Moho Forum

Hello everyone,

Please take a look at the trailer I recently completed using Anime Studio 9.5. I first experienced anime in the form of Starblazers and Captain Harlock in the late 1970's (I'm 45), and pretty much been obsessed with anime ever since. I know Smith Micro changed the name a few releases ago, but to me Anime Studio is the perfect name for this simple-yet-superpowerful package. Encouraged by this post...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbDTiqL-sfM

...I made character rigs thanks to this post:

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=22590

...also making liberal use of this technique:

viewtopic.php?t=17782

Here's everything I used to produce this trailer:

Anime Studio 9.5 on an Alienware M11x R1, Windows 7
3dsMax 7
Photoshop CS3
Amberlight 2
Samson CO1u USB Condenser Mike
Novation Circuit
Sonar LE

I had more fun than any human ever should have making this. Would love any and all feedback and critiques, please check it out.

I will say that the effects and shading are well done. That said, I think the character acting could be better.

Ed Hooks talks about how animators are basically actors. Focus on how the character might react emotionally to new information or change in the environment.

I checked out your production blog and I'm excited to see you develop this further.

Thanks for the links btw. I've been on this forum for years, but I missed those interesting threads.

Thank you very much for the useful feedback and reference. I'll think about how I can improve the character animation. You are most welcome for those links; Moho really is a VERY powerful tool that's a lot of fun at the same time. I have not really played any of my PS3 games since buying AS 9.5 back in 2012...too busy animating. Again, I appreciate your taking the time to watch and write your thoughts.

Wow, beautiful visuals! This project has the potential to mesmerize viewers. While the music and visuals build an intense mood, the character acting is confusing that mood. Neeters_guy already mentioned the acting animation. For me the main area for improvement would be the voice acting. Many indie animators love getting together with their friends and voicing their characters. But for a serious project like this, (I saw on your website you're planning to crowdfund), the quality of the end result matters, and you'll get better results with skilled voice actors. When you hold auditions, you can select the perfect voice for each character. And if the first couple of takes doesn't quite capture the character motivation or mood of the scene you can ask for a retake. I highly recommend voice acting proboards as a starting point to find voice actors: http://voiceacting.boards.net/ Looking forward to seeing more about this project!

Thanks so much for the specific feedback and suggestions. That's exactly what happened with the voice acting; those voices are my wife, son and myself! I totally agree that pro actors would make for a better project. I personally would enjoy watching it more when I don't have to hear my own voice over and over. LWAXANA your comments and reference are super-appreciated. This forum is so good...

With Neeters_guy's comment in mind, I watched some anime last night (Attack on Titan: A Choice With No Regrets) and focused on the performances. I noticed how in just about every medium or closeup shot the main characters undergo some kind of visual change, moving the story along a little bit at a time.