3+ days part time to make this one

[JM07]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9h1ilN7D9yg

[Klaus Hoefs]

Can you please explain a little more:

- where do you come from, something about your animation experience, what are your intentions with this piece, how do you work ? is it a result of a 3days-competition ?

This would make it a little bit easier to discuss your short (IMO).

[JM07]

Can you please explain a little more:

- where do you come from, something about your animation experience, what are your intentions with this piece, how do you work ? is it a result of a 3days-competition ?

This would make it a little bit easier to discuss your short (IMO).

My first animated short, spoofing Youtubers. It's a comedy. It took working part time three and a half days to make it, and the idea was to put as much quality in it, yet skimp where needed, in order to get it out. I was trying to finish it in at least three days and no more. The sound quality degraded when it transferred to Youtube and words sound smeared a bit, and also, i-movie started bogging down and editing became almost impossible with my system toward the end, so even if I wanted to make the video longer, I could not.

My only experience with animation is in doing animated "flip pads" since I was thirteen, and two experimental shorts on Super 8 film (none with coherent story). I did make it to the point where I experimented with acetate and ink drawings. I had in idea as to what I wanted to do with this video, but I actually wrote the script after Ihad about 2/3rd's of the film done. I avoided technically difficult scenes as much as possible and wanted to see if I could make something look good yet not have to stress over it. I have had no schooling experience with animation. In order to figure out mouth movements I sounded out the mouth movements and mentally imaged them and drew them down. When I had imported the animation that had mouth movements into imovie, I ran into trouble where the video would go too fast in some areas and not sync with the audio. I studied the scene over and over again until I realized what the problem was. I had to find out what sound was going too fast. When I determined the cause I freeze framed the mouth expression and copied it. Then I kept cutting the length of that freeze frame until it fit. The finished product isn't perfect, but since I had to work in that time frame I had to decide what was sufficient.

Since I get impatient really quick, I decided that a short video was for me. I guess this is hope for those who can't endure long projects. I hope to intend to do more complicated work in the future, that is if Mirage, my notebook (Mac G4 running 10.4.11) computer, and i-Movie will let me do it. It doesn't look likely unless I can improve the system. Whenever I replay the video, now on i-Movie, the imagery freezes up while the sounds keeps on playing.

JM07

[Paul Fierlinger]

You put the priorities of your efforts in the wrong order. If you are serious about becoming an animator, you have to have endurance. It's a marathon occupation that lasts for as long as you can manage to live.

I avoided technically difficult scenes as much as possible and wanted to see if I could make something look good yet not have to stress over it.

If that was your main goal with this piece you didn't succeed. To make something look good without stressing over it happens only after many years of stressing over it and never being satisfied with what you've done.

Since I get impatient really quick, I decided that a short video was for me.

This might come as a surprise to you, but I have to agree with this statement. If an animator is too patient, the work will never get done. What I suggest you do is to draw a really simple figure with a few clever lines and make a short video using just that form... perhaps you can add a splotch of color in the background for elegance.

Have my remarks turned you off or on?

[Klaus Hoefs]

[quote=JM07]I avoided technically difficult scenes as much as possible and wanted to see if I could make something look good yet not have to stress over it.[/quote]

No I think you jumped in something very, very difficult of animation techniques and aesthetics. Actual you're mixing different styles and different designs. So for every different approach the question rises up: "Why ?".
e.g.: (see shot 1,2,3)

Also there are many deficiencies in the animation part. That's all not at the technical side - it desn't matter for now which NLE you're using and which compression you did for audio.
At first glance I was thinking you're trying some style of trash-art, sticking different things together as you grab them from the net by chance - like pop-art. So I asked about your intentions.


If I can give you some advice: make things simple, basic. Leave colors and start animating with a simple character made of dark simple lines. Get back to a simple story, to everyday things:
a mom carrying a bottle home, a child playing with things. You will see how ambitious these things are.

[JM07]

You put the priorities of your efforts in the wrong order. If you are serious about becoming an animator, you have to have endurance. It's a marathon occupation that lasts for as long as you can manage to live.

I avoided technically difficult scenes as much as possible and wanted to see if I could make something look good yet not have to stress over it.

If that was your main goal with this piece you didn't succeed. To make something look good without stressing over it happens only after many years of stressing over it and never being satisfied with what you've done.

Since I get impatient really quick, I decided that a short video was for me.

This might come as a surprise to you, but I have to agree with this statement. If an animator is too patient, the work will never get done. What I suggest you do is to draw a really simple figure with a few clever lines and make a short video using just that form... perhaps you can add a splotch of color in the background for elegance.

Have my remarks turned you off or on?

Actually I like to do serious animation with lots of detail, but in a way I was looking for something that was not entirely consistent in design. And I have to admit, it's somewhat trashy in final product. That's a joke in itself. This is merely a youtube video, and the story was more important than the animation. It's a joke for the incrowd. Maybe on my next project I'll be more serious and set a month timeline rather than 3 days.

JM07

[JM07]

Just another comment, if it weren't for mirage I would never had made any such video. I tried the old fashioned way and had realized that this wasn't it. I mean, slow paint trying times. Drawing on paper, transfering to acetate (using permanent markers), etc. I put in a lot of work and looked at the finished product and watch the poor exposure (super 8 camcorder). It took too long and after messing with trying to align paper and plastic, with sweaty hands, I found Mirage to be a break. The second point, is that Youtube has come to the fore at the right time in history. It is the greatest thing for amateurs and for animators, since the old fashioned animation industry has almost entirely died in the US. Almost all animation work is exported to Asia.

JM07

[Klaus Hoefs]

...the old fashioned animation industry has almost entirely died in the US. Almost all animation work is exported to Asia.

[A1]

hahaha!!