Status Transactions

Looking at status transactions between characters.

Disney's Incredibles.



Bob comes home.

When Bob comes home late from what he told his wife was an evening of bowling with his friend, he is met with a dark house. Thinking he's gotten away with his night of vigilante heroism, he calmly creeps around the house, helping himself to a large slice of cake. Suddenly the light turns on and he gets a fright as he realises his wife has been sitting in the chair waiting for him.
Composition-wise, Bob is the larger character that takes up much more space than his wife Helen. But it is clear that the character that holds the power is Helen. She is angry with Bob, stern in her body language but quiet in voice. Bob's relaxed posture and submissive pose adds to this.




Helen tells him off.

 Helen is clearly annoyed. Her movements are rapid and straightforward, and she uses gestures to strengthen her emotions of anger and dominance. Bob tries to reason with her, his features are relaxed and soft as he finishes eating the cake, and his gestures are slower and calmer.

Bob reasons with her.

Bob now takes control as he begins to get angry and defensive. He raises his shoulders and his expressions are stern and commanding. He reacts and takes charge of the argument, reminding Helen that he's not that submissive. Helen relaxes with her hands on her hips and let's Bob take the spotlight.


Helen gets angrier.

 As Helen comes in with her rebuttal to Bob's defense, she stretches herself so that she is much taller than him, raising her voice in a peak of the argument. She is now not only bigger than him but also leaning over him at an angle, looking down on him, showing her dominance.

Realisation that the kids are watching causes them to stop.

The argument is quickly forgotten when both parents realise that their kids have been listening and are scared. No matter how angry they were at each other, they care for their kids far too much to continue to prove their point in front of them.



This whole scene features a game of status negotiation that passes between the two characters evenly. Status shows emotions of the characters as well as dominance and submission. Interaction between two characters in the form of status negotiation has a direct effect on portraying their personality and emotions to an audience.

Power Centres

Investigation into the display and meaning of power centres within characters.

Ed Hooks 'Acting for Animators'
Everybody, including you and me, has a distinct power center. Usually it is a couple of inches below the navel, in the area that the japanese call the hara. When you walk across the room, that point sort of leads the way. But haven't you seen people whose power centre seems to be someplace else?
It helps an aniamtor to be conceptual about power centres because every character has one. When you give a character a noticeable power center, it suggests more characterization.
The higher the power center, the quicker the rhythm of the character. Anxiety is a high and heady power center. Confidence, on the other hand, manifests itself in a feeling of weight, a lower power center.

Various poses, mainly concentrating on the hips and shoulders, depicting different personalities with a common visual appearance. Using the Andy Rig.

From left to right:

An anxious person, searching for something.

A shy person, hiding from someone desireable. (Spine should be bent.)

A coy person, pretending to be shy to seduce someone.

A confident person, trying to pick a fight.

A person who thinks they're amazing, trying to show off.

Modelling Jake in Maya

Figuring out the topology for a puppy was mostly the same as figuring it out for a human model, using logic and problem solving i've made a satisfactory first attempt at modelling jake for my final animation. More research into canine anatomy is necessary, and will be carried out and applied to the model before it is finalised and textured.

Model Sheets - William and Jake




William Front

 

William Side




William Perspective





Sketches for Flat



Jake Model Sheets




Jake the Dog from Adventure Time



Thumbnails

(Red dots indicate key scenes.)

Chemists

Story Beats

William comes home, opens the door. It is dark and he is wearing work clothes.
He walks in, tired, and puts his keys on the kitchen worktop.
He fills the kettle and flips it on to boil.
He looks at his watch.
He goes through to his room.
The kettle boils.
He comes back in wearing pyjamas and slippers.
He sits down on a stool and drinks his hot chocolate, reading the paper.
There is a scratching at the door.
He looks up, thinks, looks back at his paper.
There is more scratching.
William puts his paper and mug on the counter and stands up to go to the door.
He opens the door and looks around. There is nothing there.
He shrugs and goes back inside, turning to his mug.
To his surprise there is a puppy standing on his stool, leaning over his mug.
The puppy looks at him, there is cream on his nose.
William looks around, goes back and opens the front door.
Points to the puppy then at the door.
"Go on, out you go."
The puppy looks at him confused.
"Go back home, go on."
After a beat, the puppy begins to jump around playfully.
Edit:
He slowly walks over to the puppy and picks it up gently by the scruff.
He looks at it cautiously and begins to carry it to the door.
He gently lays it down outside the door and closes it behind it, nodding to it.
William sighs and turns around, looks at his watch, yawns.
The puppy is now behind him again and has his slipper in his mouth.
William gasps and looks down at his bare foot.
"That is mine." He holds out his hand, expecting it back.
The puppy runs away.
William groans and follows it.
It's sitting in his bedroom, looking at the slipper.
William takes it back, the puppy 'smiles' at him.
Hesitantly, william pats the puppy on the head.
"Thanks..."
The puppy reacts by wagging its tail furiously and running back through to the living room.
Williams worried face turns slowly into a smile.
He looks at his watch a final time but scoffs.
Edit:
MORE HERE ON HOW HE GIVES IN, DON'T MAKE IT TOO EASY!
It is morning. William is snoring on the couch, his hair is a mess and he is missing a slipper yet again. The puppy is curled up on his knees, holding the slipper in his mouth.
There is a knock at the door and they both jump, the puppy runs out the room.
William answers the door and listens to whoever is there.
He looks back into his flat, searching for the puppy.
He looks back at the visitor, a confused and sad look on his face.


Personality progression
William - Reserved > Social
Tidy and punctual > Laid back

Relationships shown through him and the puppy and how he reacts to whoever is at the door.