Now Ye're Talking - to a Film Animator

I'm an Animator, AMA

Liamario wrote: »

Do you tend to analyse effect shots in other movies while you're watching them (in a non-professional capacity)?

Are there any effects shots in movies that you've created all by yourself?

Yes all the time, it can be quite a pain when you're trying to enjoy the film and you see every small mistake!
I saw the jungle book a while ago and while it was a great film, I need to watch it again as I spent most the time analysing everything. Even down to the birds flying in the background.

And no,for every 1 shot in a film there's probably 10 hands in it. I know how to animate and slightly know how to rig.
Just so we're on it the process is this:
Say for a shot with a cg character in a live action scene,
Someone will model the character, then someone textures it (colours, bumps in the skin, different speculars for different parts of the body),
Someone rigs it (gives it bones and joints, to put it simply),
I animate it,
Next person adds effects like fire/dust etc in the scene,
Then it's given hair/cloth
Then it's lit (making sure the lighting on the character matches the lighting in the real scene),
Then it's comped (someone puts all this stuff together and adds that final 10% of colour variation to pretty it up).

So it's a big long process and very much hands on, I think when I first started getting into cg I was suprised how little (almost nothing) the computer did for the final image. It's very manual

I'm an Animator, AMA

IrishAlice wrote: »

Does working as an animator entail working odd hours and having blocks of time where you're not working at all or is it a regular 9-5 type job?

Did you always have a talent for drawing or did you improve your skill with practice?

It's a regular 9-6 until crunch time where you can be doing overtime til midnight. Essentially it's on you to finish the shot no matter how long It takes. Studios will always underbid how long the film should take to make as the production companies want it done fast. It's probably the biggest problem in this industry is the ungodly overtime at times. I would like it to change but I don't really see in practicality how it can. All in all its a fun job so it's not a deal breaker when the last few weeks on a project rolls round.
It is a very contract based job though so there is a lot of jumping between different studios. It's good and bad as the best way to bump your salary is to have two studios wanting to have you work there. But it's bad obviously if it's quiet Month in film (usually end of the summer, after all the big blockbusters but too early for the Christmas releases).

And I was always drawing and doodling and I enjoyed art since I can remember, but I think if someone is passionate enough it won't hold them back not being a fantastic drawer. And animation is a very different art form to anytime else. It's art based in space and time, so everyone is a beginner to animation when they actually start animating

scudzilla

You said you'd worked on Jurassic World and Guardians of the Galaxy, how close would you ever come, if you do, to the films stars??

Also, after a hard days animating, if you were to sit down to a good cheeseboard, what would your favourite cheese be?

I'm an Animator, AMA

5rtytry56 wrote: »

Have you done stop-gap film product

I'm not sure what stop gap is, is it stop motion?
If do no I never have, that'd be an interesting one to try! In paper animation and cg animation the usual approach to animating is called "pose to pose". So if a guy is throwing a punch let's say, you would pose him in a 'getting ready to punch' on 1 frame, then pose the actual punch a few frames later. The animatin at this stage would look very robotic, since it's going linearly from point A to B. So this is where you add in all the nice realistic motions that makes it feel alive on the frames in between these two poses (such as limbs overlapping, an anticipation for the punch, etc).
But with stop motion you can't go pose to pose, you have to animate it "straight ahead" which is where you keep in mind all this stuff at all times and animate it frame by frame. It's extreeeemely difficult to do, so I'm very impressed when I see great stop motion, such as the stuff that comes out of Laika.

I'm an Animator, AMA

job seeker wrote: »

What advice would you give someone that want's to really follow in your footsteps? #Dreamjob!

Also

Which is your favourite? Simpsons or Family guy

I'd say if you're in Dublin, ballyFermot have a 1 year animation course that's a good foundation, however, I don't think the degree is particularly the best route to get into cg animation.
Honestle, your best choice would probably be animation mentor, ianimate or animschool. They're all online classes and you do lectures with high up animators working at studios like Disney, Pixar, ILM etc.
It feels a bit weird to take online classes instead of going to a college, but honestly it really is the best route to get your foot in the door of this industry. They have a fairly high employment rate of graduates within the first year, I think it's like 80%.
Apart from that, download Maya and do some exercises! Start with a bouncing ball and nail it. The bouncing ball has been the standard starting point in animation because it basically has 99% of all the principles of animation. When you really break down how someone moves, it all comes from the hips... and the hips are pretty much just a ball bouncing along.
11 second club is a good one too,its a monthly animation competition and there's a big forum of people giving tips, advice, tutorials etc.
So yeah, if you think it's something you'd like to try, give it a go! If you end up liking animating then give it your all. Honestly, it is a hard discipline to learn and it's tough to land that first gig, but it really isn't out of reach like you may think. If you put in the work you'll get to where you want to go. One of the great things I find about this industry is that it doesn't matter how many degrees you have, where you went to college, how good your cv looks... you show the recruiter your animation and if it's good you get the job.
Hope that helps, let me know if you need anything cleared up, I tend to go on tangents in these replies!

