Animation Fundamentals: Why Not 0?
Why not 0? is a 2017 short commercial ad produced by Jordan Brand praising Basketball athlete Russell Westbrooks for being the league’s 2017 Kia NBA MVP. In this article I will be explaining 3 of the 12 principles of Animation by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston present within this commercial ad. To further assist me, screenshot images of the ad will be provided to accompany those explanations of principles.
Staging:
Staging is the presentation of any idea so that it is completely and mistakenly clear.
The camera angle and positioning in these images help really put attention on the characters seen. The audience is able to focus on the character within the frame in the sequence in which the animator intended.
Straight Ahead & Pose to Pose:
Straight Ahead and Pose to Pose are 2 methods used to Animate drawings. Straight Ahead involves animating as you go one frame at a time. Pose to Pose involves drawing from beginning to end of each main pose then later going back to fill in the drawings in between.
In these screenshots we see the technique of Pose to Pose being implored here especially. In this particular scene of the commercial ad we see the character step back for a ground stomping slam dunk. Along with the animation is a visual of a line chart trailing the character to help highlight the accession of the slam dunk.
Exaggeration:
Exaggeration is every action pose and expression taken to the next level to increase the amount of impact on the viewer.
In these few screenshots we see the character filled with determination get a firm grip of the basketball then begins an intense charge. The way the animator depicted this simple action allowed the viewer a chance to feel the pressure we are made to believe the character may feel at that moment.
