Pre Production Tests

With the set completed and the characters in the final stages we were ready to do some tests to see how well we could animate the characters and see how it would look as a piece of animation.

I was given the task of being one of the lead animators so these tests were very neccesary for me to see how the shot worked. The first scene to test was the initial scene where Trinity walks up to the saloon doors.

Test 1


What I like about this test:

- The framing is almost perfect for this shot.
- I like how the background remains out of focus and blurry whilst all the attention is on Trinity.

What I dont like about this test:

- The movement is completely wrong as it looks like he is swaying side to side, due to the legs being firmly bolted down.
- Theres not enough movement with his poncho from the desert wind.

Test 2


What I like about this test:

- I like the idea of having one dead on the floor and the other on the table with his arm slipping off the table as deadweight.
- I like the camera angling.

What I dont like about this test:

- The animation was sloppy in this test.
- The tables need to be strengthened as they can not take the weight of the characters.

Test 3



What I like about this test:

- I like the dominance that Trinity has as he walks into the saloon

What I dont like about this test:

- The composition and framing looks off and it would be better if you couldnt see his legs.
- His animated walk is very sloppy and he looks like he is waltzing. This is due to the bolts in his feet and rather then lifting the leg, I had been pivoting the leg instead. THIS DOES NOT WORK UNLESS THE LEGS ARE OUT OF THE SHOT....

These tests have provided a great insight into how to animate him and maybe I should study the walks of western outlaws depicted in movies to use as reference. The other main issue is to not show the legs when trying to make the character move.