Why Animators Always Create a Shot Camera

One of the most common mistakes made by junior animators is to forget to create a shot camera, or to delay creating one until it's too late. If you were on a live action set, one of the first things you would do is set up your camera and decide what the shot was going to look like. But in Maya, because we get a Perspective View for free, animators often forget to create a shot camera. This is a mistake - watch the video above to find out why.

Always Create a Shot Camera
Creating a shot camera is easy, and ensures that you will make an early decision as to what your audience is going to see. Is is a Wide Shot? a Mid Shot? A Close Up? The important thing is to decide what the shot will look like, what the audience will see, and adapt your animation to the shot camera.

Rules of Cinematography
Below are some other useful resources on camera and cinematography at the Animation Apprentice blog.

• Camera always follows, never leads
• Avoid jump cuts
• The 180 degree Rule - why animators should never "cross the line"
• Avoiding "motion sickness camera"
• Don't "Break the 4th Wall"
• Understanding the "Magic Circle"

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