Professor Claymation (Election Commercial)

A 15 sec commercial I did for the Australian Election 2007, funded by Focus on Australia Foundation.

This is the version I handed in. Before it was put on air they changed the end to fit the "Authorised by..." tag they were required to have.

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If you want, check out my sculpts and drawings at
http://andreasfrancis.com/
or
http://andreasfrancis.deviantart.com/

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• Australian
• Election
• 2007
• Claymation
• Animation
• Professor

[student11]

Good Job Bro! How did you do the light? very impressive

[AndreasFrancis]

Thanks Sen! Backlight (to create a rim light), key light, and a piece of white paper on the oposite side to create reflection/fill light

[StepbyStepTutorials]

how u get that bulb on his face...?!

[AndreasFrancis]

Great! I look forward to see it. And yes, an armature that gives you 100% control over the puppet (so that nothing moves when it is not intended, e.g. it "jumps" back into where it was) is crucial for smooth animation.

[AndreasFrancis]

Thanks! I keep the animation alive using eye blinks and follow through, like that thing hanging from his hat. What would you call that in English?

I am having my graduation in two weeks, but I hope to start my own studio one day and do more of this kind of work. Since I started my degree I have had my eyes locked on Aardman, hoping I can get a chance to work with the masters of Claymation.

[AndreasFrancis]

Don't feel bad about asking, that's how one learn :)

It's all on 2's from what I remember. Even the big moves i have started doing on two's as you can tell the difference when something is suddenly on 1's and it looks odd to me. It looses some appeal for some reason. Keep the movements big. Only time's I use 1's is when moving the camera (I still only move the character every 2nd frame) and when I have a blur frame, a VERY fast move.

[AndreasFrancis]

All plasticine, with some armature wire inside.

[AndreasFrancis]

I checked out Otafuku Rex on youtube. Very strange concept, haha. Check out Robot Chicken; in the second season their animation has become very smooth, and they use the aninmation principles for what they're worth.

[AndreasFrancis]

Hehe, I'll check it out. ONe VERY important thing , more then how many moves you use (less moves gives smoother animation) is to bend the joints. Always point the hand and fingers in the direction the arm was coming from, or else it will look wrong on screen.

[AndreasFrancis]

I only use 25 fps at the moment as I make for the TV screen. Not much difference with 24fps, but that's the future frame rate our teacher told us. If 30 fps they might move a bit too fast with the formula I use, and I would probably put a few more moves in there, but in animation, you dont want to do more work then necessary as it takes long enough already, so I'd guess I'd do it all with 24 fps and then convert it to 30 fps afterwards.