OBJECT ANIMATION

OBJECT ANIMATION

Animating Objects

One of the best ways to learn the art of animation

Most anything you can move can be animated

(i.e. keys, pencil, ball, rock, coins, etc)

Requires little from animator

camera

something to move

imagination

Allows for quick feedback to see results.

Best way to experiment with ideas and

animation techniques

OBJECT ANIMATION

Basic setup for Object Animation:

Camera: nothing fancy but must be able to focus clearly

Tripod: Must have one to hold the camera still Without it the motion gets lost within camera shake

Good lighting: avoid shadows and animating in the dark

Diorama: This is a set up that creates the illusion of infinite space with no corners or edges to see within frame (like at photography studios)

Backgrounds should simple and contrast with object in motion.

OBJECT ANIMATION

SCREENING

Princess Nicotine, 1909

Stop motion match sticks

One of the earliest experiments with object animation

Automatic Moving Company, (1912) by Romeo Bosetti

Debate today whether furniture is miniature or real

The Impossible Map, 1947, Evelyn Lambart (worked with McLaren), NFB site

Excellent educational use of stop-motion

Picnic with Weissman, Jan Svankmajer, 1969 (Collected shorts of Jan Svankmajer)

Wildly imaginative surrealist (integrates stop motion, live action, puppets, …)

Inspired Tim Burton 

OBJECT ANIMATION

Assignment:

For your homework, find a simple object and a nice area to animate it in and create some motion experiments moving the object about the scene.

Show contrasting motions, like slow vs. erratic, fast and smooth vs. modulating

Create the illusion of life by having your object interact with another object or objects. Perhaps it runs into something and causes mischief etc.. In other words breath life into something that we all know is inanimate.

Bring your image sequences to next class session and we will turn them into a movie.