Why Lipsync Should Be "Two Frames Ahead"

Cliff Nordberg

Why should your lipsync always be at least two frames ahead of the audio? Because there is a very slight time delay between our mouths making a shape, and the sound being expelled from our lips.

For your audience to be able to read the lip sync clearly you'll want to offset the jaw opening at least two frames before the audio is actually heard. 

If you have the jaw opening and closing exactly on the frame that the audio is heard, your lip sync will feel slightly "off sync", ie a little late. 

"Journey of Life" Wins Best 1st Time Director

Journey of Life Wins Best 1st Time Director at Vesuvius

Congratulations to Animation Apprentice student Robin Herrman whose short film "Journey of Life" has won an award for "Best First Time Director" at the Vesuvius Film Festival.  

"Journey of Life" was written, produced and directed by Robin, currently studying for his MA in 3D Animation.

 "Journey of Life"  was completed during the course of Robin's animation studies; this is its first festival award.

Artifact Wins Best No Budget at DSFF

Artifact wins Best No Budget Film at DSFF

Congratulations to Animation Apprentice student Kristis Bandzevicius whose animated short "Artifact" has won "Best No Budget Film" at the Dreamer's Film Festival. 

"Artifact" is an animated short film written, produced and directed by Kristis, currently studying at Animation Apprentice for his MA in 3D Animation.   This is the film's fourth festival award. 

Animation Apprentice 2022 "BAA" Idents

British Animation Awards Ident from Noad Animation on Vimeo.

The British Animation Awards ("The BAA's") are back tonight - celebrating the best of British Animation.  The BAAs take place every two years at London's South Bank, and this year the organisers offered our students the chance to animate an ident for the Awards Ceremony at the BFI.  To see what our students came up with, take a look at the winning ident above, created by Dan Fitzgerald, and two more examples below, by Brandon Barwise and Parminder Kauldhar. 

Artifact Special Mention at One Reeler Film Fest

Artifact wins Special Mention at One Reeler Fest

Congratulations to Animation Apprentice student Kristis Bandzevicius whose animated short "Artifact" has won a "Special Mention" at the One Reeler Film Festival. 

Storyboarding for People Who Can't Draw

For all our students storyboarding their short film projects we're recommending the video above by Russell Hasenauer titled "Storyboarding for People Who Can't Draw". It's a useful video because it helps to explain how the storyboarding process can be achieved even by students who don't draw well, or lack confidence in their drawing. Storyboarding is not chiefly about drawing - it's about how you juxtapose shots to tell a story, ideally clearly and simply.  

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.

Nine Ways to Create a Great Animation Pose

How do you create a great pose in animation? Creating great poses is a necessary skill for all animators to learn. In the video above, I suggest nine ways that an animator can create a great pose - the key starting point for a great acting scene. 

Body Language for Animators

 

Body language is as important as spoken language, and just as important for animators to learn. Animators are actors (with a pencil or a mouse) and we must understand how body language can be used to communicate emotion, and how to create great poses in our work. A great pose should communicate what the character is thinking and feeling.  In the 13 minute video above, I explore some of the basic principles of body language and how these can be applied to character animation.

Introducing Journey of Life by Robin Herrmann

 

Meet "Journey of Life", a new short film created by Animation Apprentice student Robin Herrman.  "Journey of Life" was written, produced and directed by Robin, currently studying for his MA in 3D Animation at Animation Apprentice, in partnership with our degree-awarding partner, Buckinghamshire New University.   "Journey of Life" is currently being entered into film festivals. 

Aid Film Wins Best No Budget at Dreamer's Fest

"What is Wrong...?" Wins Best No Budget at Dreamer's Fest

Congratulations to the makers of the short film "What is Wrong With The Global Development Organisation?" which has won "Best No Budget" film at the Dreamer's Film Festival.

Directed by Monika Dzikowicz, the two minute micro-documentary tells the story of an aid organisation which has lost sight of its founding principles.  It was made under the aegis of Nano Films, our film co-operative. 

