Expert: Andre Hickman - 2/14/2004

Question
Hi There -
I'm Multimedia student from Ireland. As part of my 4th year
project I must do an animation featuring a rotoscoped
character, a claymation character and a character created in
3D studio Max. They're going to appear on a stage, 20
seconds each, one after the other, as if to try and show the
last character up.

I'm trying to show the individual "abilities" of each style of
animation, and also come up wih cool ways to transition
from one style to the next. I have the rotoscoped character
pretty much completed - I drew over video of a friend of
mine playing soccer - and it looks good. But I am really
stuck for ideas on how to show the "abilities" of the other
two styles.

For example, I was thinking I might have the claymation
character "morph" up from the ground, maybe change into
different things, like the T-1000 in Terminator 2. That's the
kind of idea I'm looking for; actions that kind of showcase
the potentials of each style of animation.

I'd really appreciate any help with this, since I'm quite weak
with the subject and need all the inspiraton I can get...!

Thanks so much for your time.

Kindest regards

Shaun O Connor

Answer
Man! I don't know much about claymation, but here is an idea...I'm assuming that you will be compositing in something like After Effects.  From the rotoscope guy playing soccer, make the ball come at the screen (close up) then quickly rebound like it hit the glass of the television (use sound effects *tink!*) as it is going back, transition the rotoscoped ball to a clay ball (quick cross fade, so that it looks like a transformation) and have the ball land on the stage. (I'm assuming that with the claymation, that you are green screening the background.  Green screen everything and then create a virtual stage) Once the ball hits the stage, I don't know how hard this would be, but make the clay guy come out of the ball, like an amoeba spawning, and grow to size, then juggle the ball, and kick it again at the screen...*tink!*...as it rebounds back to the stage, the ball quickly transforms again to a CG ball, and then do your 3D max guy, who could morph in from a pancake, or from little soccer ball particles, or whatever. I got tons of ideas, but I don't know how deep you go in animation.  Your stage background could simply be big 3D blocked letters that say "the Changing World of Animation" stacked, and have a nice soft reflection on the floor (and composite in the reflections of the clay guy and rotoscoping)  Hope this helps. If you want to talk more about it, feel free to hit me again.  

I'd love to see the project when you are finished, so you GOTTA publish it online and give me the link!

Cheers,
Andre'