Assignment 3: Evaluation

Looking back at my animation, I can see multiple improvements that could be made across different elements to raise the quality of the production.

To start with, I could of stuck to my storyboard or edited the animation to be a bit more interesting - instead of having periods where nothing particularly eye catching or compelling is being shown (for example, 0:12-0:26 could be sped up to save time). Another issue with the narrative is that there isn't one, with the video just following a ghost as he walks to work only to be cut off without anything really happening, leading to a video without any sort of genre or place to fit into. This leads to a plain animation which lacks a point to the story, which takes away from the design.

Speaking of the design, the style of animation also has it's faults - with the jumps in footage and models moving backwards and not going at a steady pace throughout. Whilst there is a reason for this - the equipment used not being made for animation - the finished product still suffers, with the lighting making everything look grey and, as stated above, the video being slow and having meaningless content. A smoother animation looks something like this:

'A Paper Cut Out Animation' by Rebecca Petersson

On a positive note, the base idea and creative possibilities for this animation were plentiful, and without the time or technical restraints it could of been vastly improved - plus on comparison to previous videos (like 'Stars'), there is some aspects which are superior, like focus on what is happening and the ability to see the video clearly, not to mention the fact that my animation stays within the time constraints given and does not overrun by a few seconds.



As for the audience of my animation, it seems like they agree with my evaluation due to the similar responses seen on the survey that was filled out.

'Could my Animation be Improved? And How?' Sunburst Diagram

This graph shows how people think my animation could be improved, with the majority of people believing that the narrative could be built upon - one person stating 'Film more [...], rather than the 4 seconds of the stairs' which supports my point about meaningless content and another viewer pointing out that 'It was a little slow paced', which shows that both mine and the spectators view are shared.

'What did you enjoy about my Animation' Pie Chart

This second graph shows what the audience thought was the best part, although here there is some difference in opinion between me and the viewers as I personally believe the design of the characters was better than the animation style - which was the popular vote here. However, the numbers for this chart are slightly irregular with some people having checked multiple boxes on the survey causing the total percentage to equal out at 150%.

Based on the responses I got and my own views, the most crucial improvement that needs to be made is to the narrative - this can be done by changing the story all together or continuing on from where the animation left off. This seems to be the most important due to the focus on the story and not on the animation itself, which is average at best with how it lacks a background or any colour.

Original Story Board

On the subject of the animation, that is another thing that needs to be improved, by using a better quality camera so the images used look clearer and a professional set up instead of what I used. This would make the final product look more polished and well lit, not to mention less jumpy as with the proper equipment and software I would be able to use an 'onion skin' to track the previous image and make everything appear smoother.

Animation Set Up

Smaller improvements that could be made revolve around the character design and context of the story.

Character Designs

However, I don't think I will make these improvements because I would rather start on new animations and pieces of work. It would also be difficult to edit without completely redoing the animation, something that I may do in the future.

Assignment 2: Animation

I have been tasked with creating my own animation that lasts for 30 seconds or more, having been planned in detail- with the content, materials, equipment and sounds sorted in advance- before production, which involves animating, editing, adding titles and sound as well as exporting it. The animation must include sound and titles but can be about anything so long as it is made from either model based, cut out, pixilisation or time lapse animation. Each step needs to be documented so the stages can be viewed and analyzed by others.

I'm considering doing a model based animation, like this:

'Doctor Who Action figure Adventures: The Oncoming Storm' by Matthew 'Batmanmarch' Toffolo 

However, if I was going to do a model based animation it would have to be considerably shorter, due to the time frame my animation needs to be produced in. 

I'm also thinking about a cut out animation similar to this:

'Reindeer Sweater' by Egor Shumilov 

However, like the last example, my animation would have to be shorter and also not use other peoples music like the video shown.

I've been thinking about what to do for my animation and what it could be about. A reoccurring idea follows a ghost called Billy through his world, and parody's of real life places.

The style of animation I want to make is similar to this:

'Paper War'

'Tease'

However, I don't think my animation will use the objects around, instead using backgrounds that have been made specifically for the animation in order to save time and reduce the complexity of the idea. 

My backup idea is simpler, focusing on just cut out animation and it follows 'Billy the Ghost' as he works -meaning less time would be needed to create the animation.

