My First Animation Project

I was given a brief to create a 30 second animation using moving 2 dimensional figures.

I started by taking some digital photographs with classmates Wilson and Jing. When posing for the pictures we mostly lay on a white floor or stood in front a white wall; we did this so cutting the background would be easier. From the collection of around thirty photos I chose eleven which I felt were appropriate for my narrative - I will explain this in the next paragraph. I also included eight photographs taken by another group; these were the handshake images which I needed to complete my idea.

The story is very simple. It is basically about two very different people meeting and then becoming friends. At the start the male character is running around and fighting; then a female character is introduced who stands in a prayer/meditative stance.  The two characters somehow transform and finish giving each other a high five.

After I had my selected images I began cutting out the backgrounds in Photoshop. I cut the background by using the magic wand tool to select and delete the background; in some cases I had to use the eraser tool as the program was unable to differentiate the background colour from the colour of the figure. This was a lengthy and very tedious process; in future I will be more careful when taking photographs so the background colour doesn’t blend with the colour of the figures clothing.

Once my nineteen figures were free from a single spec of background, I imported the images into Adobe After Effects. Within after effects I was able to manipulate the images on a 30 second timeline. I used several effects including movement, scale, fading and blurring. Here is my first draft animation:

I was then given the music which a track called DC3000 by Thievery Corporation. I knew that I wanted the beat of the music to be in time with my figures cutting in and out so I mapped out the timing of every beat in the music; I then used this information to re-edit my animation so each movement is perfectly in time with the beat. I also made the cross dissolves quicker, changed the background colour and changed the way some of the figures moved in and out of frame. Here is the second draft:

Overall I am happy with my animation as this was my first time using After Effects and I had limited time. In future I will develop my ideas further and possible use drawn figures instead. Watch this space...