Adam

I think what Doug was referring to with his “slow motion” reference was the idea that, by design, animation is dealing with a performance on a frame-by-frame basis, hence “acting in slow motion”. However, I’ll pass on the question to him and if I’m wrong I’m sure he’ll be happy to clarify. As for the Richard Williams thing, I think the point is trying to illustrate how over time, as your animation senses become more acute, you can analyze movement as it relates to how you would time out a shot or action. Having said that I don’t think the measure of an animator hinges on whether he/she can watch a hand wave from across a crowded plaza and determine that it’s cycling on sixes. Hope that helps and be patient for the Sweetland interview.

Adam

Andrew spoke about an interview with Doug Sweetland a while back so if it hasn’t been wrapped up yet I would like you to ask him few things.

The pose to pose method seem to be prevalent nowadays with setting up the main poses then primary breakdown but a friend of mine told me that once he has his key poses, he prefers to go into straight ahead mode has he sees the motion already in his head.

Sometime ago Doug refered to animation as “acting in slow motion”. What did he mean by that? Was he only refering to the fact that every seconds of animation is carefully crafted and take up to few days or would he be saying that he his able to see things in slow motion, does he know what his spacing should look like when timing the motion of a character, just like my friend was saying?

Somewhat related, is it common for a professional animator to know right of the bat how long a motion should take in frames? I saw a video of Richard Williams in Soho square where he was timing things around him.

Thank you for your time.

Thanks for your question. Personally, I’ve always found not getting fired a great motivator. Joking and glibness aside, I can understand the feeling of hitting a creative wall whether it be from being on a single shot for a very long time or an extended period on the same project. Try showing your work again to your director or supervisor, even if you feel it’s not ready to show. I’ve found that showing early and showing often generates good creative momentum. On a more practical side, know that nothing lasts forever and there will always be a new creative challange waiting for you around the corner. Hope this helps.

Adam

Thanks

Tania x