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About Ed
Ed Hooks was a professional actor and acting teacher for twenty-five years in New York and Los Angeles. He pioneered acting classes specifically for animators -- as opposed to stage actors -- in 1998, when he first taught animators at DreamWorks/PDI.

Since then, Ed has taught Acting for Animators at most major film and game studios, including Disney, Blue Sky, Sony, Valve, Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, Animal Logic, Microsoft, Blizzard and Epic Games. He has taught internationally in Germany, Singapore, Brazil, Spain, Portugal, Sweden, Australia, Canada and the UK. He has twice been a featured speaker at SIGGRAPH and GDC. He is on the Board of Advisors of FMX in Stuttgart, Germany, and has been a regular presenter at Animex International Animation Festival in Teesside, England, and Swansea Animation Days in South Wales.

Ed Hooks is the author of “Acting for Animators” and “Acting in Animation: A Look at 12 Films”. He lives in Chicago, Illinois, with his wife, Cally.

Description of Classes
A major difference between acting theory for animators and for stage actors is that stage actors work “in the present moment”. Animators work with 24-frames-make-a-second, or an ILLUSION of a present moment. An animator does not need to be taught how to stimulate himself in the present moment the way that stage actors do. He only needs to understand the connections between thinking, emotion and physical action, scene construction, characterization, story telling.

Most Acting for Animators classes are taught on a 10am-5pm one-day or two-day format, but they can be made to fit the schedule and needs of your company or school. Acting For Animators involves lecture/discussion, a few simple improvisations and deconstruction of scenes from live-action and animated films.

Subjects covered typically include:

* The Psychology of Physical Movement (movement as a result of
   thought, emotion.)
* Negotiations within a Scene, Value of Conflict
* Playing Actions, Pursuing Objectives, Overcoming Obstacles
* Character Analysis
* Status Transactions and Power Centers
* Empathy -- What It Is, Why It's Important, How to Get It
* Psychological Gestures
* Comedy vs. Drama
* Heroes and Villains
* Discussion of Uncanny Valley
* Deconstruction of scenes from live action and animated films

For more information about Acting for Animators, or to schedule a workshop, contact Ed Hooks at edhooks@edhooks.com.