Watching what’s around you


Animators by nature really have to notice how things move and how people act. What are some really good ways to access good “reference” For one, I think an animator should be building a digital morgue of clips that inspire them. Make a set of folders and just start putting stuff in them. Takes, walks, runs, facial reference, sad, happy, heavy light etc etc etc… The point is, you are putting stuff away, so that you can reference it for later. So how do you get the clips. I used to use a dazzle, but I am looking into Tivotogo. As soon as the software becomes available for a mac, I can hook my tivo up to a network and start building a good library. Aside from capturing clips, what are some good things you can do to get interesting mannerisms into your work. Here are a few:

1) family - Everyone has that crazy Aunt, or creepy uncle. Looks for interesting manerisms
2) Everyday people you know
3) The Airport - Its a great place to people watch. All the people coming and going and greeting each other
4) Look at people reacting to things
5) Zoo - for the animals and the humans…
6) Weather - look at how forces affect things and study the footage.
7) Focus in on a topic when getting footage. Maybe you want to film how people gesture down in Little Italy or how someone walks on a cold day as opposed to a warm one. Notice the details of how they hold themselves
8) Film yourself, but don’t get tied down by it. Always look for other choices….

Happy thanksgiving,

-Andrew