Animation ​

General requirements ​

In order to start the animation process the animators require animation-ready rigs. This means the rigs that are needed to animate a shot are well tested and refined by the rigging department.

In case the rigs are partially ready (i.e. when the character's facial rig is in progress) this needs to be communicated with the director and coordinator in order to decide if a shot is ready to be animated. A shot might heavily rely on body mechanics where a facial performance is minimal. In this case, the animator starts animating the body rig. Once the rig gets the facial rig updated, the animator is able to finish the shot by animating the face as well.

Another factor that is required for the animation process is the shotfile created by the shotbuilder. This file includes the characters, props and the set. The shotbuilder also has generated the correct framerange and (if needed) an audiofile.

Goal of the task ​

The goal of the animation process is to create an animation performance according to the directors briefing. The characters and/or props need to be moving in a believable way and expected to be cohesive to the style that has been set in pre production.

These steps are taken into account for successfully completing a task in animation:

• Briefing
• Scene setup
• Blocking pass
• Asset updates
• Polishing pass
• Shot delivery

Briefing ​

Before the animator can start on his assigned shot, they need to get a detailed briefing from the director about the performance and intent of the shot/sequence.

The animator has a chance to ask questions and discusses acting beats with the director if needed. Once it is clear what needs to be done in animation, the animator can open the shotfile and prepare for animation.

Scene setup ​

When opening the shotfile for the first time, it is important to check if

• the shotbuilder has built the shot correctly
• all the required assets are available in the scene
• as well as the framerate and camera

Once this is the case, the animator starts to do a technical planning for the shot. For example, when a character is in a car, they need to be parent constrained accordingly. This setup is necessary in order to continue the animation process and eliminate as many technical issues as possible along the way.

Blocking pass ​

A first pass of the animated shot will contain a rough version of the animation performance in order to get feedback quickly from the director.

This way, any feedback can be addressed early on and will give the director the opportunity to change the performance if necessary.

Asset updates ​

Assets are continuously updated during production so it is important to keep rigs and props up to date to avoid issues with out-of-sync assets later on.

Once a shot is finished, you make sure all assets are up to date so the lighting department won't run into unexpected issues when opening the shot in a lighting file.

Polishing pass ​

Once a blocking pass is approved by the director, it is the task of the animator to refine the animation to a final state.

This means they will add the necessary inbetweens and animating details to the character that haven't been refined in the blocking pass. Think of things like earrings, tails, fingers etc.

The Polishing pass also ensures the characters/props have proper contact with the environment and no intersections are visible on screen.

Shot delivery ​

Once a shot is finished, we run a bunch of checks to make sure the lighting department can take over without unexpected issues. This includes checking:

• Framerate is set correctly
• The latest version is rendered to kitsu
• All assets are up to date and linked into the output collection
• Checking if animation is good for motion blur (start and end frame, parent switches)

Once all of these factors are set correctly, the shot is ready to commit for lighting to take over.