Why Movie Posters Need Taglines

Short films need posters (also known as "One Sheets"), and posters need taglines. A great tagline encapsulates what the film is about, and makes the viewer want to see more.  

A great tag line (like the one on the left) is witty, short, and punchy, and makes the audience feel a sense of anticipation about the film.  

Stuck for a great tagline for your movie poster? Ask ChatGPT. Type in what your story is about, ask for ten taglines; then pick the one you like most. You don't need tell anyone you did (and I promise I won't tell either). 

How Animators Work with Composers

Original music composition helps to lift our students' films to a professional level, as our students learn to collaborate with composers and sound designers to push the level of quality of our film projects.

An original score also helps to avoid problems with copyright music, which can be a barrier to entry in film festival competitions.

So, how do our students work with composers to get the best possible results? 

Why Animators Shouldn't Worry About Copyright

Copyright Law - Stop Worrying

If you’re studying animation at Animation Apprentice you may have heard other students talk about copyright—how important it is to protect your ideas and ensure no one steals your work.  

And while it's important to understand the copyright law (to learn the basics of copright law, watch this video), it's equally important that students shouldn’t worry about copyright too much.  

Here’s why it's important not to panic:

How To Do Screen Credits Right

Screen Credits are important to get right. Leave people out, spell their names wrong - there are all kinds of ways to annoy your fellow film-makers. 

Most important of all - be sure to credit for all the key roles on your film.  In general, credit for the key heads of department will go to one person only.  For short films, there should be only be one producer and one director. Usually (but not always) one writer. 

If you need to credit someone else, give them a title such Associate Producer or Assistant Director. Extra writers can be credited under "Additional Story".

Make sure you credit (at least) the following roles; Director, Producer, Writer, Editor, Art Director, VFX Supervisor, Animation Director (or Head of Animation), CG Supervisor.  

Why Animators Should Cut on Movement

One of the key principles of cinematography is to cut on movement. What does that mean? It means that if you start an action in one shot, carry it over into the second.  

Let's say you are cutting from a wide shot to a close up, you start the motion in the wide shot, then carry it over to the next shot. This makes the cut feel less abrupt.

What is The Rule of Thirds?

What is the Rule of Thirds?  It is a "rule of thumb" for composing visual images.  The Rule of Thirds proposes that an image should be imagined as divided into nine equal parts by two equally spaced horizontal lines and two equally spaced vertical lines, and that important compositional elements should be placed along these lines or their intersections.  In the simplest terms, try to avoid staging your character dead centre in the middle of the screen.

Why Animators Need Handles

Adobe Premiere

What are "handles", and why do animators need them? "Handles" are a technical term used in video editing to describe the process of adding a few frames to the start and end of every shot. This means that each shot in the film is slightly longer than it needs to be, allowing the editor to adjust the cut by a few frames in either direction to make the edit smoother.

An editor working with, say "four frame handles", has an extra four frames at the start and end of every shot. Working with handles means that animators have to do a little extra work, but it gives the editor flexibility with the final edit. 

What is "Grammelot"?

What is Grammelot? And why do animators need it? Sometimes you want your characters to speak, but what they are actually saying isn't really that important.  Much more significant is the tone, and what that tone tells us about the character doing the speaking.  Think of the adults in the old Charlie Brown feature films; they spoke in a dreary unintelligible monotone.  We didn't know what they were saying, but we didn't need to - their tone of voice told us everything we needed to know.  And the content of their speech was far less important than what the Peanuts' kids had to say.

Key Creative Roles on an Animated Short

 

What are the key creative roles on a short animated film? Or, simply put, what are the jobs that absolutely have to get done in order to finish the project?  Below are the key roles that must be filled in order to achieve a successful outcome.

Always Test Your Rig in Close-Up

Low poly spider "Raa" animated by Alex Southcombe

There are many many free rigs and sets now available to students on an educational or freeware license for use in short films, creating a wide variety of creative choices for student film-makers.  

But not all rigs are created equal, and many problems only become evident when the film calls for a close-up, such as this image of the spider "Raa" shown on the left. 

Why Animators Need an Animatic

"Giles and Rupert's Prehistoric Predicament"

What is an animatic? And why do animators need one? An Animatic is something that all animators need to create as a first step in making an animated short film .

An animatic is an essential first step in the creation of any animated content. Don't start animating until you have made your animatic - this is where you will test your material and make sure that your story makes sense. 