I'm an Animator, AMA

misstearheus wrote: »

What's your favourite colour?

How well do you take criticism?

Is this what you've always wanted to work at?

What's your dress-style like?

I suppose I don't have a favorite colour! They're all nice except grey!

Ya have to take criticism well in this industry or you will be kicked to the curb! Some shots you poured your heart into can be torn to shreds in seconds by a supervisor. We constantly critique each others work through the day. Like, I'll have dailies with the supervisor once a day, and he'll give me notes on what to do/change etc. But beyond that, I say every hour I'd ask the guys around me what they think of X movement or if Y would be a good idea, and they do the same.
I've learnt too many times that a fresh pair of eyes can see something so obvious that you missed from staring at it for hours. Honestly I have been shocked how I could have missed something and when it's pointed out it becomes so obvious. So yeah criticism is, second to using reference, the most important thing you need as an animator.

No actually, I had no clue through school what I wanted to do with my life, and honestly working on films seemed so out of the realm of possibility. But then I took a class in animation just to try it out and I got hooked! It really became the only thing I was interested in making a living at after that. So I just took a leap of faith and it worked out. I know it sounds a bit cliche but at least for this industry, if you work hard you will make it. I don't know anyone who's put in 100% that hasnt landed an animation gig

Tuxedos everyday! Ha nah just jeans and a shirt, there's really no dress code in this line of work. When it gets to the overtime I usually break the sweatpants and hoodies out.

I'm an Animator, AMA

Brittany Shrilling Lobotomy wrote: »

What the next big movie in the pipeline....promise we'll swear a blood oath and promise to do nasty things to ourselves if it ever leaks out

Well there's some I can't say at all, NDAs are taken so seriously!
But I know jungle book 2 is in the works.
Ghost in the Shell is one too.

I'm an Animator, AMA

scudzilla wrote: »

You said you'd worked on Jurassic World and Guardians of the Galaxy, how close would you ever come, if you do, to the films stars??

Also, after a hard days animating, if you were to sit down to a good cheeseboard, what would your favourite cheese be?

Yeah I've met a few, sometimes they've come in to use the motion capture room. It's odd seeing them in person at first but you kinda get used to it! Also you try to keep an air of professionalism since both them and you are there for work... but sometimes your inner fangirl gets the best of you!
If I'm being honest though, a lot of them have too much of a "hollywood" ego persona for me to like. I think a lot of people would be disappointed meeting some actors who seem so normal and cool in interviews in real life.
Also I've yet to meet a director that has a single clue what he was doing with his film haha.

I hate eating cheese by itself! I'd take some cheddar and make a grilled Sambo with it!

Lisha

What did you think of Song of the Sea and the Book of Kells?

I loved them but was saddened that audience numbers were small compared to bigger budget offerings .

I'm an Animator, AMA

Lisha wrote: »

What did you think of Song of the Sea and the Book of Kells?

I loved them but was saddened that audience numbers were small compared to bigger budget offerings .

I have only seen secret of kells, and I really enjoyed it! I do miss seeing 2d animation and I think its a terrible shame Disney closed down their 2d studio... but money talks and the mainstream audience pay more for cg animation.

And yes it is sad to see that good films don't get recognized because they don't have blockbuster budgets. Marketing is a huge factor for films, and if the studio doesnt have the budget to advertise it enough, it's hard for the average Joe to even know it exists. In a perfect world having a great story and compelling characters should be enough.

Liamario

Are you limited to live-action work or do you do full cg movies like Pixar?

What movie/franchise do you think is king when it comes to digital animation? What did you think of

young Tony Stark in Cap 3?

I'm an Animator, AMA

Liamario wrote: »

Are you limited to live-action work or do you do full cg movies like Pixar?

What movie/franchise do you think is king when it comes to digital animation? What did you think of

young Tony Stark in Cap 3?

The studio I'm at does just VFX but I wouldn't say it's limiting, you'd be suprised how much is actually full cg. Everyone but Black Widow and Hawkeye were CG in the airport battle sequence in Civil War, so the process for making something CG Photorealistic and cartoonish just comes down to style, the process for making both is exactly the same.
Even with Black Widow and Hawkeye, a gooood majority of their shots were digital doubles as well.
Personally, I enjoy making something thats not real look like its part of a world in whatever film with live actors. There are annoyances too; if you have to have a CG character interact with a real actor you have to take the actors ques on when to do something/where the character needs to be in the screen space, which can mess up the beauty of the animation. like for example, if a character is supposed to run from screen left to screen right and the actor needs to watch him run across the whole time, if the actor is too slow or too fast it can ruin the realism, but if you just make the animation nice and ignore the actors ques, it kills the illusion completely. Theres a balance to be made in that sense. The film making process still has a ways to go to really nail how to successfully have the actor and CG character interact. Right now it feels like 2 builders laying bricks at opposite ends of a driveway and hoping to god it matches up in the end!

