The history and theory of animation

Importance of Performance and (some of) its challenges and limitations in animation

Barry J C Purves suggests that all animators need to have the sensibilities of a performer, as that widens the field and brings in dance, mime, singing, and a million related skills. We are performers who happen to be telling big stories on a small scale.¹ 

Through my research, I learned that performers should go beyond the lived human experience into the realm of the extra-daily. This applies to theatre, film, and animation. Performance involves connecting the onstage world with the audience’s thoughts, creating an exchange between the actor and the viewer. To clarify, Extremes (or contrasts) of emotion and behavior engage our attention because they provoke instinctive responses. Our engagement is often further increased when these extremes are presented in a stylized and exaggerated way, as Disney highlighted. 

The impression of life according to Lasseter and Disney, is created by the rhythm of the character’s movement, rather than their appearance or pose. Rhythmic movement, and the emotional tone of rhythmic movement, were considered most significant for appealing characterization. The action, they now believed, needed to be translated into the language of cartoon animation to produce an emotionally engaging performance. They needed to add a touch of artifice and exaggeration through the use of techniques like ‘squash and stretch’ to make it more ‘realistic’.²

I will briefly mention some of the challenges and limitations of representing human movement in digital animation I learned from Annabel Lagasse, PhD Thesis³. Additionally, I need to conduct further research to gain a better understanding of these challenges.

• In observing body language, it is important to study a wide range of people and behaviors. Not only do occupation, age, class, ethnicity, and gender profoundly impact physicality, but also contrasts between people highlight individuality as well as commonality. 
• Animators who are now trained with software, and work within a techno-centric culture, need to know the true limits of body mechanics. They need to understand how particular emotions are revealed dynamically through body movement.
• Perception of emotion behind any movement is often more important than the movement itself. (The training site Animation Mentor advises animators to not be afraid of stillness to accent rhythm or communication.)
• Sensory experience and sensory learning are critical to the animation process. We receive emotional cues through our senses. Digital tools remove the sensory stimulus from the artist (e.g. the feel of the pencil or clay), making it harder for them to develop a feeling for their craft and intuit.  
• When animators work on character, they may have a type in mind, but this is usually based on someone living (personal ‘sense memories’). A friend, co-worker, movie star, a mix, or ultimately themselves, informs their work. Building emotional details into gestures creates the illusion of life. (matching of inner feeling to outer expression)

I am excited to further explore and challenge myself in my animation journey, specifically focusing on the creation of group emotions through expression and determining the mood of actions through the expressive qualities of movement. These concepts are part of Wells’s sixteen basic movement themes of Laban, which represent various aspects of movement construction.

1. Purves, Barry. (2008). Stop Motion: Passion, Process and Performance.
2. Thomas,Frank, Johnston,Ollie. (1981). Disney animation: the illusion of life, 323. 
3. Lagasse, Annabel. (2015). An Exploration Of The Creative Challenges In Representing Human Movement In Digital Animation. PhD Thesis, Nottingham Trent and Southampton Solent University.