This is work, which I either came across or purposefully sought out, and extracted ideas, or techniques from for my short film. This work is broken down into five categories: case studies, techniques, storytelling, sound and process. You can click the buttons below to bring you to the desired section.
Research
Case Studies
Akira
The original video I watched broke down this scene frame by frame. However, that video has been removed from youtube so I have instead included the scene discussed in the original video. I found the video useful as it broke down animation techniques from one of the most critically acclaimed animated movie scenes of all time.
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Key Notes:
Traceback animation -
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Frame rates -
Long Shadows -
Black and white flash -
In your face -
Jump cut -
Background cheat -
Weight of objects -
Settling -
Good for struggle
On ones for fast actions
On twos for regular actions
Near light casts long shadows
Good for dramatic crash
Put important info in the audience’s face
Remove boring information
Black suggests tunnel vision
Show struggle
Additional end frames add ease
Hover over image and click the arrows to flick through my notes.
Application:
Traceback animation
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Leg shakes to show instability.
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Arm shakes to show weakness
as he lifts himself.
Frame rates
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Hat is animated on a mixture of ones and twos as it is a fast motion.
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Flash appears on ones and fades
out on twos.
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Long Shadows
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Long shadows seen as the characters stand before the window.
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Shadows move with Dolly as she walks.
Black and white flash
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White flash used as a transition.
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Black and white flash used to emphasize
the moment Knit slips.
In your face
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Used to emphasize a number of important items or moments including: The hat, the
fall, the unraveling, the fear, the photo and the ending.
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Jump cuts
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Flash to switch poses and locations.
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Cuts to skip getting out of bed and
shorten the walk.
Background cheat
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Black background for photos to contrast
with the characters. -
Black fuzz background to symbolize fear, stress and confusion.
Weight of objects
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Knit leans back to gain momentum to push himself forward when he’s hurt.
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His arm shakes when he’s weak and his
body squashes to show the weight of his body landing as he doesn’t use his arm for support on the way down.
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Settling
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After flapping back, several similar frames are added to allow the hat to settle into place.
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As the balls land and knock off each other, extra frames are added so that they don’t come to a sudden halt.
Umbrella
This is an award winning short film I analysed to see if there was anything I could extract and learn from it. It’s about a little girl donating her toys to an orphanage. A boy at the orphanage is more interested in the girl’s umbrella as it reminds him of his dad.
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Key Notes:
Key items -
Perspective -
Story credits -
No words -
Items can carry meaning
Unusual perspective can create tension
Credits can be used to continue the story
You don’t need words to express emotion
Application:
Key items
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The hat is a key item used to symbolize
the beginning of a story/adventure for
the characters. -
The clock is a constant reminder of
time running out.
Perspective
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Shot from above gives a sense of danger.
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Story credits
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The story of the character’s continued adventure, carrying on Knit’s legacy, is
shown with the credits.
No words
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The characters express themselves through giggles, grunts and groans, leaving more room for the viewer to interpret their
own meaning.
Grey's Anatomy
This is a scene I had seen years ago that came back to me while making this film. For a while I thought the main sentiment of my film would be the same as this scene. The moment of acceptance that this is going to happen, nothing you do will prevent it, so you just have to be here now. While this remained an element in my film, I ended up approaching it in a very different way.
Key Notes:
Sentiment -
Sound of Illness -
Be in the moment while it’s here
Heavy breathing
Application:
Sentiment
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I interpreted this sentiment in the form of Dolly and Knit sitting down alone to enjoy their last moments together.
Sound of Illness
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I used the sound of a human heartbeat and ringing in the ears to make Knit’s fall feel more serious. This is also intended to encourage empathy from the viewer as the experience seems more human.
Taking Flight
This short film tells the story of a little boy going on an imaginary adventure with his grandad. One of the key aspects that stood out to me was the change in style between the real world and the imaginary one. This is something I took for my own project.
Key Notes:
Style change -
Colour palette -
Camera level -
Contrast between real and imaginary
Changes for stories
Camera is at the main character’s level
Application:
Style change
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While 2D animation was all I had access to, I tried to create as much contrast as possible between the “real world” and the world the characters imagined.
Colour palette
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I loved how vibrant and flat the colours in “Taking Flight’s” imaginary world were. I decided to do something similar, but I added more contrast by using dull greyscale for the “real world.”
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Camera level
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I often have the camera at knit’s eye level, which in this case means looking down at the smaller toys. This gives the impression they are younger and more innocent.
Nuggets
This short film, also seen in my outside inspiration section, uses a bird eating yellow blobs to represent drug addiction. I wanted to use a teddy unraveling to represent a slow death. In both cases something seemingly harmless and quite friendly is used to represent something dark. Naturally, I borrowed some of “Nugget’s” techniques.
