with Nigel
This week’s session introduced the overall structure and timeline of the thesis proposal. The lecture focused on understanding the key components required for a successful proposal, including research question, methodology, and literature engagement.
At this early stage, I began thinking more critically about potential thesis topics. One of the main points emphasized in the session was that a strong topic should not only reflect personal interest but also be feasible within the given timeframe and supported by sufficient academic resources.
This made me reconsider how I approach topic selection. Rather than choosing something purely based on interest, I started to think about:
- the availability of academic sources
- the clarity of a potential research question
- whether the topic can lead to a structured argument
with Ting
This week marked the beginning of the new term and the introduction of dialogue-based animation.
We began with a lecture introducing the principles of dialogue animation and the workflow involved in creating a dialogue shot. The session explored the importance of performance, acting choices, and clear communication through animation, providing a foundation for the upcoming assignment.
Following the lecture, we participated in an overlap workshop during class. It was both enjoyable and highly informative, introducing practical techniques and shortcuts for creating overlap more efficiently. The workshop demonstrated how overlap contributes to more natural and believable movement while offering useful workflow tips that can speed up the animation process. This helped strengthen my understanding of secondary motion and provided techniques that I can apply in future projects.
Afterwards, we began working on a dialogue shot blocking assignment by first developing a performance through reference recording. At this stage, the focus was on establishing clear acting choices using body poses and facial poses, without yet considering detailed facial animation or lip sync. This approach allowed me to concentrate on the overall structure and intention of the performance.
I found this stage both engaging and challenging. While I felt relatively confident constructing body poses due to prior experience with body mechanics, integrating these with clear acting intentions required more deliberate decision-making. Ensuring that the performance was readable without relying on detailed facial animation highlighted the importance of strong posing.
Additionally, lip sync was introduced conceptually, and I began a self-study to understand its technical requirements. Even at this early stage, it was clear that lip sync would be a challenging aspect due to its precision and its close relationship with facial animation.
Overall, this week established the foundation for dialogue animation, focusing on structure, posing, performance clarity, and a deeper understanding of overlap techniques that can enhance both animation quality and workflow efficiency.
with Serra
The first session introduced the structure of the unit and focused on designing for the user. We were given two briefs to choose from, which made me start thinking about the direction of my project and how to align it with the course expectations. I will also keep in mind the techniques and softwares I might want to experiment with, so I can choose a brief that aligns with both my interests and potential technical exploration.