Production - The Animation Process (Details)

Hello everyone :)

In this post I will be talking about the details of the animation process, through bullet points:

• I originally decided to create 6 drawings for every second of animation time, as in 'Final Cut Pro X' the time-line has 24 frames-per-second, therefore there would be a new drawing every 4 frames. I also chose 6 drawings as it gave a seemingly smooth animation and it seemed a manageable number of drawings to complete for all the animation that takes place during my music video.
• I create the drawings using A4 plain paper and a pencil (as used in the music video to create the original drawing).
• I place the previous drawing underneath a new A4 every time as it allows me to see the original drawing and create the new drawing. I use this technique since I am able to see where the drawing originally was and where it will be in the new drawing, allowing me to create animations such as movement and actions.
• I scan the drawing into the my main computer using my scanner, name the jpeg's, edit the drawing in 'Photoshop' to appear as they do in my storyboard (i.e. zooming in on the characters where necessary), transfer the files onto a USB and then insert the USB into the Mac and drag and drop the drawings onto the time-line where appropriate.
• I set each image to appear on the screen for 4 frames each and then double-check they are all placed one after the other (so when played they show the drawing moving, creating the animation) in the correct order.
• I finish by playing the section of the music video involving the drawings I have just placed within the time-line, to make sure everything runs smoothly and correctly (and where it doesn't I correct it and repeat this final step until everything is correct and runs smoothly).

Below is 1 second worth of animation, going from top to bottom (please note these are the drawings in their original form and not the edited drawings, meaning these are pre-Photoshop)

The reason behind the black pen in the top left corner of some drawings is that sometimes the scanner has troubling detecting the drawings otherwise, since they are drawn in pencil. The black pen allows it to detect something, thus allowing it to scan the drawing in. The reason behind some of the character not being completely drawn is that from looking at my storyboard, that character does not appear in much of the shot (just his arm) and therefore drawing the character completely wastes time and is unnecessary. I only draw what I need for reference to the previous drawing and for what will appear in the music video.

I hope you all enjoyed this post and now have a better idea of how I am doing the animation for my music video.

Until next time everyone :)