The ghost itself is going to be based on this image-

To create my animation I will need to draw each of my characters at different angles and with different expressions, as well as having the backgrounds and props drawn so they can be used. I will also need some models to be used for when I change animation styles for a short time. As well as the equipment needed for the animation I will also need a camera to take pictures and the software to play the images one after another at 25 frames per second. 

I have started to draw out some designs for my characters and props as well as a rough storyboard of what will hopefully happen in my animation. This means that after I draw out the characters and backgrounds I can begin animating.

My Concepts and Storyboard-

Now that everything's planned out, I need to start creating my cut outs. To do this I need to draw the outline of my character- in this case the ghost- and then outline them in pen so I can cut them out easily.

I've decided to create the ghost out of tracing paper in order to make him appear transparent, although this does mean that you will be able to see the lines underneath the joints when they're layered. 

At first I sketched the ghost and it's limbs onto the tracing paper, the ghosts drawn at different angles so I can give the impression of turning instead of just jumping at a 90° angle whenever I need to turn his head.

Then I inked the ghosts so they're easier to see and the lines are harder. This also makes it easier for me to cut them out as there's a more definite outline than there was before.

I plan on animating at home using my phone or iPad to take pictures of each frame. If I animate at 25 frames per second, that means I will have to take a minimum of 750 photos to reach the duration limit of 30 seconds minimum - if we went for the minimum of 12 frames per second there would only need to be 360 images. I plan on using a site called Monkey Jam to animate, due to it being easy to use and available online without any purchase required.  

However, the animation is taking longer to create then previously thought due to the amount of images needed as well as the time needed to fix the set when it is knocked by something.

The First Animation Set-Up Used

 The Improved Animation Station

Editing the Animation in Premiere Pro

Billy - The Complete Animation

After taking all the pictures I ended up using iStopMotion to animate as Monkey Jam required each photo to be imported individually. The animation has 600 images and has 12 frames per second, the total length being 50 seconds including credits. I also used Adobe Premiere Pro to insert the music and export the video as an mp4 file.

I ended up dropping the first part of my idea involving the portal due to the time constraints and the length of the animation. The music in the background is copyright free from the free music archive, chosen because I thought it fit the animation well.

I could improve upon my animation by spending more time and using animation software whilst taking the pictures instead of just my phone - which lacks an onion skin to see where everything was placed before, hence the shakiness and jumps in the animation. Another way I could improve is with my animation set up, as I animated at home meaning I had to get a bit creative in how I was taking the images without moving my phones camera from above the paper.

Time Lapse Animation

Time Lapse Animation is made by taking photos over a period of time and then using each picture as a frame, creating the illusion of movement as they are played in rapid succession. The camera must be kept still when taking the photos and the time needed for the event to take place is important so you know when the pictures need to be taken to make sure there aren't any sudden jumps or slow parts. Time Lapse Animation is commonly used to show the progress of something over a period of time.


Examples of Time Lapse-

'Starred Freckles' by Qinni

A Time Lapse of a watercolour painting being completed.

'Northern Lights'
A Time Lapse of the Northern Lights shot over 14 days in Lapland.

Cut Out Animation

Cut Out Animation is the use of different parts of a figure being laid over each other and then moved slightly after each image is taken, making an illusion of movement. The camera itself faces down over the image due to the fact that each part of the figure needs to be moved and that the figure is 2D. These figures can be in colour- which means that each part must be similar so the fit together- or they can be done as a silhouette- meaning they're all black and here is no tone or shade.

Examples of Cut Out Animation-

'Peter Pan' by C Kelly

'Demo Reel' by Yudle Animation

'Etereas' by Daniela Villanueva



CEL Based Animation

CEL Based Animation works using large sheets of plastic and drawings.


People draw the key scenes of what they want to animate, then trace over them on a sheet of large plastic, changing the image slightly each time so each frame is different, before inking and painting the sheet then taking a photo so the frame can be used in the reel of film.


This is how most cartoons are animated, although most of the scenes that aren't key scenes can now be done on a computer by other people to save time. Despite this, films animated this way can still take years to complete and hundreds of drawings are used.


Because CEL Based Animation takes so long, it means that feature length films that are created with this method are becoming rarer, with companies using 3D computer animation instead of drawing everything by hand on a sheet or digitally.


An example of CEL Based Animation is 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarves' by Disney-

Another example is 'Steamboat Willie', also by Disney-

Model Based Animation

Model Based Animation uses 3-Dimensional models. These models are occasionally made out of plasticine, because it is easy to reshape, move and doesn't dry out easily meaning it can be used over long periods of time.



