Living it up like a Toon! - Animation Xpress.com

In response to a multitude of queries about how important acting is in animation, Manu Ittina took up the interesting topic in the closing workshop of the first day at Anifest India '08. Ittina who is formally a character animator, has a impressive work portfolio in DreamWorks having worked for movies like Shrek 2 and Madagascar. As an animator one needs to observe things around which then will lead them to express them in a bold, new, unimaginable fashion. Through the session, Ittina reiterated that live action or animation formats are actually to fulfill the purpose of communication.

Any aspirant struggling to getting started can gain some solace in Ittina's assertion that every idea is good enough provided it is valid and worth something after its executed and presented in the right format. A story is sequence of incidents, but it's the storytelling that makes the difference. Animation has its own grammar, poetry and its own world! And the fact that an animated character is a fresh creation without any baggage of age, experience or a bad breakfast, his/her expressions and actions are untainted and hence universally appealing.

Also given the fact that animated characters can't act on their own accord, as is the case with live action movies, the animator has to have explicit knowledge about what goes into acting or reacting to a situation. Hence, it's not optional to overlook or assume that once modeled, our 3D character will know how to contract and relax its muscles! The physics and anatomy of just lifting an arm which is taken for granted in a live action scene has to be taken into consideration when one is animating. Giving lots of student's projects from Takshaa as examples like simple weight lifting exercises, Ittina shed light on one of the most common mistake young animators make while finally rendering any action: they imagine it sitting on their chairs!! Practically trying it out always shows results in terms of believability in the final output.

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Another aspect Ittina touched upon was the design of animation, which doesn't just end with a good character and set design, but the whole fashion in which the action is built up in terms of timing and spacing. Each character, having its traits and strengths, must have a different sense of timing and this is the key to animating inanimate objects.

Ending the session, Ittina stressed on few factors that set an idea rolling like trust in oneself and one's character, a good taste and sensitivity towards audience and not exaggerating just because the medium of animation tolerates it.

A few questions answered at the end of the session included:

1. During character modeling and designing, what limitations must one consider?
Actually we must not consider any limitations, but must go ahead and do all that is needful!

2. How can an animator polish his acting skills?

If you want to be a good actor you must remember that you are trying to communicate something. Keep in mind that silhouetting, timing, etc are just tools to put forth one's idea. Imagine a plate with wine glasses on it being balanced on a pencil point. One has to pour wine in equal amounts in all the glasses to not disturb the balance. Similarly, an animator must be equally paying attention and improving in the fields of story conception, visualization, acting, etc. Theatre, for instance, is an excellent way to touch upon some nuances of acting.

3. How vital is music in acting for animation?
Music is ingrained in the character body designs when they are out on the stage, whether you want it or not. Music since the time of Steamboat Willie has been an important ingredient in terms of the action and the impact it has on the viewers.

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