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How to Train Your Dragon; Slightly delayed, but...
Topic Started: Apr 5 2010, 02:29 PM (97 Views)
Grim Wolf Apr 5 2010, 02:29 PM Post #1
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Friendship is Tragic
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Such a great movie!
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Chaos Shadow Apr 5 2010, 02:49 PM Post #2
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Why?

(Genuine question. I haven't seen it yet, and the only things that the television ads tell me is that it "would make Avatar jealous", for its 3D eye-candy scenes; even the Bum Review basically boiled to down "like Avatar, only intentionally funny". Haven't heard much about the story or emotional drive or even the humor and I'd really like to know about that.)
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Grim Wolf Apr 5 2010, 03:08 PM Post #3
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Plot's not exactly wildly original (than again, they rarely are). The 3-D works for it, and the flying scenes are really quite beautiful. It's a funny movie, and the soundtrack adds a lot to it.

Kind of a stale plot, but maybe a bit more innovative than Avatar. It's funny, it doesn't take itself too seriously, and it's really quite enjoyable to watch.
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NathanS Apr 5 2010, 03:23 PM Post #4
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Personally I'm rather blah on the whole 3-D thing, partly because i've heard it can give some people migraines and having had those before I can tell you no amount of pretty pictures is worth even the risk of that for me. Also because due to an eye condition, (my left eye is near sighted but my right is fine.) 3-D doesn't work for me.

Still from what I've seen the character designs and expressions are dull and generic. Would it kill 3-D animators to come up with unique and specific designs and expressions rather then just re-using the same ones all the time?
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Chaos Shadow Apr 5 2010, 04:17 PM Post #5
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Yeah, I'm not much for 3D. I do like the looks of some of the flying scenes that they advertise (and Toothless is about one of the most cute-without-being-silly dragons I've seen basically ever), but I'm not sure that's enough for my buck. (Then again, I did go see Avatar on the recommendation that "Oh my god it's gorgeous!" "How's the story?" "The what?")

Nathan: it's not animators that do facial expressions. Let me rephrase that; they don't construct the facial expressions, they just go in and manipulate the individual expressions that are programmed into the model and work from those. Although there is a vast amount of customization that can be done by working different expressions together, you will always be restricted by being forced to use the model that was built for you; an infinite advantage that traditional 2D work has. All that said, though, again, it's not the animators that decide how far expressions can go; that job belongs to the riggers.

And having had to do this myself, I can safely say that yes it could kill them. It is not easy to construct these expressions and make sure that they flow properly, can interact with one another and, most importantly, will not break the model or rig. It is therefore most ideal, in fact, to have a selection of model expressions on a universal rig that can be applied to most humanoid characters, rather than trying to concentrate on making a 'cartoon rig' when the movie you're making isn't that cartoony.

And the subtlety of performance that they get out of these rig libraries these days is thrilling. It's not something that you really notice, but it makes it all more human and downplayed instead of broad and quirky-- which is just as difficult to do, if not moreso. It's easy to overdo your animation acting, especially when you're just starting out and you're afraid that the point won't get across if you're more subtle.

I'm not saying this is an excuse to keep using the same general models (although it cuts down production time by months to have a relatively generic model to work with and then just add to it; that way, the rig will require only minor tinkering instead of needing to be built and bug-tested for an entirely new person), but there is a very legitimate reason for doing so.

This has been a Computer Animation major, signing off.
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NathanS Apr 5 2010, 05:07 PM Post #6
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Right lets get this bit out of the way, I respect you, and your choice of profession and all others who wrk in it but... (and you knew that was coming.) that's why I can't really see computer animation as anything but an experiment, and one that hasn't been going all that well. To be fair i am a born elitist, (for example I believe true cinema all but died when Star Wars, cures it bones, came out) who who isn't yet fully convinced that something that doesn't involve physical paper can ever really be called drawing well that an exaggeration, but the point is I'm a highly opinionated old man in a young man's body.
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