Animation Process

Upon completion of the puppets and set, I began the animation process.

I set up a total of five lights up around my set to give the scene a bright and clean, children's animation aesthetic.  I also set up a separate small puppet repair booth behind the animation table.  This was of great use when the puppets were damaged or needed element replacing, such as mouths.  

The tie down process of drilling into the set and screwing the puppets in place, was as effective as I was hoping it would be.  The holes left in the set were virtually unnoticeable in the animation and could be cleaned out in post.  I also utilized a small vacuum to clear away any dust left on the set after drilling.

I made use of a large screen which came with the room I used.  This allowed me to check my progress while animating the puppets during production.  I made sure to glue all the lights and the animation table to the ground so that any accidental bumps or nudges would not ruin a shot.

The film is animated mostly on 2's.  I occasionally animated on 1's for quick movements which would otherwise look awkward on 2's.  This method allows me to animated more rapidly than I would have had I been animating solely on 1's.  This process of animation is used by Aardman and Factory Create.  Seeing as these companies are the largest employers of animators in the UK, I thought it best to ditch my usual process of animating on 1's in favor of this speedier method.

I used a rig on some shots where characters are seen from the waist up.  This allowed me to animate them walking without having to animate the legs which would otherwise be unseen.  I would ensure to also place down a flat board beneath the rig so as to create a smooth surface for it to slide across.  (See below)

I utilized LAVs (Live Action Videos) throughout the production.  These helped me create realistic and pleasing movement from the puppets by referring to them while animating them in a given sequence.  I would cherry-pick the elements I thought were most effective in the LAVs to produce the most satisfying result.  (See below)

LAV Reference Comparison "Fight Sequence" from Gus Kearns on Vimeo.