Cel Based Animation

Cel based animation is considered the most traditional form of animation; the technique of cel based animation is to draw each individual frame and piece them together to seem like fluent motion. Cel based animation is typically 2D based however, many people draw with 3D perspective during cel based. Cel based technique was popular in the early days of animations with Disney and Hanna Barbera using it commonly; This technique of animation was used in "Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs", "Sleeping Beauty" as well as "The Flintstones", "Tom and Jerry" and "Scooby-Doo!". An advantage of cel based animation is that it gives a classic look popular among the Disney movies, also at the time cel based animation was an opportunity to add early CGI to movies such as Mary Poppins, Bedknobs and Broomsticks etc. Cel based animation also brought technicolor to a mainly black and white dominant era, Another advantage is that this technique can be drawn freehand however this adds on to the disadvantage, as creating a freehand full length film would take a massive amount of team with multiple artists. Multiple artists means lots of money spent on hiring them, especially if you're wanting it done within a specific time period.

If the animation needs voices to add to the narrative, it is common that the voice tracks will be recorded prior to the actual animation; this is so the animation can sync up better to the voice. However, in Japanese Anime, it is more common that they would record and sync up the audio in post to the animation.

Shooting Stop Motion

When shooting stop motion, it is highly recommended to set your camera up on a sturdy tripod to prevent unwanted movement; this can lengthen production time. Always make sure your subject will be in frame when shooting, you don't want to be moving the camera around a huge amount or if you do move your camera, plan how it will move so you're not just making it up on the spot. Consistent lighting is also key to a successful animation, uncontrolled lighting can result in rather sloppy looking animations. A set white balance on your camera also helps achieve a more consistent image quality, as different images may set different automatic white balances. It is very important to know what FPS (Frames Per Second) prior to shooting, 24fps would be ideal.

What I'll Need
Since I am focusing more on a digital backgrounds, I will have a green screen primarily. As for props, I will be using articulate action figures, possibly Lego figures, and definitely a small toy pirate ship. I will be using my personal tripod to hold the camera in place, my camera being a Canon EOS 600D. As for lighting, I will be using a small desk lamp that will be diffused using coloured paper to seem like sunlight.

List Of Equipment:

- Camera (Canon EOS 600D)
- Articulate figures (Lego figures, action figures etc.)
- Pirate Ship and Raft
- Tripod
- A small desk lamp
- Green Screen backdrop
- Coloured paper (specifically orange or yellow)
- Connector (Camera To USB Input)
- Laptop with Stop Motion Software

Research

I'm pretty set on the idea of using articulative action figures rather than modelling clay, as I personally find them easier to work with and I really like Robot Chicken animations as well as animations on the internet using lego figures.

Batman Fire Drill - Robot Chicken

This animation is a recreation of the bear attack scene from "The Revenant". I really like this sort of animation as the camera angles seem almost cinematic and professional.

In my animation I'm considering using some CGI and digital backgrounds, this being the reason this animation stands out to me.

I'm questioning creating a set using a chroma key background as I believe I'd be able to get a more professional looking background for the animation, however I will also need to consider lighting setups and a badly lit chroma key can cause problems in post-post production. With a green screen as well, I can add certain things I mostly likely would not have been able to add if I used a physical set such as vast landscapes.

Making this animation, I am most likely going to use lego figures, but only figures not props as lego props could easily break apart and depending on their complexity could take a while to build. As for sets, I'm going to use a mix of green screen and physical set.

This video is really helpful, although this person uses a full Lego set, the information is transferable to my own animation such as diffusing a desk lamp's light to use as atmospheric studio lighting. Also, as mentioned previously, I would like to partially physical sets, and this lighting would help get atmospheric lighting for the props to match the environment they are supposed to be in. The lighting technique is also very low budget, meaning I don't need to pay a lot to get some atmospheric lighting for the shoot.

Plotline For Animation

Plot line

·        
      1 - The screen remains black hearing only ambient sounds of the ocean and a ship. Until a character yells, and the captain shouts fire.

2 -  The shot opens to a cannon fire, as the crew rush around the ship

      
      3 - The captain looks off into the ocean and starts to yell "Turn her around" and a cannon fire is heard, he then repeats shouting "Turn her around!" as some of the crew jump overboard. A cannon hits the ship causing an explosion, propelling the captain through the air.
   
      4 - The shot then changes to a high angle shot of the full ship, showing the crew rushing around and jumping overboard as cannons hit the ship exploding on impact.

      5 - The screen then returns to black as multiple cannon fire are heard until the sounds of battle stop.

6    6 - The screen then returns to footage, showing a lone man floating on a raft in the middle of the ocean, surrounded by bodies in the water, with no ship in sight.

0    7 - It then shows a bird's eye view of the raft fading out to black



      Animation Finishes.

      Storyboard

       

       

                                                                             

Animation Assignment - Initial Ideas

Animation Assignment - Initial Ideas

Idea 1 - The setting is a white soft cell, with nothing within except one man and a camera positioned in the corner of the room. The man is given a pill through the door, and takes it. After a few seconds, the lighting of the room becomes different and the man seemingly sinks into a pit in the floor. He is unable to move from the pit, the lighting switches to complete darkness, until lit in successions by the red glow of an warning alarm ringing. Still in the pit, he hears screams and above the pit a silhouette of a man appears. The man is then shown laid out on the floor, showing all his experience to be a hallucination caused by the pill.

Idea 2 - Recreation of a Star Wars lightsaber duel using action figures. The idea is literally what it seems, two action figures fighting with lightsabers. The setting would be similar to the set of the actual movie, would most likely be partially 3D and 2D backgrounds so characters can interact with some of the environment.

Idea 3 - Lego animation of a shipwreck: very ambient sound effects accompany the visuals of lego people seemingly drowning and falling upon the seabed. I believe I could achieve this by having the background as just a green screen, then apply a digital background in post. This would let me rest the prop ship on a small sand base, then animate the motions of the ship, characters etc.

Stop Animation - Pre Production - Ideas

Initial Ideas
My first idea for an animation style is similar to that used by the TV Show "Robot Chicken": The use of action figures and set backgrounds. They also use cutouts to have the characters seem as though they are speaking using mouthpieces.

I'm set on the idea of creating a full set for the animation, and lighting it correctly. I'm persistant on having a rather professional looking animation in terms of lighting.