Acting Reference #76

Nice clip from Searching For Bobby Fischer. Though Ben Kingsley has most the lines, I like how the focus in on the boy. When animating to dialogue, we often just cut to whoever is speaking. Instead of doing this, you should make sure the camera is cutting to what's most important, regardless of who is talking. In this scene for instance, the most important thing is showing the boy struggling, trying to figure out this test. So instead of cutting to the speaker, they kept the focus on him. This movie was shot by the late great Conrad Hall, who in my opinion is the greatest cinematographer ever.


Acting Reference #76 from Kyle Kenworthy on Vimeo.

Anim: Feb 11 Second - Spline 01

Started cleaning up the first part


Feb 11 Sec Club - Spline 01 from Kyle Kenworthy on Vimeo.

Animation Reference #1

So I've been doing Acting Reference on my blog for quite some time, I want to start doing Animation Reference as well. My plan is to add very short shots to really be able to see/analyze what is going in animation wise. So without further ado, here's the first one from Frozen

Anim: Feb 11 Second

If time permits I hope to enter this months competition. Here's first pass blocking



Feb 11 Sec Club - Blocking 02 from Kyle Kenworthy on Vimeo.

Acting Reference #75

Ben Mendelsohn has quickly become one of my favorite actors. Here's a great clip of him in The Place Beyond the Pines. He always just feels so natural and real. I love the shoulder shrug he does and how he licks his lips towards the end. Really excited to see him in Rogue One this winter.

Acting Reference #75 from Kyle Kenworthy on Vimeo.

Acting Reference #74

Short little clip from The World's End. Really like the little head gesture Simon Pegg makes after he says "Newton Haven", has a lot of personality in it. There's also a lot of nice contrasting speed in his movement. He's got some quicker head moves and then a nice slow one at the end. Contrast in speed can add a lot to your shot!

Acting Reference #74 from Kyle Kenworthy on Vimeo.

Promo Video

Here's the promo video for my upcoming Animating Creatures For Games class
You can sign up here

Acting Reference #73

Here's a nice little clip from Road To Perdition. I love how much character there is in such a simple action as taking and opening a letter. Also a nice example of varied speeds in a shot. Some of his actions are very quick, but he also has some longer pauses & more slow/subtle movement. Varying the speeds of movements in your shot will add a lot of visual interest & appeal

Anim: Walk Cycles

Couple quick walk cycles I made in preparation for the upcoming class I'm teaching (you can sign up here). They each took about 2 hours to make


Dog Walk Cycle from Kyle Kenworthy on Vimeo.
Dog Trot Cycle from Kyle Kenworthy on Vimeo.
Dinosaur Walk Cycle from Kyle Kenworthy on Vimeo.

Animating Creatures For Games

I'm teaching a new class for the CGWorkshops on Animating Creatures For Games. Gonna be a lot of fun! Sign ups are open now & the class begins in March. Click the image to check it out!

Acting Reference #72

Here's a great example of strong silhouette in Skyfall. You want fight scenes to be very clear to the viewer and the fact that this one plays out all in silhouette is awesome! Roger Deakins is a master

Acting Reference #71

Here's a short video from Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade. I really like the little side/side jaw movement Sean Connery makes. Often we only focus on the open/close axis of the jaw when animating, but adding little side to side movements can add a lot of character

Acting Reference #71 from Kyle Kenworthy on Vimeo.

FPS Animations

I've never really played around with first person animations, so thought it would be fun to do a couple tests to try it out. Warning the second video contains blood/violence.


FPS Animations from Kyle Kenworthy on Vimeo.

Techniques of Steven Spielberg

Lots of good info here on camera/composition/emotion

The Passions and Techniques of Steven Spielberg from Steven Benedict on Vimeo.

Acting Reference #70

Here's another clip from The Thin Red Line. I wanted to show this one because I really like how Jim Caviezel's character moves freely through the scene. Often, in animation tests, I see characters who feel very planted to the ground. Don't be afraid to move your characters around! It works great in this scene because their movement fits their characters' personalities. Sean Penn's character is more shut off/cold, so he doesn't move much & stays pretty much in the same spot the whole time. Jim Caviezel's character is more of a free spirit, so having him constantly walking/not being able to stay still is very fitting.


Acting Reference #70 from Kyle Kenworthy on Vimeo.

Anim: Salute

Here's a very quick animation I did during a webinar for my class. Lots of things I would fix, but not too bad for 1 hour and animating live.

Acting Reference #69

Great clip of Robert John Burke in Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. Some really great timing in here & awesome facial expressions.

 
Acting Reference #69 from Kyle Kenworthy on Vimeo.

Last Chance!

Today is the last day to sign up for the second run of my class!