Process

First thing I do is spend some time thinking about the shot. What do the directors want? What I can personally bring to the shot? Most importantly, I think about what the character is thinking, how they’re feeling emotionally. I listen to the voice acting over and over (if there’s dialogue), and what acting choices feel appropriate and fresh for the scene. This particular shot was very physical, and more importantly I had to animate to a moving camera. So it was important to block out where my character would be compositionally at the start, during the camera move, and up until the very last “beat” of the frame as MegaMind comes to a stop. It became clear that what I needed to do was shoot some video reference.

I needed to experience what it would feel like for MegaMind to run and push Minion from screen left to screen right and then push him into the closet. I began shooting reference and noticed that it was physically impossible for a human being to move the way a cartoon character would. So I shot myself acting out the run and push and as a trick, I opted for the “Benny Hill” method and sped up the video footage. This allowed me to better time the performances within the shot and see where his arms, legs, feet would be throughout the shot.

Here’s a side by side comparison:

Then, after a basic blocking pass, use the good old animation principles to make adjustments to his weight, push my poses and go beyond the laws of physics – pushing the animation, shoving Minion, grabbing the doors, spinning around to slam the doors shut – placing him within the cartoon world which he exists.

Finding my key poses/beats that I’d like to hit. Then, turning off my reference and strengthening the poses I made in the computer, as well as adjusting the timing and spacing.