Buster Keaton and The Art of Visual Comedy

Buster Keaton was one of the great comedians of the silent comedy era. In this eight minute video, you can see why, like Charlie Chaplin, Keaton was a master of the visual gag.  Why should animators study this stuff? Because animators are actors, and we have to make our acting work on a visual level.  If your scene doesn't work with the sound turned off - it isn't working.

Why? Because the audience should be able to understand an animator's work just by looking at the body poses and facial expressions. The old stars of the silent screen had to make their movies fun to watch with our dialogue (or even close-ups), so the physical comedy had to be perfect. To find out more, watch the video above and learn from the master.

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