2D and 3D Animation Projects

You can easily combine 2D and 3D animation techniques, and/or live video footage.

Types of 2D Animation Projects

  1. Narrative short film
  2. Storyboard images (examples below)
  3. Concept art images
  4. Pitch deck for a film or series; see: Stranger Things.
  5. Low fidelity animatic (examples below)
  6. High fidelity scene
  7. Explainer animation (Vox makes a lot of fun infographic style videos)
  8. Motion graphics (bumper animations, commercials, titles, user interface elements in 3D environments)
  9. Experimental or non-narrative content: Examples on vimeo.com
  10. Scientific or data-driven simulations and visualizations
  11. VJ loops for live performances
  12. Projection mapping (projecting video onto structures or surfaces)
  13. Web-based animation (HTML/CSS/Javascript)

Note about short films: Short films can sometimes be completed by one person over the course of multiple years, or by a skilled team in a few short months. It is unusual for a short film to be quickly created by only one person, as there are many production requirements that take time to produce. If you would like to create a short film, consider assembling a team with complimentary skills, or choose deliverables within the domain of pre-production.

For videos, an acceptable duration depends on the nature of your project and how refined the visuals are. A low-fidelity animatic could be quite long, and a fully animated high-fidelity video would likely be much shorter given the intense time and labor required for professional animation. It's generally better to have a really impressive 30 seconds than a mediocre 5 minutes.

Production requirements

The following are common production requirements for most types of animations, and may include more or fewer depending on the project. They can also occur in different orders, but in general, if these steps are followed, you are more likely to produce a successful animation.

After creating a script and storyboard, you will have to choose one or more software tools to create your video and audio elements. If you're unsure which of the following software to use, ask your instructor!

  1. Research

  2. Storyboarding

    Make a storyboard! (Even if you use stick figures). This helps you plan your shots and visualize things. Don't forget to number your scenes and shots.

    This is a great place to decide on your aspect ratio (traditionally 16:9 but it depends on your distribution format and creative goals).

  1. Script

    For scripted narrative work, obviously, write a script. Experimental or documentary work might not include this step.

  2. Animatics

    Place images from your storyboard into a video editor (such as Adobe Premiere) and edit them into a rough sequence to figure out the timing and length of your animation. Animatics can be entirely still images — like a slideshow — or they can include limited animation to suggest character movement. This can be done by rapidly cutting between still images (frame-by-frame animation) or by keyframing the motion of specific assets in Premiere or AfterEffects.

    An animatic is an acceptable deliverable if it's substantial and well-crafted!

  3. Adding Sound

    See the audio page for more.

  4. Testing

    Do a proof-of-concept (see below for more) to test out your entire workflow: video codecs, renders, lighting, animation, and simulation as needed.

  5. Animation production

  1. Scoring

    With some MIDI software, it's pretty easy to make some ominous synth tracks or arpeggiated melodies, but you can also find creative commons music to use in your projects with attribution.

    MIDI is a standard type of virtual instrument (i.e. digitally creating sounds on your computer); some audio programs are geared toward recording analog sound.

    • GarageBand — Simple MIDI instruments and editing.
    • Premiere Pro — Edit audio right in your video editor or export entire projects to Audition...
    • Adobe Audition (LinkedIn Essential Training) — Dedicated audio editor, record and mix, easily interface with Premiere (no MIDI instruments)
    • Ableton Live (LinkedIn Essential Training) — Great MIDI and recording suite, relatively cheap, great for electronic music.
    • Logic Pro — Record and mix, MIDI instruments (especially ones that sound like traditional strings, brass, etc.)
    • Pro Tools — Industry standard for recording and mixing; expensive.
    • Audacity — A free open-source audio editor. It's pretty simple, so use Adobe Audition if you can.

  2. Effects, editing, compositing, rendering

  3. Audio Editing and Mixing

    Editing refers to placing and layering sounds in your timeline, including sound effects, music, and vocals; mixing is the process of getting them all to sound good together (\now you can show off to your friends at the Oscars).

    You can do all of this in a video editor like Premiere, but you can do some fancy stuff like noise removal if you export clips or your entire timeline into Audition.

  4. Exporting

    It's a good idea to test your workflow entirely with a proof of concept (see below) to make sure the final product looks the way you expect it to. You don't want to spend two hours rendering your video at midnight and have it turn out all squished and weird looking.

    Video files include a container (a.k.a. file extension) and a codec (specific algorithm used to encode the frames of the video). Containers:

    • MOV and MP4 — Great, often what your video files are straight off the camera, and good for exporting high-quality master files.
    • WebM — For video on the web; use this to get really small file sizes if you need to put your video on a website without something like YouTube or Vimeo. MP4 can also be used for this. Websites like Converterpoint are your best bet for generating these files; they'll get smaller file sizes than Premiere.

    Codecs:

    • h.264 and h.265 — Lossy, compressed video; h.264 is the standard codec used by most cameras, phones, and web players. It's successor is newer and will get smaller filesizes relative to quality, but may not be supported in some contexts. This is probably fine for most contexts.
    • ProRes — Lossless, compressed video; this will give you better quality but potentially huge file sizes. Only use this for your main source copy of the project or potentially projecting in a theater. Not for online distribution. There are a few types of ProRes depending on your quality/filesize desires.

    Frame Rates:

    Typically stick with the frame rate of your source footage, though it is possible to mix frame rates within a single timeline.

    • 30fps or 29.9fps — Standard video frame rate; can give a slightly "day time television" look to things.
    • 24fps — The standard for film; use this for a slightly choppier, more cinematic look.

    Frame Size

    • 3840px x 2160px — 4K; probably overkill unless you have a 4K monitor or projector to display your work on. Useful if you want the freedom to crop shots without losing quality.
    • 1920px x 1080px — Standard HD
    • 1280px x 1920px — "720p" HD; sometimes nice for web uploads.
    • 640px x 480px — SD; hilariously small and to be avoided unless you're putting the video on the web.

Proof of concept

The goal of an animation proof is to demonstrate that you can operate the necessary software and show that you can a strong grasp of animation principles. Choose one of the following based on your project interests:

  1. Traditional keyframe animation: Demonstrate knowledge of keyframe animation and 12 principles by creating a few seconds of animation using a character or other content from your proposal concept. ToonBoom is the industry standard animation package, but others are acceptable.
  2. Motion design: Create a few seconds of rendered animation using a 2D animation package like Adobe AfterEffects or 3D software such as Cinema 4D, Blender, Maya, or similar. You can also achieve motion design for the web using Adobe Animate CC.
  3. Other animations: Create an example animatic (blocked animation and sound), animated character rig, or other animated asset relevant to your concept that demonstrates you can complete the core technical challenge of the project.
  4. Storyboard, concept art, or animatic: Create a representative high-fidelity example of what your final product might look like.

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