Subtext

I haven't posted in awhile, but I've been meaning to post this thought. Several weeks ago, we had a great lesson in my acting for animators class, where we talked about subtext within a scene. Our friend Tom Jech has touched on this long ago, but the way we approached it in class, it finally started to sink in.

We were given some lines from a play and then there were two blank lines below each one. One line for subtext the other for revealing actions. So the one character says "You're carrying a heavy load there, Steel." Now Steel just walked in with his suitcase full of heavy dumbells. (He's a strong man for the circus and his ring master is talking to him) Now carrying a heavy load... physically YES... but for the subtext he's really saying, "something's bothering you, Steel." Then the actions could be varied depending upon the character... if he's sympathetic he will stop practicing with his whip and approach Steel... if not, he will continue practicing with his whip and maybe give him a quick glance.

We then did this for each line between the characters, and what I discovered was your strongest moments are when a character will say one thing but really they mean something else. Great characters moments can definitely evolve when one is in conflict with him/herself or a situation. So when thinking about the "SUBTEXT" of your scene, always write down what is my character really saying or thinking. You can start to really consider yourself a successful animator when you can fully get that character to think.

Another quick idea that has been bothering me is what my one professor calls "on the nose acting." The best way to explain it is to look at the moments in Family Guy when they poke fun at the way William Shatner acts. He's all over the place and starts to become very mime like. Now I've had the privilege of living with a deaf roommate and a lot of times when we communicate I do spell out or there is a logical sign for the words that I want to say. However; this is not how you animate. If I were to say, "I'm going to the store after lunch." That line does not need a separate sign for going (making a guy walk with your two fingers), one for store (rubbing fingers together to indicate money), and lunch (eating motion). To me that can all be summed up into one gesture, because that is more natural when thinking about acting and human behavior. Too many times I see gesture upon gesture and it just looks really bad.

My buddy Tom Jech has many other great posts about acting on his blog. So check those out here. Also the one book we have for the acting class is called Acting for Animators by Ed Hooks. By far one of the best books I have read for character animation. I highly recommend it.