Ed's Newsletter - February 2004

CONGRATULATIONS TO CHRIS WILLIAMS AND TEESSIDE UNIVERSITY FOR A SUCCESSFUL ANIMEX 2004! http://www.animex.org.uk/ Animation festivals are fiendishly difficult to organize, especially in the snow in the northern reaches of the UK, but Animex was a hit by any standard. Mark Walsh came over from Pixar and gave a brilliant and generous presentation about the ground breaking animation in "Nemo"; Professor Stuart Samida (a PhD, no less) knocked my socks off with his explanations about animal skeletons and how they impact on animation; Curtis Jobling, the designer of Bob the Builder, was a delight. Others in attendance were Tom Martinek (ILM), Shelley Page (DreamWorks), Rachelle Lewis (Toonranch Consulting) and Ed Harris, animator and author. I know I'm leaving somebody out, and I apologize. It was really worthwhile and I met some truly talented people. Thanks, folks!

MICROSOFT WORKSHOP WAS TERRIFIC FUN!
Animated thanks to the entire team at X-Box/Fasa Studio. It is particular privilege for me to work with top-drawer artists of your caliber. Special applause for Matt Brunner who carried the water and made the event happen.

LISTEN TO PAUL EKMAN INTERVIEW ON NPR
Psychologist Paul Ekman recently was a guest for one hour on the National Public Radio program "The Connection:. You can hear the entire January 16th broadcast on a Real Player recording at this link In the interview, conducted by Gail Harris, professor Ekman explains his work on the study of expression of emotion in the human face. He specifically addresses how it might be useful to actors and animators. Ekman is often the subject of magazine articles and is the author of many books, the most recent of which is "Emotions Revealed", but it is rare for him to be on the radio for a full hour. I highly recommend that you give this a listen before NPR takes it down from their web site.

MIKE NGUYEN reports that his July Films website has been updated to reflect current production progress on his lovely 2D film, "My Little World". Take a look: www.julyfilms.com

THE SOCIETY OF ART AND TECHNOLOGY (SAT) IN MONTREAL HOSTS ANIMA 2004
This event, happening on March 20-21, is the first showcase exclusively for Canadian computer animation. There will be panels and screenings and workshops. I'm excited to be taking part and look forward to meeting friends there.. For more info, go to http://www.anima.sat.qc.ca

TAKE A LOOK AT THIS COOL NEW ANIMATION TOY: http://mlab.uiah.fi/animaatiokone/inmedia/arttu.jpg
I realize the explanatory text is in Finnish and you can't read it. I'll try to explain: Well, what you are looking at is a consumer-friendly stop-motion machine that started life as a potato peeler. Mikko Lindholm and his co-horts at Animaatiokone Industries in Helsinki invented the thing, and it was a big hit in the lobby of Animex '04 in Teesside England. You stick your hands through those plastic gloves that you can see on the front of the machine, and you can mold and manipulate colorful plasticine clay. There is a little camera inside the dome, and you simply move that around and click on the digital exposure. Then you move your clay; then you click the camera. And like that. Then you can add music or sound effects and play the animation back on the built-in screen. No kidding, it is the most fun you will have outside of the canary cage. I think one of these toys should be in the lobby of every animation company. It will put visitors in a fun and relaxed state of mind. Contact Mikko at mikko.lindholm@uiah.fi.

GREAT LINK: ORIGINS OF AMERICAN ANIMATION
Check out this Library of Congress link. This, at least, is taxpayer money well spent. http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/oahtml/oahome.html

HOOKS CRYSTAL BALL GAZING... Though it is a long shot, I would not be shocked if "Triplets of Belleville" wins Best Animated Feature at the Academy Awards. Hollywood's Academy voters are likely not happy about the way Disney and DreamWorks have kicked 2D artists down the stairs. This is not to say that "Nemo" doesn't deserve it, only that an Academy disgruntled mind-set may well work to "Triplet's benefit. It is a 2D French feature with zero dialogue. Perfect. <g>

It would tickle me to death if, after Disney and DreamWorks complete their company transformation to all-3D, Pixar would step up to the plate and make a 2D movie that flies out of the park. It never was about 2D, and it isn't about 2D now. It is entirely possible to make lousy 3D movies, as we will soon see. Success in the marketplace and in art is about story and character. What the major studios have done to their 2D artists is, well, just plain wrong. They will realize that in time, but the damage has been done.

ED HOOKS'S UPCOMING SCHEDULE

Feb 28 College of Creative Studies, Detroit http://www.ccscad.edu/flashHomepage.cfm

March 20-21 ANIMA '04 Showcase, Montreal, www.anima.sat.qc.ca

March 22-26 Game Developers Conference, San Jose, CA. (http://www.gdconf.com/)

May 6-9 FMX '04, Stuttgart Germany (keynote speaker)

June 7-11 Annecy, France (I'm not teaching, I'm just going to join the fun and watch the flicks. Drop me a note if you'll be there and we'll hook up for a French brew.)

June 18-19 Zurich Switzerland. This is an open Acting for Animators class sponsored by FOCAL and ASIFA-Switzerland. For more info, contact Robi Rengler at: rengler@mail.tnca.edu.tw

CRAFT NOTES
"CAPTURING EMOTION"
It is a base line truth of character animation that empathy is the key to success. In order to create in the audience a sense of empathy, you must create in your character an illusion of emotion. We humans empathize only with emotion, not with thinking.

I hear animators speak of "animating the thought", and that is of course correct - but I don't think it goes quite far enough. Animating the thought is desirable and is a quantum leap forward from "animating the dialogue", but thought alone will not carry the day, no matter how brilliantly it is animated. The thought must be tied to emotion because emotion is what leads to an empathetic response.

Part of the challenge, I think, springs from the illusive definition of emotion. What is it after all? A feeling? Yes, but that is a synonym, not a definition. Can a character have emotions independent of thinking? Do emotions just float around in a causeless manner? This is a very big subject of course, one that I've studied for many years, and I can't possibly do it justice in one newsletter. Let me then start with the bottom line: Emotion is an automatic value response. And it cannot be separated from thinking.

The acting principle is that thinking tends to lead to conclusions; emotion tends to lead to action. This is the secret behind Bill Tytla's famous Disney lecture on the animation of force versus form.

To add yet one more layer to the cake, you have to consider that emotion alone has zero theatrical value. It is true that the audience empathizes with emotion, but if the character is not doing something in a theatrical sense (action in pursuit of objective while overcoming obstacle), even the emotion won't be enough.

First the character has thoughts. The thoughts lead to feelings. The feelings lead to action. The action must have theatrical structure because theatrical reality is not the same thing as regular reality. People do not go to the movie to see regular reality, which is what they would get if they hang out at the grocery store or shopping mall. Theatrical reality is compressed in time and space.

So, the next time you set about animating a character, by all means animate the thought. But remember that the thought means little without emotion. Emotion affects the way a character thinks, and thinking affects the way the character feels. Together, they make what Frank and Ollie called The Illusion of Life.