - some THURSDAY nights, some SATURDAY afternoons.
Saturday, May 15 - Jennifer
Thursday, May 20 - Hannah
Thursday, June 3 - TBD
Saturday, June 12 - Jessica
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Frumsylgu
artOverlord
Joined: Nov 02, 2004
Posts: 133
Location: Boulder
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 Posted:
Feb 17, 2010 - 06:56 PM |
 
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d0gJaW
Site Admin
Joined: Nov 01, 2004
Posts: 1774
Location: Denver
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Feb 18, 2010 - 11:11 AM |
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Really nice start James, I like the head movements and the subtle shoulder stuff.
Feels to me like the mouth doesn't move enough during speech though. I know the voiceover is pretty mumbly and not too full of emotion, but it sounds like there is more enunciation in it than I can see in the lips. Just opening up a little farther with the lips on some of the big vowels I think would do it for me.
Looks like a dynamite rig! |
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"No one can terrorize a whole nation, unless we are all his accomplices."
-- Edward R. Murrow |
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Frumsylgu
artOverlord
Joined: Nov 02, 2004
Posts: 133
Location: Boulder
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Feb 18, 2010 - 10:22 PM |
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Thanks for the feedback Dustin. I think your right. Probably wouldn't take too much more than pushing a couple of the accents. I'll see what I can do. Allways nice to get an opinion from a second set of eyes  |
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James Direen
Character Technical Director |
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d0gJaW
Site Admin
Joined: Nov 01, 2004
Posts: 1774
Location: Denver
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Feb 19, 2010 - 12:32 PM |
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seek the opinion of people that are actual animators too, cause i'm NOT one
but i'm looking at it again, here are some specific points in case it helps.
1 - maybe show some teeth, let the lips get wider on "people kEEp calling me"
2 - at the end of "wunderKIND" again maybe a little bigger mouth, and let the cheeks come up to scrunch the eyes, cause it sounds like he's a little embarrassed to use that word in reference to himself, if that makes sense. he sounds like he is wincing a tiny bit at the end of that. could maybe start the shoulder shrug earlier too, during that wince.
3 - "know what that mEANS" the M is a pretty hard lips-closed hit, and the E sound there is a pretty big vowel the way he says it, lips pulled back but teeth mostly together. He mumbles most of the vowel sounds, but there are just these 3 or 4 that get some more volume and might benefit from some mouth exaggeration.
The "weird word" at the end is perfect, his lips seem to match the intensity really well right there. |
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"No one can terrorize a whole nation, unless we are all his accomplices."
-- Edward R. Murrow |
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Frumsylgu
artOverlord
Joined: Nov 02, 2004
Posts: 133
Location: Boulder
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Feb 22, 2010 - 01:19 AM |
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Thanks for the feedback Dustin! I love that you took the time to be specific with it. Not enough people do that. I know it is time consuming, but I also know it to be personally rewarding as well. I know I've gotten better at animation just by leaving feedback for others. It helps with your eye of discernment. Critiquing is one of the not often spoken about skills of an awesome artist. So take heed you forum lurking non-posters -- wink, wink, nudge, nudge!
So I went back and pushed and polished some of the lip shapes and accents with this animation...
K, well not actual that much, but it is fun to show what my character is capable of
See the updated animation here: http://direenworks.com/jdblog/2010/02/17/wonderkins/
Here's what I did: I popped the beginning "P" by anticipating the sound with a small cheek puff; I increased the volume of the vowel shapes in general; I showed more teeth on kEEp (as Dustin suggested -- Thanks); and I gave a side mouth accent to "so" to try and up the visual articulation on that line.
I may not have taken your feedback directly in all the places you pointed out, but I did use them to inform me about what was catching your eye.
You also made a valid point comment in section 2 of your feedback about being embarrassed. However I had a different acting choice in mind and stuck with it. He's not really embarrassed about being called a wunderkind, he is actually happy about it, but trying to hide that fact. Hence the suppressed asymmetrical smile, which I picked up in my facial psychology studies -- our face is often asymmetrical when we are trying to alter a true emotion. Then when he gives the line "I don't even know what that means," he is projecting a small lie which I tried to show with the eyebrows going up in an emblematic expression of confusion. We generally lift our eyebrows when we are asking a question to which we know the answer... He would have more likely pulled his eyebrows down and together if he was genuinely puzzled by it. I did bring his head down when he was explaining of what wunderkins means, because he was a bit embarrassed about lying and perhaps a little about being happy he'd been called a wunderkinds... Then he looks at the viewer, trying to briefly judge what the viewer think of him, before finishing off and releasing the stress with the next line "so i guess I know what it means." Finally finishing off by pulling back into himself and reflecting that "it's a weird word."
Yeah ok, so I probably over thought it... and I'm not likely pulling off half that BS in my actual animation. But it was fun to think about, and I HIGHLY recommend the book "Unmasking the Face" by Paul Ekman and Wallace V. Friesen. You should also watch the show "Lie to Me" which is based on their research. the FACS system rocks! |
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James Direen
Character Technical Director |
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d0gJaW
Site Admin
Joined: Nov 01, 2004
Posts: 1774
Location: Denver
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Feb 22, 2010 - 08:19 AM |
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I think those choices are valid, it feels like he means it!
Yeah... I do watch Lie To Me, it's extra fascinating for me because I'd gone to see Ed Hooks do a workshop at RMCAD years ago with a big group from AIC, and he did a long section about the microexpressions and the FACS system. Crazy stuff. |
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"No one can terrorize a whole nation, unless we are all his accomplices."
-- Edward R. Murrow |
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York
artOverlord
Joined: Dec 05, 2004
Posts: 423
Location: Los Angeles, CA
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Feb 22, 2010 - 04:16 PM |
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Hey James,
Awesome animation test I really like how you kept it subtle and I think it works well with this dialog. The only thing that jumped out at me was the arc of the nose. Maybe track the arc of his nose on more more polish pass to make sure its flowing in nice curves and loops.
Great stuff I need to get crackin on my shot lol |
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Mike York
Character Animator
www.yorkanimates.com |
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Zach Levinson
artOverlord
Joined: Nov 03, 2004
Posts: 753
Location: Littleton, CO
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Feb 26, 2010 - 09:35 AM |
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Very very cool James! The character, the rig and the animation are working together so smoothly. I can feel the character's emotions...as he thinks and considers his lines. You may be able to push the vowel shapes a bit further in the first part just to accentuate the line (wonderkind). Also, the delivery gets a little muddy during the "very successful for your age" part...but these lines are very fast here. Overall i like the subtley of his dialog, it fits the scene and allows the acting to shine. The quality level here is very high, i'm sure you could continue refining and refining forever, but I think your goal was met. Thanks for giving this site more life! |
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Whisping leaves break the air as lost souls sleep unaware. Colors and sounds thrive and sway under a blind cover of mud and clay |
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Frumsylgu
artOverlord
Joined: Nov 02, 2004
Posts: 133
Location: Boulder
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Mar 03, 2010 - 11:06 PM |
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Thanks for the feedback guys! I appreciate all your comments.
@Zach, you are so right on the refining forever part. The hardest thing for me is just saying "good enough" and moving on. I haven't yet finished an animation without seeing something I should have done differently or pushed further. But that is probably a good thing; means I still know where and how to improve |
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James Direen
Character Technical Director |
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