Key Notes:
A Constant -
Sound change -
Black & White -
Repetition -
Distortion -
Something continuous to propel the film
Different for the two worlds
Done with purpose and meaning
Shows what has changed
Shows character’s mental state
Application:
A Constant
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The “tick tock” of the clock continues throughout the film.
Sound change
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Like the cricket ambiance in “Nuggets,” the “tick tock” disappears when the characters use their imagination. Instead they hear what they imagine.
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Black & White
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I gave meaning to my use of grayscale by using warm greys in happy moments and cool greys in sad moments. Notice the colour difference between these two shots.
Repetition
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The morning routine is the same every time so that viewers understand what is missing on the last morning.
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Knit puts on his hat the same way before every adventure so that at the end when Dolly puts on the hat, viewers understand that she is continuing the adventure.
Distortion
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In the same way the world gets darker and sound gets distorted in “Nuggets,” I made the world dark and fuzzy when the characters are distressed.
Technique
12 Principles of Animation
This video breaks down the 12 principles of animation outlined in Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston’s book “The Illusion of Life,” also known as the animation bible. While I did also purchase and study the book itself, this video is a good summary of what I learned.
Key Notes:
Squash & stretch -
Anticipation -
Staging -
Straight ahead &
Pose to pose -
Follow through &
Overlapping action -
Slow in & slow out -
Arc -
Secondary action -
Timing -
Exaggeration -
Solid drawing -
Appeal -
Gives gravity, weight, mass and flexibility
Build up for main action
Composition and layout
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Organised vs unpredictable
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Realistic flow
Gives a motion ease
Obey the physics of gravity
Add to primary action
Again, laws of physics
Animation isn’t realism
Weight and volume, and lights and shadows
Make them likeable
Hover over image and click the arrows to flick through my notes.
Application:
Squash & stretch
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Everything from the balls’ shapes to
their faces squash and stretch with the bouncing motion.
Anticipation
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Knit looks towards the balls and makes a sound to indicate he has noticed them. His cheeks and eyebrows raise and he lifts up
his arms. The balls also demonstrate anticipation as they squash and squeak before jumping.
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Staging
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Here the clock is intended to look both impressive and intimidating. Its scale, looming over the toys, is an indication
of what is to come.
Straight ahead & Pose to pose
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The walking is done pose to pose, while the less predictable hat was animated straight ahead to avoid it looking stiff.
Follow through & Overlapping action
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The arm stops but the hat follows through with the action before settling into place.
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Slow in & slow out
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As Knit waves his arm, the motion starts and ends slow with his arm moving faster in the middle of the action.
Arc
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The arc of the balls bouncing demonstrates gravity’s pull on the balls.
Secondary action
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The primary action is knit putting on his hat, the secondary action is his ears moving downward in preparation for this.
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Timing
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Here the timing of the rocking of the boat
is used to indicate that it is still the
rocking horse.
Exaggeration
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Living toys tell stories that transform the world around them.
Solid drawing
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References were used for as many shots
as possible to give them the feeling of a
real environment.
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Appeal
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This shines through in the
characters’ personalities.
Blocking Scenes
This is a video that explains three key elements of blocking: Space, Lines and Shape. While the video mainly addresses this in relation to two actors having a conversation, it was still helpful for my project.
Key Notes:
Space -
Shape -
Lines -
Where characters are in relation to each other
Circle - safe, Square - trapped, Triangle - Danger
Posture creates subtext
Application:
Space
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Knit entirely blocks Dolly from view until he sits up. This creates contrast on the final morning when the space where he should
be is empty. -
Knit is intended to be viewed as the main character and leader while Dolly is a passive follower. Knit is therefore leading the way as they walk.
Shape
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The clock is a square to indicate the trapped feeling while the attic roof forms a triangle behind indicating danger.
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The characters stand in triangle formation indicating danger with Dolly and the younger toys appearing helpless and dwarfed due to distance from the camera.
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Lines
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Knit leans towards Dolly, under the safety
of the round sun, showing this is where he wants to be. However, the wool mirrors this line, pulling in the opposite direction. -
Dolly walks tall and confident with Knit. Without him, this line curves downwards
as she hunches over.
Cinematic Techniques
This video walks through a number of cinematic techniques used by filmmakers that give meaning and interest to their films. Although this was live action based, I found it easy to translate into animation.
Key Notes:
Close up -
Long Shots -
High Angle -
Lighting -
Dissolve -
Personal and creates empathy
Establish scale and location
Makes characters vulnerable and small
Dark lighting is scary
Fade transition to show time passing
Application:
Close up
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Dolly is a character that I wanted viewers to sympathize with and using close up is one way I achieved this.
