Information Blog: Animation Scout Interview with Victor Navone PIXAR Lead Animator

Animation Scout Interview with Victor Navone PIXAR Lead Animator

Animation Scout: http://animationscout.tv
Tutorials Vimeo Channel: http://vimeo.com/channels/animationscout
Interview Link: http://animationscout.tv/Victor-Navone
Victor Navone Blog and Tutorials: http://blog.navone.org

Quote from interview: http://animationscout.tv/Victor-Navone

Well-known directing animator Victor Navone answered our question about his path to Pixar and success and shared some gold tips about his workflow.

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-As we know from your tutorials you are a spline master ;) When adding inbetween poses do you prefer to set an extra pose or tweak the breakdown/inbetween poses with spline curves?
That depends on a lot of things, mostly on how Ive blocked the shot. If Ive been posing with stepped keys then Ive probably got all the keys I need and can do most of what I need with spline handles. If Im working layered then I tend to add in keys spontaneously to shape my curves. Either way, Im always practicing good spline hygiene!

-When starting a shot how do you define phrasing and what is your way to find ideas for that?

If the shot has dialog then that will determine a lot of the phrasing for me. The trick is to identify the most important ideas in the dialog and use this to determine a simple, short series of poses. I also want to make sure that the phrasing of the animation doesnt follow the timing and phrasing of the dialog too closely, otherwise it starts to feel rehearsed and unnatural. If I have no dialog then I have to work a little harder to identify the ideas and beats I need, and I have more freedom to determine the timing of these ideas. Often Ill thumbnail out poses for the important ideas and make sure they work well together in sequence. For dialog shots I will also write out the subtext for the shot, as that can be just as important, if not more important, than the dialog for determining phrasing.

Animation Scout Vimeo Channel: http://vimeo.com/channels/animationscout