Action!

In order to bring a character to life, it is beneficial for animators to have a solid understanding of acting principles, and this book examines the important skills behind the artistry of creating animated characters. With a particular emphasis on a character s motions and movement, this unique resource covers the basic elements of acting for CG animation and then progresses to more advanced topics such as internal intent and motivation. Note: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of eBook file.

In order to bring a character to life, it is beneficial foranimators to have a solid understanding of acting principles, andthis book examines the important skills behind the artistry ofcreating animated characters. With a particular emphasis on acharacter's motions and movement, this unique resource coversthe basic elements of acting for CG animation and then progressesto more advanced topics such as internal intent and motivation.Note: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials arenot included as part of eBook file.

Introduction xiiiChapter 1 What Is Acting? 1A Brief History of Acting 2How an Actor Works 10How Acting Relates to the Animator 15Beginning Acting Exercises 16Chapter 2 Foundations of Animation 39What Is Animation? 40Why Animate? 41A Brief History of Animation 42The Disney 12 Principles 47Facial versus Body Animation 55The Facial Action Coding System 56Rigging in a Nutshell 58Animation Exercises 60Chapter 3 Stanislavski's System 67The Beginning of His Life in Art 68The Moscow Art Theatre 68The System 69Exercises in Stanislavski's Method 78Chapter 4 Commedia dell'Arte 89Acting Commedia 90The Characters 90Relating Commedia Characters to Animation 99Commedia Acting Exercises 101Animation Exercises 109Chapter 5 Bioenergetics 119Energy 120Character 121Bioenergetics Acting Exercises 131Bioenergetics Animation Exercises 139Chapter 6 Using the Work of Michael Chekhov in Animation 145Michael Chekhov 146The Chekhov Technique 148Exercises Using the Michael Chekhov Technique 162Using the Michael Chekhov Technique in Animation 166Chapter 7 Essences 177What Is an Essence? 178Exercises for Understanding Essences 184Using Essences with Animation 196Chapter 8 Laban Effort Analysis 203Rudolf Laban 204The Effort Shapes 204Exercises to Use Laban's Movement Categories in Acting 215Creating Laban Effort Shapes in Animated Characters 229Chapter 9 Alba Emoting 237Development of Alba Emoting 238The Patterns 239Alba Emoting for Inanimate Characters 247Exercises to Create Alba Emoting Patterns 248Exercises for Creating Alba Patterns in Animated Characters 259Chapter 10 The Voice and Voice-Over Acting 267What Is a Voice-Over? 268How the Voice Works 269Working On Your Voice 271Developing Your Character Voices 287The Voice-Over Session 288Chapter 11 Creating Lip Sync and Facial Performance for Voiced Characters 291"Reading" Audio Performances 292Capturing Audio (and Video) for Voice-overs 296Creating Lip Sync 298Exercises in Lip-Synced Facial Animation 304Appendix About the Companion DVD 315Index 319