Other research for AP2 Presentation

Here are some extra things I looked into to put into the presentation.

The two screen caps below are when I was looking at camera movement and then later Arcs. I tried to building the scene in which the camera moved to follow Toothless' movement. I also traced the arcs that Toothless moved in. I believe this was done to give him the movement of a feline predator (makes sense if we consider the rumour about his movement being based on an alleged domesticated mountain lion). It makes the switch to puppy eyed dragon much more apparent.

I was looking at the line of action here to demonstrate that the focus is on Toothless in these shots. We can see Hiccup leading the eye by offering the fish to Toothless.

AP2 Presentation: Scene Analysis

Here is my presentation for tomorrow. I'm hoping it will go well. I'm mostly hoping I'll be able to hold my composure as last time I got flustered and rushed a bit (or at least I felt I did - still waiting on feedback on the first module). I enjoyed watching the crap out of this movie, looking for what scene I wanted to analyse :)

How To Train Your Dragon: Clip

Here is the CLIP I'm analysing for my presentation. I cannot embed this due to copyright.

How To Train Your Dragon: Research 2

Here are scans from the book I've been referring to about camera layouts and shots for the previous post. The book can be found HERE!

The book focuses on all aspects of animation production rather than just the animation. I read through these sections to refresh my memory on camera layouts, scene planning, types of shots and the rule of thirds. I then applied what I learned to analyse the clip I'm showing for my presentation. Speaking of which, I will upload that clip very soon.

How To Train Your Dragon: Camera

In the clip I'm analysing, only 3 shots are used:

The first one is a long shot of Toothless (his full body is in shot) with selective focus (Hiccup is slightly out of focus). It is clear in this shot that the audience should be focusing on Toothless and his reaction to Hiccup.

The second is a medium shot of Hiccup (shows him from waist up) to focus on his reactions and thinking. He's playing a bit of a dangerous game here by standing face to face with a dragon and the audience needs to see how he reacts and what he's thinking. This shot allows the audience to focus on his facial expressions and actions with the fish when necessary.

The third is another long shot but of Hiccup (full body in shot). It's a longer shot than normal because of the space left around Hiccup's body. It's not enough to be an extreme shot but it establishes something important to the audience; how in the open Hiccup is. This shot is used when Hiccup is forced to drop his knife away from his body. Being out in the open with a dragon is dangerous enough but this shot emphasises how Hiccup, on the act of throwing away the knife, is truly alone with nowhere to run and now completely defenseless.

There could be a fourth shot, which is the slight close up on Hiccup's face (from shoulders up). This is only used once in this clip to really focus on Hiccup's response to Toothless' disapproval of him having the knife. His facial expressions are key to his thoughts. In this shot we can see that he decides, knowing its dangerous, to throw it away.

The shots are kept minimal and simple. There is no dialogue in this scene but there is a 'conversation' between the two characters through body language alone, which is why it is important to have Toothless' whole body in shot. The cuts in this scene are timed so that after a character does his action, we see the other character's responding action and then back again to see the first character's response to that, creating this 'conversation'.

The main focus here is on the characters building a relationship.

The rule of thirds is used in this clip to keep the shots interesting but more importantly to clearly show that these characters are interacting by spacing them appropriately when both in shot at the same time.

Toothless is never shown alone in the shot, Hiccup is always out of focus in the foreground. However, Hiccup is shown in shot alone but slightly off centre towards to left. He is always looking at something downwards towards the right. I think this is intentional because if Toothless was kept in the shot there wouldn't be enough focus on Hiccup and his responses and thoughts.

In this last screen capture he is a bit farther on the left. He is still looking at something downward towards the right. With all the space around him. he is giving the impression that the character on the other side of the conversation is the dominant one and making him feel small. He does look quite small in that shot!

How To Train Your Dragon: Research 1

Found some wonderful artwork by character designer Nicolas Marlet and various other artists that worked on the concept art of How To Train Your Dragon on another blog I follow: Here
The blog is called Living Lines Library and has lots of concept art, animation tests, storyboards and more from all sorts of animated movies.

There are also lots of interviews with various people that worked on the film on Dreamworks' YouTube Channel.

Also found a rumour (I say rumour because I can't find any evidence to support it) that a domesticated mountain lion owned by the one of the directors' (Dean BeBlois) uncle was the inspiration for they way Toothless moves! Found on wikipedia, under the Development section.

Production development blog for How To Train Your Dragon.

AP2 Presentation: How To Train Your Dragon

I already knew that I wanted to present a clip from How To Train Your Dragon but which part I didn't know. I've been watching it again and again and parts of it again and again and I think I've decided which clip I want to have.

It's hard to find the clip on the internet so I will have to make one myself but it's on this video that someone has compiled themselves on youtube (I truly hate these kinds of youtube videos but nevermind..): Check it out
Clip is roughly 0.33 to 0.55.

I will upload a better clip soon.

Previously, Hiccup decided to release the dragon instead of achieving his goal up to that point (which was to kill a dragon and be finally recognised as Viking and not useless). Interestingly the dragon, straight after being released, also decided not to kill Hiccup. They both had an easy chance of killing each other but did not take it.
The second time they see each other is from afar. Hiccup is on a rocky edge watching the dragon struggle to get out of the dipped area surrounded by rock, trying to figure out why it won't fly away. The dragon only becomes aware of Hiccup's presence when he drops his pencil down into the area. It is also shown at this point that the dragon is unable to catch its own food when it fails to catch fish in the water. Hiccup and the dragon only gaze at each other from their places but nothing more, showing no bad intentions towards the other.

What I really like about this scene (the clip I'm analysing) is it is the first time Hiccup and Toothless have been face to face and in front of each other since when Hiccup released Toothless (though 3rd time they have seen each other, counting the moment of release). So by going right into the area where the dragon is currently trapped in (a very open area with very high walls of rock and little place to hide or escape through) is very dangerous.

The clip starts with Toothless slinking down from a high rock he had been watching Hiccup from, moving very cat-like. It is clear that he does not welcome Hiccup until he sees something he wants; the fish. He does not immediately approach Hiccup for it. He is still very suspicious and cautious and keeps low to the ground. A cat behaving like this would mean it is frightened and would attack if necessary, the same can be assumed for Toothless here. Hiccup, though obvious very scared, offers the fish immediately at arms length, tilting his head away in fear that the dragon may bite off more than the fish. Toothless, slowly and cautiously, moves towards the fish, putting one of his bad legs out first and following with his front. He almost takes it when he suddenly looks at Hiccup's waist and draws back growling. Hiccup seems to know immediately what has upset the dragon as he opens his fur jacket to reveal a knife. Touching it confirms that Toothless does not like it and won't approach him with it there. Hiccup drops the knife at arms length to his side but this isn't good enough for Toothless who flicks his head to one side, still looking at the knife. Hiccup flips the knife onto his foot and kicks it further to the side, we hear water splashing and can assume it is no where within reach now. Toothless, appeased, shows his approval by sitting up like a dog with huge eyes. This is not the first time his eyes have been bigger than usual but this is the first time he has looked cute with them.

Watching the wordless communication here is interesting as Hiccup seems to pick up exactly what the dragon is thinking, perhaps illustrating the first time a Viking has actually paid observing attention to a dragon without the intention of killing it but to understand it. This is the first 'conversation' as such between Hiccup and Toothless, presenting the idea of a bond that could possibly happen between them. It is evident that they are both curious about each other (Toothless not so much right now but he is still cautious with Hiccup at this point). Toothless shows intelligence in the way he directs Hiccup to get rid of the knife and it is established this way that they are able to understand each other, again opening a way for a possible bond.