Applied 2: Newt Scene II & III

             

This is the next scene that Hayley and I animated together. For the most part we took turns animating the mouths and I did the hand. As always we planned out our mouth shapes by talking out loud and writing down the mouth shape that we felt suited the sound best. The more we became familiar with the process, the more we started to realise that some words sounded broader than others, so we had to emphasise this with the mouth poses. For instance, when the newt says 'and', he says it like 'und' because it is so quick and northern, therefore we would usually want a teeth pose for the 'd' sound for exaggeration, but since the newt wouldn't naturally say 'and' with teeth, we had to think on our feet and use an open resting mouth, to make the mouth movements really look like they belonged to the sound!

             

We then got started on the last newt scene which was exciting because it meant that we were almost finished with animating the newt after all of this time! By this point however, the lights were very hot so were starting to make the model look a bit shiny and it was beginning to get a little but soft! Also because we had used his hands so much, they were starting to also become a little withered, but we carried on nonetheless, and took a note for next time, to mix the plasticine with beeswax! Again, we took turns directing and animating. I loved doing both of these roles, though I am sure that I was annoying Hayley because I am very particular when it comes to directing, especially as we were using the tool on Dragon Frame which switches between live mode and the previous frame, to see how much we have moved the model, and what can be altered. I also find it challenging animating, because I have to trust what Hayley is telling me, as I can't look at the screen when it is my turn! But I am very happy with what we are producing, and we get on so well working together!

            

This is all of our newt animation slotted into our animatic! I am finding this very useful as it shows how much we have left, but keeps the animation consistent with the rhythm of the animation as a whole. After we complete this final newt scene, we will be moving on to the next characters which is daunting because I am so used to the newt, but will also be a great challenge I am sure.

More process of matching mouth shapes with correct frames!