The models are animated by taking multiple pictures with the models moving slightly each time to create the illusion that they are moving, a persistence of vision. This is a form of stop motion animation.



Claymation is the term used for animation using plasticine, usually used in the children's entertainment industry, but can be used to create adult animation too- these are mainly horror but other genes have been done.



The models used can be difficult to create, this being my attempt.

These plasticine models took approximately 30 minutes and were based off other Claymation characters from an existing animation. However they could be improved greatly if I spent more time on them and was patient when sculpting the plasticine.



Examples of Model Based Animation-

'Trapdoor' by Charlie Mills and Terry Brain, 1984-1986

'Trapdoor' was a British Claymation series following the mis-adventures of a group of monsters in a castle involving a trapdoor in the floor.

'Don't Hug Me I'm Scared 2 - Time' by Becky Sloan and Joseph Pelling, 2011- 2016

'Don't Hug Me I'm Scared' is a web series which uses multiple types of model based animation and explores different concepts and other ideas. It is an example of animation meant for older people and not children due to it's disturbing nature.



'Kubo and the Two Strings' by Travis Knight, 2016

'Kubo and the Two Strings' is an upcoming movie which was created by model based animation and has a general audience. The film will be released in late 2016 and uses models with wire skeletons.

My Attempt at Model Based Animation- 

I used iStopMotion 3 to create this simple animation using a Hue HD WebCam to take the images. I think I could greatly improve this animation in a multitude of ways, ranging from more patience to better model construction as it was difficult to move the plasticine without ripping it.

Pioneers in Early Animation

Maries-Georges-Jean-Méliès, known as Georges Méliès, was a pioneer in animation. Born in 1861 in Paris, he was interested in the arts from a young age and pursued a career in stage design and puppetry. 

After studying in both France and London, he took over his fathers job as a factory manager and saved his money to buy the well-known Theatre Robert Houdin in 1888. He found himself working as a showman, performing magic and illusions whilst working on his own tricks. 

When the Lumière brothers revealed their Cinématographe in December, 1895 Georges attempted to buy the machine only to be turned down.

Investigating the idea of moving pictures, he found Robert Paul in London and his projector before building his own. He began presenting other peoples films in 1896 but soon began making his own, each film lasting around a minute as it was made of only one reel. 

After an incident involving a jammed camera whilst filming, Méliès realised that he could make objects appear and disappear on screen, causing him to use this in his films.

One of his most successful films was 'A Trip to the Moon'.

Winsor McCay was born on the 26th September 1869 in Michigan and was known for being the cartoonist behind 'Little Nemo' and the animator for the film 'Gertie the Dinosaur'.

McCay was known to be a talented artist from a young age and soon began making posters and illustrating newspapers and magazines for a profit in 1898. After joining the New York Herald in 1903, he began to draw comic strips, creating the renowned 'Little Nemo, in 1905 which became increasingly popular.

 In between the years 1911 and 1921, Winsor McCay animated multiple films using one drawing to make up one frame. One of the most successful films he animated was 'Gertie the Dinosaur', which involved McCay appearing to give instructions to a trained dinosaur on the screen.

After his other animations failed to make the same impact as 'Gertie the Dinosaur', McCay went back to drawing comic strips in the newspaper. However, his style of animation was something that influenced many different illustrators and animators and was not beaten until Walt Disney began to release his films.

Charlotte Reiniger, also known as Lotte, was a film director and pioneer of silhouette animation from Germany. She was born on the 2nd June, 1899 in Berlin and enjoyed Chinese art and shadow puppets as a child, often putting on shows for family and friends by herself.

As she grew older, she became interested in the films made by Georges Méliès and Paul Wegener, eventually attending the acting group, the Theatre of Max Reinhardt, and making title cards using her silhouettes for Wegener's films.

In 1919, she directed her first film (The Ornament of the Enamored Heart) and then six other short films after her initial success. Her animation career didn't start until 1923 however, when she was asked by Louis Hagen to create a feature length animated film. The film itself, 'The Adventures of Prince Achmed', was almost not shown after failing to find a distributor for a considerable amount of time, but it became a success after it premiered in Paris.

After this she attempted to make multiple other animated feature films, with little success compared to her first attempt due to the appearance of sound in Germany and issues involving Copyright and music.