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This close up is used to suggest Knit realises the seriousness of the situation.
Long Shots
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Used to set the scene at the beginning
of the film. -
Used to introduce new important locations.
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High Angle
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Used to emphasise the vulnerability and danger of the situation.
Lighting
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The bright morning window is used to suggest this is a place of happiness and
later hope. -
In contrast, when things go wrong, the darkness intensifies.
Dissolve
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Used in the transition between the toys’ attempts to free Knit. Also shows the passage of time as the scene slowly darkens.
Storytelling
Pixar's 22 Rules of Storytelling
This video breaks down some of Pixar’s 22 rules of storytelling.
Rules I Followed:
1) You admire a character for trying more than for their successes.
2) Simplify, focus and combine characters. Hop over Detours.
5) You won't see what the story is about until the end of it.
7) Come up with the ending before figuring out your middle.
8) Finish your story. Let go even if it’s not perfect.
9) Discount the first thing that comes to mind.
10) Putting it on paper lets you start fixing it.
11) Once upon a time… ect.
12) Pull apart the stories you like.
13) Why must you tell this story?
14) Give your character's opinions.
15) Honesty lends credibility to unbelievable situations.
16) Give us reason to root for the character.
17) If it’s not working, let go and move on.
21) Identify with your situations and characters.
22) What’s the essence of your story?
Hover over image and click the arrows to flick through my notes.
Application:
1.
You admire a character for trying more than
for their successes.
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This is something I took for the ending. It seems like Dolly has every reason to give up, but she still stands up and continues forward. This willingness to continue trying is one of the major takeaways I hope viewers get from the film.
2.
Simplify, focus and combine characters.
Hop over Detours.
5.
You won't see what the story is about until
the end of it.
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In the beginning I had additional characters with no real meaning behind them. This rule helped me to cut that down.
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You see all these wonderful memories being created throughout the film, but it is only at the end you realise their importance and value.
7.
Come up with the ending before figuring
out your middle.
8.
Finish your story. Let go even if it’s not perfect.
9.
Discount the first thing that comes to mind.
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This was something I did not do on my
first draft of the story. I saw a significant improvement when I took this on board for the next draft.
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I am not Pixar. I am one student. As much as
I wanted to create a Pixar level masterpiece, that was not an option. I needed to accept that if I was ever going to get the film finished.
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As much as it hurt to do so, I threw out the vast majority of my first story draft. It proved very worthwhile in the long run.
10.
Putting it on paper lets you start fixing it.
11.
Once upon a time… ect.
12.
Pull apart the stories you like.
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When creating my first draft of the story I had only a general concept. Everything I put down was the first thing that came to mind. While the vast majority of it was changed, it was a clear springboard into the drafts
that followed.
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Once upon a time there was... a family
of toys. -
Every day… they would wake up, take
pictures and play imaginary games together. -
One day… as they were playing, Knit got his wool caught in the cogs of a clock. The toys couldn’t free him and so he began to unravel.
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Because of that … the toys had to make the most of the time they had left together until Knit finally unravelled.
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Because of that … Dolly felt sad and alone.
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Until finally … Dolly realized she needed to take the happy memories Knit had given her and use them to fuel more.
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This is what I did with my case studies.
13.
Why must you tell this story?
14.
Give your character's opinions.
15.
Honesty lends credibility to
unbelievable situations.
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I was grieving in complete isolation due the covid pandemic. I can say I did it because I love my dad, or I wanted to share my story and give hope to others. While both of those things are true, in all honesty, I needed to create this story to find hope for myself, and to feel that there was one tiny part of my life I had some control over.
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In my first draft of the story, none of the characters had personalities. It was only after reading this that Knit became the brave, adventurous, fun leader and Dolly became the quietly happy follower.
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Toys do not live, become unwell or die.
Yet this story is very true to my real life experience, with each character representing a member of my family.
16.
Give us reason to root for the character.
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17.
If it’s not working, let go and move on.
21.
Identify with your situations and characters.
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The stakes are losing Knit. However in my first draft I had given Knit no personality, and the viewer no reason to root for his survival. This is where the importance of the little characters came in. They embody innocence and childhood and so if these cute little kid characters love Knit, the audience will follow.
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Getting rid of elements of the story always felt wrong but in the end it was the right thing to do.
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While it is abstracted and metaphorical, I based the story on real people and real events from my life that happened during the making of the film and used them to drive the character’s emotions and motivations.
22.
What’s the essence of your story?
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It wasn’t until I really focused on this that the story came together. The main thing I wanted to show was the characters choosing to enjoy the time they had left together. The main message I wanted to give at the end
of the film was to take the happy memories your loved ones give you and use them to fuel more. Knowing these two things were the essence of my story, the rest came
much easier.