Why Animators Must Check Their Hookups

Jerich0 - excellent shot continuity

Why must animators check their hookups? Animators are commonly assigned to work on single shots on a project, which means there will be another shot, animated by another animator, on either side of theirs.

These shots must play together in continuity, meaning that there must be a smooth flow from one to another. The pose of a character at the end of one shot should be the same pose in the next shot, or else the shots won't "hook up".

In animation terms, hookups are nothing to do with Tinder, or online dating. Hookups are about continuity, and on a film project it is the animator's responsibility to make sure that their shot hooks up with the shots on either side of theirs.

Secrets of the Spider-Verse at VIEW

Peter Ramsay at VIEW: Into the Spider-Verse

The highlight of last week's VIEW conference in Turin, Italy, was a talk by Peter Ramsey, co-director of Spiderman – Into The Spider-Verse.

Ramsay's talk was sub-titled “What Story are You Telling?”, and he showed the audience how the answer to that question informed every frame and every pixel of the Oscar and BAFTA winning movie.

Spiderman – Into The Spider-Verse re-invented the Spiderman franchise, and achieved a unique comic book-style look for the world of Spiderman.  How did they do it?

Toonz 2D Software Pipeline Free From Today!

Toonz, The animation software used by legendary Studio Ghibli (The Tale of the Princess Kaguya, Howl’s Moving Castle, and Spirited Away) is set to become open source today. Which is to say, in plain English: free.

The new free software will be called OpenToonz, and will allow animators all over the world to make 2D animation at no charge.

This represents a big new democratisation of the medium of animation. Now, any animator can download Toonz, watch the software demo (see below) and start animating.

Of course, Autodesk has long allowed students to learn its 3D software, Maya, for free. But now, 2D animators are getting a big helping hand. Essentially, Toonz now represents a free pipeline for a short film, feature film or TV series.

Pete Docter Explains The Inspiration Behind Inside Out

In this excellent video from Pixar, Pete Docter Explains the inspiration behind Inside Out, Pixar's Oscar-winning feature film and arguably their most inventive movie to date.  Playing with some very grown-up themes of neurology and psychology, Pixar manages to entertain young audiences while giving adults plenty to chew on.  Pete Docter is one of the most talented living animation directors, a creative artist who manages to create entertainment with a serious undercurrent. Watch this short video to get an insight into how he came up with the ideas behind Inside Out.

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.

The Cinematography of Akira Kurosawa

This fascinating video (8 mins long) explores what exactly it is that makes the cinematography of famed Japanese film director Akira Kurosawa so special. Critics have admired Kurosawa's film craftsmanship for years - but what is it that makes his style so unique, and his movies so special? Apparently, it's all about movement - specifically, the motion of objects in the frame. But why should animators study this stuff? Because cinematography is a part of our craft. Knowing how and where to put the camera, and how to get from one shot to another, is a vital part of any film-maker's skillset. So watch and learn from the master.

Cinematography, Stanley Kubrick and One Point Perspective

Kubrick // One-Point Perspective from kogonada on Vimeo.

This excellent 90 second video is titled "Cinematography, Stanley Kubrick and One Point Perspective". It's all about the work of legendary director Stanley Kubrick, showing how Kubrick uses camera angles with single-point perspective to enhance the story telling of his films. Cinematography, of course, is a whole discipline it itself, and can involve a lifetime of study to master. But animators need to understand at least the basics of cinematography, knowing how to compose a shot and get successfully from one shot to another. The camera can, and should be, a part of the storytelling process.

How Framestore Brought "Pan" To Life

At the recent BlueGFX Expo on London’s South Bank, students of animation and visual effects were treated to a wide variety of lectures and workshops - all of of which were completely free.

One of the most interesting talks was by Stuart Penn from Framestore, where he explained how the visual effects house pulled off the exceptional challenges of creating the animation and VFX work for Warner Bros’ latest blockbuster fantasy adventure: Pan.

Events like BlueGFX are a great way for students to get a deeper understanding of how the industry works, and to stay on top of the latest trends and technology.

Cinematography with Ben Davis at BAFTA

One of the best things about BAFTA is its focus on regular lectures and seminars on filmmaking. 

A recent event at the Picture house Central on London’s Shaftesbury Avenue featured an interview with Cinematographer Ben Davis, whose screen credits include Kick-Ass, Before I Go to Sleep and Guardians of the Galaxy. But why should an animator need to know about cinematography? Because animators are film- makers, and anything that helps you to understand the art of visual story telling will make you better at your craft. And who better to learn from than one of the UK’s best cinematographers?