How to Fix Floaty Animation Based on Live Action Reference

Leopard Animation by Daniel Amor

The use of live action reference to create great animation is one of the key techniques that students learn at Animation Apprentice. 

But one of the dangers of using live action is that, if you follow it too closely, the final animation can be floaty and weightless.

"Artifact" Wins Best Sci-Fi at Art Awards

"Artifact" wins Best Sci-Fi

Congratulations to Animation Apprentice student Kristis Bandzevicius whose animated short "Artifact" has won Best Sci-Fi film at the Art Film Awards.

"Artifact" is a new short film created by Kristis Bandzevicius.  

"Artifact" was written, produced and directed by Kristis, currently studying for his MA in 3D Animation.  

VFX Festival in London 9-10 March 2022

VFX Festival 2022

Escape Studios' VFX Festival is back in London from 9-10 March 2022. This year the VFX Festival is taking place as a hybrid event, both online and also in person.

Escape Studios will host the event at their midTown Campus at 190 High Holborn, also streaming the events for a live online audience.

To book your tickets, follow this link to thevfxfestival.com.

Why Animators Need a Smooth Path of Action

Path of Action from "The Illusion of Life"

Animators always need to keep an eye on the Path of Action in their animation. Paths of Animation, also known as Arcs, are one of the original 12 Principles of Animation identified by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnstone in their classic work "The Illusion of Life".

A moving object should follow a smooth flowing arc,
without any sudden abrupt changes of direction. 

 

Marc Godfrey Launches "MarcoLooks" at Patreon

Animation Apprentice graduate Marc Godfrey

Animation Apprentice graduate Marc Godfrey-Murphy (aka "MarcoLooks") has launched an Online Character Drawing Class on Patreon, aimed at a family audience.

Marc Godfrey-Murphy is a York-based animator and illustrator, graduate of Animation Apprentice, former Cbeebies animator and founder of the MarcoLooks Print Swap. 

Marc has now launched his own online character drawing classes hosted at Patreon.

External Projects at Animation Apprentice

Our animators can make you a film

At Animation Apprentice we often get asked if our animation students can take on external projects. Our students are very busy with their own work, but on occasion we can tackle "live briefs" for outside clients, such as the 2022 BAA Ident Awards Challenge.

There are however a few things we need in advance, most important of which is a brief (ideally a single page PDF), explaining what the client wants and expects.  Below is a list of things for clients to think about to make sure that the project is a success. 

Have You Tried Re-Starting Your Computer?

Have you tried a re-start?

A few years ago I was working at Digiscope in Los Angeles on an animated film, and was experiencing some technical trouble with my Mac. 

Growling and grumbling about computers and IT, I stomped down the hall to the IT Dept, only to see a big sign in bold font on the door saying "Have You Tried Re-Starting Your Computer?".  I stopped, paused, went back to my room, re-started the Mac and...everything worked fine.

If your machine isn't working, try re-starting your computer. Around 50% of technical problems can be solved with a re-start.   Even better, close your computer down,, wait a minute or two and then start it up again.  Sometimes this works even where a re-start has failed.

Why Lipsync Needs Wide and Narrow Shapes

Mouth shapes by Cliff Nordberg

When animating dialogue and Lipsync, it's important to remember that animators need a contrast between the wide and narrow mouth shapes, otherwise the Lipsync tends to feel a bit like a dustbin lid opening and shutting.

The key is to find flexibility, especially between the wide shapes, such as "ee" shapes, and narrow shapes, such as "oo" or "w" shapes. 

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.

Lipsync: Open Wide on the Big Vowels

Wide on the big vowels

When animating Lipsync, animators should never forget to open the mouth wide on the main vowels, especially "A", "EE", and "O" shapes.

The trick with animating good dialogue is to avoid the timing of the mouth shapes feeling soft and mushy. 

By opening wide on the big vowels, animators can get more texture into a dialogue shot, more "light and shade", so that the animation "hits the accents", and makes a more positive statement.

The timing of the open and shut of the jaw should be nice and snappy, with only a single frame ease-in to the wide mouth position.