Entertainment III
Source: www.animationmeat.com
Topic: Acting Career
Sort Desciption: Acting for Animation Entertainment Series III - By Eric Larson How much thought has each of us given to our acting career? Sometimes we even forget we have one! But, we have - each and every one of us ...
Content Inside:
"Acting for Animation" By Eric Larson
Entertainment III
PDF provided by www.animationmeat.com
Acting for Animation
Entertainment Series III - By Eric Larson
How much thought has each of us given to our acting career? Sometimes we even forget we have one!
But, we have - each and every one of us - and our "roles" are of great variety and every one makes a great
demand: "GET INTO CHARACTER."
Getting into character is no small assignment. Its like changing dress for different moods of the day, but
not quite so easy. It cant be done with a brew such as Dr. Jekyll used to create Mr. Hyde. It isnt physical
transformation - its an image born of observation and imagination.
That big sheet of clean white paper on our drawing board is just waiting for something to happen. The
question is - will it be something exciting and entertaining or will it be - just something?
Weve explored and planned the "scene business" with or thumbnail sketches. We have thought well on it
and know what we want to do and to get the best results we review some very basic things, such as the
quality of our drawing and the need for weight, balance, rhythm and attitude in it - we review the need for
proportions and personality in our character - the phrasing of action and dialogue - caricature - silhouette -
arcs - perspective - timing (pacing) - pantomime - staging and of course, acting!
Goofy might insist that "acting is just pretending." Well, maybe so, but when we, as animators, "pretend,"
we really act. We want that linear character of ours to be as alive as life itself!
Walt practiced what he preached in acting out the "business," as he saw it, in story discussions or in the
critical analysis of the animators scenes in the rough showings in sweatbox - and, too, sometimes in the
hallway or parking lot - wherever he was, he "lived" it. He pantomimed action and "rehearsed" dialo ...
