Final piece plan

For my final piece I decided to create a white board animation. The animation would transition between four characters in unusual and surreal ways. This would test my ability to design characters, make a smooth animation incorporating the twelve rules and set up a shot. Other than the original whiteboard animations I saw, a lot of my inspiration has come from animations with a similar premise of transitioning between characters and or objects particularly these three.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKSLu2n7jL4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryOR-lU6x7E

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwSDkGpOdX4

Before I could begin shooting the final piece I needed to do a test trial and see what could be changed or needed improving. I set up the shot similarly to how I did my first whiteboard animation, propping the camera on a tripod and using coloured markers. This time however I had a clear goal, to test out methods I could potentially use to transition between my characters. The board was also facing the light this time making the animation slightly clearer.

Evaluating the effectiveness

What worked

-The actual movement of the animation I was particularly happy with, the skin being stretched off the face for example, showed strain but also anticipation. As it finally comes off the face it moves faster which is effective because it gives weight to the moment as well as follow through.

-The worm like fragments the second face develops into is also quite appealing because of the smooth motion and how fast the face warps. This type of motion is definitely something I would incorporate into my final piece.
-In my original white board animation one problem which arose was smudging. In  this test  I used paper towels between shots, which seem to have completely removed any sign of smudging.

What didn’t work

-The whiteboard was quite reflective so it is easy to notice the movements of me animating in the background.

-The actual process is quite tedious, because unlike a model which can be slightly shifted in each frame, almost the entire whiteboard image has to be rubbed out and redrawn. If I accidently rub out a part I didn’t mean to or cant remember where a certain detail goes, the animation could awkwardly shift or change. This means there is very little room for error.
-Despite the effectiveness of the paper towels, they are very awkward to use when trying to rub out specific details.
-Maintaining consistency with line thickness is another difficulty which again comes from having to erase the previous image.
-The camera jumps about. This isn't very noticeable and doesn’t majorly impact the content of the animation but it would be preferable if it didn’t move. Unfortunately I do not have a remote for my camera, meaning I would have to buy one if I want a still shot.