I would have said Pixar were the kings a few years ago, but honestly the stuff they have been coming out with has been extremely lackluster. I know Inside out was popular (I personally didn't enjoy it, felt too "lets go to this island, oh no it sank, lets go to this island, oh that one sank too, ok this island!" just please get to where you are going!)
but apart from inside, out there has been Cars 2, Brave, The Good Dinosaur,
Whereas look at disney slaying it! Zootopia, Frozen, Wreck it Ralph, Big Hero 6. Disney are the kings of Animation right now hands down!
As for VFX, ILM are usually always mentioned as the top tier for VFX. However Double Negative just won the oscar for Ex-Machina (Fantastic film) and MPC just did The Jungle Book which was a visual spectacle, So the waters as to whos king in VFX is a little more murky.

I thought they could have found someone who looks similar to him and used that person. VFX should be subtle and used when it's needed. It should help to tell the story. I felt with young Stark it was distracting as it's clearly CG. Good CG, but still noticable and it took the audiences focus away from what was an important story moment.

Liamario

I'm an Animator, AMA wrote: »

The studio I'm at does just VFX but I wouldn't say it's limiting, you'd be suprised how much is actually full cg. Everyone but Black Widow and Hawkeye were CG in the airport battle sequence in Civil War, so the process for making something CG Photorealistic and cartoonish just comes down to style, the process for making both is exactly the same.
Even with Black Widow and Hawkeye, a gooood majority of their shots were digital doubles as well.
Personally, I enjoy making something thats not real look like its part of a world in whatever film with live actors. There are annoyances too; if you have to have a CG character interact with a real actor you have to take the actors ques on when to do something/where the character needs to be in the screen space, which can mess up the beauty of the animation. like for example, if a character is supposed to run from screen left to screen right and the actor needs to watch him run across the whole time, if the actor is too slow or too fast it can ruin the realism, but if you just make the animation nice and ignore the actors ques, it kills the illusion completely. Theres a balance to be made in that sense. The film making process still has a ways to go to really nail how to successfully have the actor and CG character interact. Right now it feels like 2 builders laying bricks at opposite ends of a driveway and hoping to god it matches up in the end!

I would have said Pixar were the kings a few years ago, but honestly the stuff they have been coming out with has been extremely lackluster. I know Inside out was popular (I personally didn't enjoy it, felt too "lets go to this island, oh no it sank, lets go to this island, oh that one sank too, ok this island!" just please get to where you are going!)
but apart from inside, out there has been Cars 2, Brave, The Good Dinosaur,
Whereas look at disney slaying it! Zootopia, Frozen, Wreck it Ralph, Big Hero 6. Disney are the kings of Animation right now hands down!
As for VFX, ILM are usually always mentioned as the top tier for VFX. However Double Negative just won the oscar for Ex-Machina (Fantastic film) and MPC just did The Jungle Book which was a visual spectacle, So the waters as to whos king in VFX is a little more murky.

I thought they could have found someone who looks similar to him and used that person. VFX should be subtle and used when it's needed. It should help to tell the story. I felt with young Stark it was distracting as it's clearly CG. Good CG, but still noticable and it took the audiences focus away from what was an important story moment.

Stark wasn't 100%, but it's possibly the best I've seen of something of that nature.
The CG in Ex Machina was immaculate to my amateur eye. At least, if there were flaws, I never noticed them.

is it true ray harryhausen made king kong from a sock?

I read it somewhere!, seriously. What an amazing guy though.

I don't expect you to know that, but you really should be blown away by his talent, as I'm sure you are.:)

jigglypuffstuff

I'm an Animator, AMA wrote: »

Hello all!

The last project I worked on was Captain America: Civil War, and now I am on Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

The best Project I've worked on was probably Guardians of the Galaxy. As far as the film pipeline goes, this went as smoothly as it could. but there was a loooooot of overtime

Two of my favourite movies, what kind of scenes did you do on them?

I'm an Animator, AMA

rusty cole wrote: »

is it true ray harryhausen made king kong from a sock?

I read it somewhere!, seriously. What an amazing guy though.

I don't expect you to know that, but you really should be blown away by his talent, as I'm sure you are.:)

Ha I'm not too savvy on much practical effecrs/stop motion, but apparently the original king Kong felt so realistic at the time people left that theatre terrified

I'm an Animator, AMA

pone2012 wrote: »

I'm an Animator, AMA wrote: »

Hello all!

The last project I worked on was Captain America: Civil War, and now I am on Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

The best Project I've worked on was probably Guardians of the Galaxy. As far as the film pipeline goes, this went as smoothly as it could. but there was a loooooot of overtime

Two of my favourite movies, what kind of scenes did you do on them?

On Civil War I worked mostly on the Airport battle sequence.
On Guardians I worked on a few shots scattered through the film, but most of them were in the prison escape scene

jigglypuffstuff

I'm an Animator, AMA wrote: »

On Civil War I worked mostly on the Airport battle sequence.
On Guardians I worked on a few shots scattered through the film, but most of them were in the prison escape scene

My hats off to you Sir, you did an amazing job on both!

Boards.ie: Niamh

I think we'll close this one up now- thanks for all the answers and questions!