3 reference clips for animating a human figure

I chose to use this clip as a reference that shows some subtle movements from the actor (Rowan Atkinson) practising a hand shake a few different times. There are some quick movements within the clip and they help to emphasise the character coming up with different styles of handshakes because of his nerves to meeting someone important. I think that this would be a good clip to animate due to it having some strong figure poses that are used quite quickly, but are effective enough that the viewers can understand what he’s doing. I might not be able to get all the positions correct, but I could develop a better understanding of how to get a snappy effect in my animation and to have some fast motion in it.

For this clip, I think that the timing is perfect throughout the clip and mostly when the actor (Charlie Chaplin) stuffs the pastry in his mouth and looks back at the shop owner as if he didn’t eat his food. I feel like this is something that can challenge me into getting the anticipation right for when he wants to reach over and then for when he quickly eats the food. Again, this clip has some quick and subtle movements that build up the anticipation for him to then take the pastry. So, I think that if I was to animate this, I would have to get the timing right for the scene and then I will need to get the spacing precise for the animation to look right.

The final clip shows good use of snappy movements, like the others, but it includes a lot more motion with the body of the mime artist and he makes a strong performance by using his body language to make the viewers think that the balloon is really stuck in mid-air. If I was to animate this, it would be quite a challenge to get the artist’s movements accurately and for the timing to be right; but, I would be able to try something that seems difficult and to possibly use some animation techniques that I haven’t used before. Therefore, I feel like this would be helpful for me to do since it would increase my abilities as an animator and even if I fail, I could learn from my mistakes to perfect the work I did.