For Nephilim:
On a 3 minute project like this, you will find you use a number of different animation techniques. The mouse walk is bones, as is his hands winding up the key.
For animation like the head-on/away walks, the head nods and turns, those are all vector animation without bones. (because bones don't affect the Z-axis). The key positions are worked out on paper, then scanned and imported into a switch layer. The timing is perfected by moving the drawings to every 6 or every 8 frames then a replay is made with the background. If it looks right, then you start animation.
I have a head layer, a body layer, legs layers etc. You make your first head key, then move to the next key: You then move all the points to line up with the new reference drawing. You do this all the way down the scene. You will have to go back after and correct the inbetween points as computers don't always find the correct line. You then make the Body layer, etc until the character is complete.
For character/head turns, I use switch layers: This is because currently you cannot key the layer order on the time line: Lost Marbles is aware of this and its on the list of future features.
Animating the machine was the fun part, fun as in I really enjoyed that. Just remember it's a 1:30 camera move zig-zagging on a flat plane, with 4 different z-plane working. Z0 (zero) is the main machine, whilst Z-2 is the lights and background objects. Overlays are Z2 and Z4. (Just think multiplane and it's easy).
For learning animation, Preston Blair is the best source. This isn't the place to teach animation.
CAMERA MOVE NOTES:
Look carefully at that the camera move inside the machine, specifically the changes of direction from horizontal to vertical ... they are smooth - no L shaped changes of direction, just big rounded corners. To achieve this needs a special technique/different approach.
Look at Anime Studios camera: If you plot a camera move using only single keys on the camera timeline, keying the camera via positions A through B through C to D, the camera will get to B and stop, then change direction and make a new move to C, stops, new move to D. The inside-machine camera move isn't doing this. You will see the camera starts moving south before the east west position has been achieved. This uses a totally different approach, one which comes directly from "Real animation" cameras.
If you check out the rest of the CV set, you will see I have spent many years as a rostrum cameraman, including multiplane cameras on features like American Tail II. From that I know that a real camera only has a Z axis ... It can only zoom in and out. Any North/South or East/West are achieved by moving the table holding the artwork (The compound). There is a separate control for the N/S, another for the E/W. The rotation has its own set of gears.
So to make a good looking camera move you have to recreate the three separate "real camera" axis. In this very complex "camera move", where the camera "appears" to be zig-zagging all over the place, it's really the artwork that is moving, and not the camera.
To do this you must have two dummy group layers, one called North South Moves, and a second group called East West Moves. Inside that is all you artwork.
Heres the set-up.
So how does it work?
The first move is just east west. So you make the move from A to B using the East West Group's translate layer timeline. BUT IT ONLY HAS A HORIZONTAL DISPLACEMENT. For the move from B to C, you use the North South Group layer, making a VERTICAL ONLY move. The start frame is 15-30 frames BEFORE the B key in the East West Moves.
If you then replay the A-B-C move, you will see the transition from EW to NS is now curved, not L shaped. The longer the takeover between the B keys, the smoother the curve.
This separating of the camera axis, is a very valuable technique. Its something I developed over 10 years of digital compositing with Animo - I now teach this technique to all new compositors because it gives so much control. It looks more complicated but in fact, it makes the scene so much more controllable.
If you want to add a camera shake, it's easy: Make a new CAMERA SHAKE group folder, and place the North South Moves folder inside this new Camera Shake group: This way, any new move inside the Camera Shake Group will affect the rest of the artwork. If the director hates the amount of shake or changes the animation so the impact is later, you just adjust the shake keys WITHOUT AFFECTING the existing camera move.
This techniques of moving the artwork and not the camera is directly derived from traditional animation camera technique. The problem is, many to todays animators have never seen a Oxberry Camera let alone used one. As a result, some of the "old" techniques and knowledge are being lost.
If you use A-B track and zooms, Anime Studios camera is just fine and dandy. But if you need anything more complex, involving a third way point, the above technique works every time. It's worth learning.
I'll probably have to make a new tutorial for the Tips and Techs section on this too - but later
Rhoel
I was close, but I didn't think to use a transparent PNG. Excellent technique, and I'm sure I'll make quite a bit of use of it.
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