CONTENTS Introduction ... xv 1 Real World Production ... 2 Getting Started in Filmmaking ... 4 People ... 4 Getting Money ... 5 Pitching Ideas ... 6 Development Deals ... 7 Budgets ... 7 Deadlines ... 8 Developing a Schedule ... 9 How Much Will It Cost? ... 10 Making the Most of Your Budget ... 11 Making a Film ... 13 Story and Ideas ... 13 Modeling and Setup ... 13 Dialogue ... 14 Leica Reels ... 17 Layout ... 19 Animation ... 20 Keeping Track of Things ... 21 Rendering and Output ... 22 Adding Sound Effects ... 24 Distribution ... 25 2 Story ... 26 Characters and Story ... 28 Motivation Creates Character ... 28 Obstacles Create Conflict ... 29 Conflict Creates Drama ... 29 Story Through Action ... 30 Visuals Come First ... 31 Developing a Story ... 32 Keep It Simple ... 32 Brainstorming a Premise ... 33 Developing Your Premise into a Story ... 35 Developing a Script ... 37 Dialogue ... 37 Visualizing Your Story ... 38 Finalizing Your Story ... 41 Conclusion ... 41 3 Rigging Characters ... 42 Sliders ... 44 Automation ... 44 Wiring Things Together ... 45 Direct Relationships ... 45 Set-Driven Keys ... 45 Expressions ... 46 Scripting ... 50 Skeletal Setups ... 50 Grab Points and Handles ... 51 Setting Up a Foot ... 52 Spine Setup ... 54 Ribs ... 55 Shoulders ... 56 Forearms ... 56 Hands ... 58 Facial Rigging ... 60 The Jaw ... 60 Preset Facial Poses ... 61 Replacement Animation ... 62 Visibility ... 62 If/Then ... 62 Setting Up Replacement Animation ... 63 Set-Driven Keys and Replacement Animation ... 64 Skinning ... 65 Deformers ... 65 Conclusion ... 66 4 Animation Tips & Tricks ... 68 Making Characters Think ... 70 Thinking Starts in the Head ... 70 Characters Are Whole ... 70 50/50 Rule ... 71 Simplicity Is Key ... 71 Dialogue ... 71 Listening to the Track ... 71 The Body and Dialogue ... 72 The Mouth and Dialogue ... 74 Facial Animation ... 76 Expression Changes ... 76 Eyes ... 76 Animating the Body ... 80 Overcoming Stiffness ... 80 Hand and Arm Motion ... 81 Grabbing/Gripping ... 83 Takes and Double Takes ... 84 Staggers ... 87 Animating Laughter ... 88 Breakdown of a Laugh ... 88 Multiple Characters ... 89 Choreography ... 90 Who Comes First ... 90 Crowds ... 90 Environment ... 90 Conclusion ... 91 5 Human Motion ... 92 Using Reference ... 94 Balance and Weight ... 94 Gravity and Other Forces ... 95 Character Mass ... 96 How the Body Moves ... 97 Muscle Energy ... 97 Pendulum Effect ... 97 Spinning ... 98 Animating Locomotion ... 99 Changing Speed ... 99 Changing Direction ... 101 Going Up and Down Slopes ... 104 Jumping ... 105 Leaping ... 107 Dealing with External Forces ... 109 Lifting ... 109 Pushing ... 110 Pulling ... 111 Getting Pulled ... 111 Animating Rhythm and Dance ... 112 Understanding Tempo ... 112 Figuring Out the Steps ... 113 Getting the Hips Moving ... 114 Moving On Up ... 115 Stepping Out ... 116 Adding Character ... 117 Martial Arts ... 117 Posing for Martial Arts ... 117 Conclusion ... 122 6 Acting ... 124 Acting Versus Animating ... 126 Acting and Story ... 126 Know Your Tools ... 126 Know Your Audience ... 127 Know Your Characters ... 127 Character Descriptions ... 128 Character Biographies ... 129 Acting Technique ... 130 Creating Empathy ... 130 Creating Inspiration ... 132 Creating Movement ... 132 Acting and the Body ... 140 The Head ... 140 The Shoulders ... 140 The Hands ... 141 The Spine and Posture ... 142 Other Techniques ... 144 Sense Memory ... 145 Animal Exercises ... 145 Affective Memory ... 146 Conclusion ... 146 7 Animal Motion ... 148 Four-Legged Mammals ... 150 Skeletons for Quadrupeds ... 151 Analysis of a Four-Legged Walk ... 152 Animating a Four-Legged Walk Cycle ... 153 Other Four-Legged Gaits ... 155 Trot ... 155 Canter ... 156 Gallop ... 156 Stylized Walks ... 157 Reptiles ... 157 Snakes ... 158 Serpentine Locomotion ... 158 Sidewinding ... 158 Concertina Locomotion ... 159 Rectilinear Locomotion ... 160 Setting Up a Snake ... 160 Dinosaurs ... 161 Insects and Spiders ... 163 Setting Up Insects for Animation ... 163 Analysis of Six-Legged Walks ... 164 Spider Walks ... 166 Conclusion ... 167 8 Anthropomorphic Animation ... 168 How Real Can You Go? ... 170 Creating Your Character ... 170 Modeling Your Character ... 171 Adding Faces ... 171 Adding Limbs ... 172 Character Setup ... 173 Animating Objects ... 174 The Big Secret : Timing ... 174 Animating a Jointed Character ... 174 Animating Deformed Characters ... 176 Conclusion ... 188 9 Games ... 190 Producing Games ... 192 People Involved in Game Production ... 192 Platforms ... 193 Game Design ... 194 Creating Characters for Games ... 195 Textures ... 196 Setup for Games ... 197 Animating for Games ... 198 Games and Staging ... 199 Standard Moves ... 201 Cycles ... 203 Creating a Cycle ... 203 Animating a Simple Cycled Walk ... 203 Moving Characters ... 206 Hooking Up ... 206 Flowcharting ... 207 One-to-One ... 207 One-to-Many ... 207 Many-to-Many ... 208 Conclusion ... 209 Index ... 210