Since Disney caused so much excitement at Siggraph with what they were showing of Chicken Little, I sought someone out from that project that could pay us a visit. Doug Bennett was the result.
Doug was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He attended Sheridan College from 1985-88. In 1988 he was hired out of college by Don Bluth and travelled to Ireland. In 1991 Doug moved back to Toronto and worked on features, commercials, and television shows. At the end of 1993, he went back to Ireland to work on a couple more features. Then in the fall of 1995 he was hired by Disney and moved to Los Angeles. This is where he first started learning CG. He has been here almost nine years now, and lives in Glendale with his wife and four children.
Doug is currently a Supervising Animator at Disney Feature Animation on Chicken Little.
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Other credits include::
TV Shows:
Care Bears Johnny Quest My Pet Monster........................................2d, character layout
Fish Police................................................2d, animation
Features:
All Dogs go to Heaven.............................Key Cleanup
Rock-a-Doodle Troll in Central Park................................Animation
Fern Gully Once Apon a Forest Felidae.......................................................Animation
All Dogs go to Heaven2...........................Supervising Animator
Although Doug can add to this thread at any time, officially the doors will be opened to everyone else on Monday, August 23rd. At that time, you may ask your questions and Doug will answer at his convenience. On the evening (PST) of Friday the 27th, the doors will be closed and no more questions can be asked. Doug can continue to answer questions if he wishes, or bring things to an end.
So with that said. I would like to thank Doug for agreeing to be the "Pro", and offer a welcome to CGCHAR.
« Last Edit: August 18, 2004, 10:30:50 AM by Rick May »
As promised, all registered members will have the ability to post in this forum in just a few minutes. When Friday evening roles around, no one *except* Doug will be able to post in this forum. At that time he can either finish up, or answer any remaining questions as his time permits.
So before we begin, I would like to thank Doug for taking time out of his day to visit with us.
Hi Doug, thanks so much for giving your time to speak with us, it's much appreciated
Here are a few questions for you:
Could you talk a bit about keying animations please? In his book, Richard Williams says that half the magic of animation is in the technique, do you think this is the case and would you be able to talk a bit about how you would approach keying your anims in 3D? What differences have you noticed between working in 2D and 3D?
They say that a lot of animation is learning how to observe the world around you. Could you give us a few pointers on what you consider the important things to look for when you watch a subject? What do you look for in a good pose, for example?
What tips can you give to help somebody who has learned a bit about how to get the mechanics of motion into their animation and wants to have a go at some acting scenes?
And finally, what's the best advice you've heard form the guys you've worked with over the years?
Thanks again, Doug, it's such a great opportunity to speak to guys such as yourself!
I'm glad to be here, many thanks to Rick for running an excellent forum. I hope I can help out somewhat.
Andy, thanks for posting. As far as keying animation, I work similar to the way I did in 2d, in that I shoot a series of poses with stepped tangents, time them, break them down, retime, and keep breaking down until the animation is on ones, twos, and some fours. Then I hold my nose and switch to linear, and sort of peek through my fingers at the scene on ones. Since there are alot of computer-made inbetweens at that point, it's usually pretty mushy, so I go in and touch pretty well every frame.
The difference for me between working in the two mediums(2d vs 3d) is that it takes far longer to hash out a quick and dirty pose test in CG, so it forces you to really think out your poses and action (and thumbnail-- I never did that in 2d) or else you'll waste alot of time trying to stumble across them.
As far as a good pose, well all the cliches apply, I suppose. A dynamic line of action, good silhouette, break up arms, hands, fingers, legs and feet so they don't twin. Make sure that body masses (head, chest, and pelvis) aren't aligned. And when you enter or leave the pose, be conscious of a hierarchy of movement-- maybe the hips will move first, taking the rest of the torso with them, and the head drags. Stuff like that. You know, animation!
Acting-- hmmm. The only thing I can suggest is grab a line of dialogue and try to get yourself a rig with a good facial setup. Then just have at it. I'm a great fan of learning by doing. Definitely observe what you consider to be good acting performances, both live action and animated. Look at the subtleties and nuances, because those little head shakes, eye darts and so on are the things that will make your animation shine.
Like Andy said, thank you so much for your time, its very generous of you
Now for some questions:
1) Could you give a short list of things in animation (wheather it be a skill like timing or something like observing life) that you believe make a great animator, or animation?
2) Has there been a piece of animation taht you watch time and time again, to help you with your skills? If so, what is it?
3) What, in your opinion, makes an animator great as aspose to being just good?
4) What were your reseans for changing your medium? That is, pencil to computer.
5) What goes through your mind as you animate?
6) What first made you want to get into animation?
And finally, 7) What some advice you can give us on getting into the industry and becoming better animators?
Once again thanks for your time Doug, and I hope all goes well on Chicken Little
For many aspiring animators, achieving a level of capability and developing style are the impetus that keeps them growing and learning new things. After having engaged animation for so long and flourished as you have, what do you find keeps you motivated? Is it a passion for animation? Do you set goals for yourself that you continue to achieve as you move ahead? How do you deal with stagnation and discouragement?
What films would you recommend as masterworks, ones that are must-haves in your library both as great animation references and/or inspiring pieces?
When animating in 3d do you find yourself caught up in spacial awareness and making sure everything relates in a physical sense or are you only interested in the final image since it is ultimately a 2d presentation?
Thanks for taking your time to share.
DMM
« Last Edit: August 23, 2004, 09:17:36 AM by David Michael McClain »
This is absolutely great, I relish the opportunity to read through your responses in the coming week. Thank you for your time and effort.
My question is about your role as a Supervisor. Can you give us a quick "run through" of a day at Disney for you? I'm particularly interested in how you lead your team. Is all animation critique done in dailies? Do you walk around to the desks of your team members and look at shots in progress? How do your team members respond?
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