Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
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See if you can determine a reason for this instigation. Is there one
individual stronger than the others, or is it a leader within a group?
Animals working in groups often display strong hierarchical pecking
orders.
•
See if the dynamic shifts throughout the action. Do members of the
group take the leadership role in turns? If so, can you determine any
pattern to this?
•
Establish the level of synchronization within the group. This will vary from
example to example. A skein of geese in migratory flight will synchronize
their wing beats to the lead bird in order to cut down on drag and gain
greater energy efficiency, but there will be a slight delay in their individual
actions as the birds move from one type of action (powered flight) to
another (gliding) and back again. Some groups, such as synchronized
swimmers, require some of the actions of the entire group to happen
exactly at the same time.
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Look for the distribution of labor in a group and identify whether there are
individuals taking on the majority of the work and the reasons for this.
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Look for specialist activities within the group. Some groups may display
none at all, such as a group of hunting wolves, or there may be a great
deal of specialist activity within the group, as in football teams.
Analysis of Performance
During the analysis of action, we have mostly been concerned with
looking at identifying the nature of the action, categorizing actions,
ways to recognize differences in timing, identifying key moments in an
action and in a sequence of actions. We've looked at changes of pace and
direction, and we've looked at effort. We've considered individuals and
groups and intention and goals as instigating factors in creating action.
All this has been focused on the physical. In the analysis of performance,
we need to take this much further than looking at the physical aspects of
an action; we need to look beyond the actions themselves to the causes of
the actions.
It is useful to be able to recognize the instigating factors for actions and how
physical actions come about and change as a result of emotional shifts. We
need to identify how physical actions are driven by psychological states,
feelings, moods, and temperament. A character's action is not simply a result
of his physiognomy but also of his personality. This type of performance-
based movement is at the heart of much of what we do as animators, and if
we are to fully develop these skills we should have an appreciation of these
motivating factors. Performance is not simply the movement through time
and space of a figure or the actions necessary to complete a task; it is based
on the rationale for the movement and points to a wider contextualization
and underpinning narrative. Understanding this and mastering the art of
creating such movement is the highest of my Four A's of Animation. It is called
acting
.