Dan Harmon's Story Circle
This is a video where Dan Harmon breaks down his method of coming up with the plot for each episode of his show “Rick and Morty.”
Application:
I realised from following this method that my first draft of the story was missing the last steps, “return” and “changed.” The reason those steps were missing at the time was because I had not yet reached them in my real life. My dad’s death was still very fresh and it was very hard to find any kind of positive ending. However, without it, the story would be incredibly morbid and not a very nice tribute. In this way, creating this story forced me to find some light at the end of the tunnel. This came in the form of Dolly standing up and carrying on, taking with her everything Knit had given her.
Sound
Studio Ghibli
This video explains the value of sound. It is “one third of how we experience film. The other two thirds are what we see and how we feel.” Upon realising this, it became clear that I would need to put a lot of time, care and thought into the sound for my film.
Key Notes:
Juxtaposition -
Information -
Illusion -
Atmosphere -
Layering -
Opposing sounds add interest
Sound provides information
Foley makes slow frame rates appear fluid
Foley builds atmosphere in a way music cannot
Layering sound builds depth and texture
Application:
Juxtaposition
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The atmosphere created by the constant ticking of the clock is juxtaposed with the wide open and free sounds of nature in the imagination scenes. This gives the feeling that time doesn’t exist to the characters when they're having fun.
Information
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Sound tells us the age of ageless characters.
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Sound tells us Knit turned over even though we don’t see him do so.
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Illusion
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While I’d have loved to create a dynamic fight scene, I am only one person who had a very limited time to complete this project. So for this scene I used sound to give the illusion that there was more action than there was.
Atmosphere
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I used a black transition with nothing but sound, and in that transition the atmosphere changes from a calm ocean to the dark looming reality of the time slipping away.
Layering
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In the opening, layered sound is what
builds the environment as there is very little movement. Outside we hear the birds. Inside near the window we still hear the birds but they are faint. Instead we focus on the sound of the clock and the creaking of the old attic. As the camera moves around the attic the volume of the clock changes to indicate how near we are to the clock. Finally we are so close to the clock that we can even hear the cogs turning when the clock chimes.
Spielberg
This video hones in on the importance of sound design and foley
art in films. It talks through examples of sound design from some of Spielberg’s films, and breaks down the techniques used to influence what the audience sees and pays attention to.
Application:
This video solidified the fact that I did not want to use music for my film. I wanted to build real tension with real sound, because this was never just a film for me. This was real, and I wanted the audience to feel the weight and gravity of what the film represented. I wanted the experience to feel close and personal, in the same way Spielberg's sound design feels.
Toy Story
It only seemed natural when doing a story about toys to take inspiration from the masters who created Toy Story. This video details some nuances in Toy Story’s sound design that I would have never thought
to consider.
Key Notes:
Realistic -
Exaggerated -
Scale -
The sound things actually make
Sounds you would not hear in real life
Consider the perspective of a toy
Application:
Realistic
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This can be heard in the light air squeeze as each ball prepares to jump, followed by a combination of thuds and squeezes timed to the balls landing and knocking off each other.
Exaggerated
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Teddies do not have heartbeats, nor can they hear ringing in their ears. However, I include these sounds to suggest to viewers that this character represents someone real.
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Scale
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The sound of Knit hitting the ground is an exaggerated thud when you consider he is a small knitted bear.
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Wool coming undone makes a very quiet sound, if any. However, from Knit’s perspective this is not just wool gently unravelling, this is his leg being torn off, and so I included a sound to represent this tearing.
Foley
In this video, Foley artist Marko Costanzo walks through sound he made for famous films and how he made them. He explains the techniques he uses and some of the many things he takes into consideration when coming up with a sound. In the end he is given a video with no sound and we see his entire process creating the foley art to go with it.
Application:
I had never created foley art before this project. This short clip moulded my entire sound design process. I learned so much about techniques for making sound and sound recording. Without this video I mightn’t have thought to do things as simple as watching the footage while recording the sound in order to get the timing right. This video was essential in achieving my final outcome.
Process
Toy Story 4
This walks through the process of creating Toy Story 4. This film was made using 3D animation, so of course I wouldn’t have all the same steps in my 2D animation process. However, I did model many of the steps in my process after the ones seen in this video.
Application:
While many of the steps in my process were modeled on that of Toy Story 4, the biggest influence was seeing the creators photograph the toys in real life locations. This inspired me to create poseable models of my own characters and photograph them in my own attic. This helped me to get a grasp on the lighting, scale and creating a more real feeling environment for my characters to exist in.
