Category: 2.1 Advanced and Experimental 3D Computer Animation Techniques

I started developing my FMP project, tentatively titled Through the Snow. I want to create a 3D animated short film focusing on female growth, emotional healing, and pressure from reality.

The story is about an unemployed girl who accidentally enters a snowy forest. At first, she thinks she is escaping from this strange space, but later she realises that the forest is actually formed by her own anxiety, fear, and pain. She runs and becomes lost in the forest, until she is finally guided by butterflies formed from her tears and finds a way to face reality again.

For the visual style, I hope to create a low-saturation, cold, and quiet atmosphere with a digital painting texture. The snowy forest will exist between reality and illusion, reflecting the character’s psychological state.

This week, Ting provided a Facial Animation Demo, and we continued learning about facial animation. Through the demonstration, I understood more about how a character’s expression is created through the eyes, eyebrows, mouth, and small facial details. I realised that facial animation is not only about creating different expressions, but also about making the transitions between them feel natural, clear, and emotionally readable.

This week, I also continued working on Facial Poses Anim – Second Pass. Compared with the first version, the second pass required more detailed adjustments. I tried to make the expressions clearer so that the audience could easily understand the character’s emotions.

At the same time, I continued polishing the Heavy Object & Change of Mind assignment. I tried to use body posture, timing, and a sense of effort to make the heavy object feel more believable, while also using acting to show the character’s “change of mind.”

Overall, Week 7 was mainly about refining animation details.

This week, Ting’s class focused on Facial Animation II: Eyes Animation. We mainly learned about the role of the eyes in facial animation, including blink, eye dart, and eyebrow movement. I learned that eye animation is very important for character performance because it can show a character’s thoughts, emotional changes, and direction of attention.

In class, Ting explained that blinking should not happen just for the sake of blinking. It should be connected to changes in attitude, eye direction, thought process, or head movement. Eye dart can show that a character is thinking or gathering information, making the character feel more alive. Eyebrow movement also affects emotional expression. For example, when a character is asking a question, feeling confused, or thinking, the position and timing of the eyebrows can be different.

1) Heavy Object + Change of Mind: Blocking Animation

2) Facial Pose Practice (Using Live-Action Reference)

3) Project Plan (FMP):
Type: Time structure + Emotional peak + Visual poetry
Key words: Winter forest / Snowflakes / Girl / Butterfly / Guidance
Core mechanism: The girl’s breathing / tears trigger a brief reverse playback, and the snowflakes fall in reverse; The butterfly serves as a “time marker”, and each reverse playback brings it closer to the “correct path”.
Topic：
• Control vs. Let Go: The more one tries to “undo the past”, the more trapped in the cycle one becomes; only by accepting can one break free.
• The coldness of winter is the externalization of emotions; the reversed snow is her inner struggle to reject reality.

1) Assignment Completed: 12-Second Body Mechanics / Acting Shot (Heavy Object + Change of Mind)

This week, I completed a more advanced body mechanics/acting exercise. The goal was to combine a believable sense of weight (pushing/carrying a heavy object) with a clear change-of-mind moment within a 12-second shot.

My story idea is: the character struggles to push a heavy package → suddenly hears a countdown → stops and opens the package to reveal a timed bomb → panics, throws the bomb away → turns and runs.

2) Facial Expression Task Completed: 5 Different Facial Poses

I completed five facial pose studies. I focused on readability—how the eyes, eyebrows, and mouth work together—and how camera angle can strengthen or weaken an expression. This helped me realise that facial acting isn’t about moving one controller; it’s about balancing the entire face so the emotion reads clearly.

3) Test Completed: Stitch Making Tea (Props + Constraint Planning)

I completed the Stitch “making tea” activity. This test strengthened my understanding of action logic + technical planning:

• Clear action chain: carry the tray and set it down → drop the tea bag and close the lid → pour tea into the cup → hold the saucer while stirring → lift the cup and take a sip. Each step needs clear start/end points and clean timing.
• IK / FK choices: IK is useful for stable support (carrying the tray, holding the saucer), while FK helps add natural arcs and performance when needed.
• Plan constraints/parenting first: the “control handoff” between tray, lid, pot, cup, saucer, and spoon needs to be planned early so hand contact stays clean and props don’t slide or drift.

4) Self-Study

I completed the required self-study tutorials and summarised the most useful takeaways:

• Adjusting Pivot: makes pushing/pulling/rotating easier by setting a correct force point (especially important for heavy objects).
• Camera Clip Distance: prevents objects from being clipped when the camera is close, keeping playblasts clean.
• DAG Only: helps manage hierarchy more clearly and reduces Outliner clutter.
• Colorspace: helps avoid display mismatches that can affect material/texture judgment.
• Constraints & Parenting with Objects: supports cleaner prop interactions and reduces technical issues like popping, drifting, or broken connections.

5) Previs Update (Based on Ting’s Feedback)

I revised my Assignment: Previs – Hunter To Prey (Final) based on Ting’s comments. Key improvements included:

• Making the transformation moment clearer on camera (showing the drunk character turning into a larger monster).
• Adding camera follow-through when the slender character is thrown into the wall, so the shot tracks the movement instead of staying static.
• Adjusting several shots to include full-body framing where necessary, improving clarity of action and body mechanics.

1) Group Project: Previs Cinematic Scene (Theme: “Prey”)

This week, my teammate and I completed a 30–45 second previs assignment using animRig_chemoBot. Our story takes place in a narrow alley at night: a drunk man appears to be the prey, watched from above by a tall, slender creature that moves in and attacks. The turning point is that the “prey” suddenly transforms into a larger monster and hunts the slender creature instead, creating a dramatic power reversal.

This project helped me understand that previs is not about making the animation complex—it’s about using shots, pacing, and spatial relationships so the audience instantly understands who is in control. I learned to use focal length choices (compressing vs. expanding space) and high/low camera angles (establishing dominance and vulnerability) to build tension and support the “pressure → reversal” emotional arc. I also used alley occlusion and tight framing to make the environment actively support the storytelling, rather than functioning as a passive background.

2) Story Structure

In class, I studied story structure and realised that even a short film needs a clear cause-and-effect chain and strong rhythm control. We planned our timing using a three-act structure: 10 seconds for setup, 20 seconds for escalation, and 10 seconds for resolution (the reversal and wrap-up). This ensured the conflict was not random, but logically built toward the turning point.

More importantly, I learned that structure directly shapes shot design:

• Act 1: communicate location, character state, and where the danger comes from quickly.
• Act 2: increase pressure through progression—closer, faster, tighter.
• Act 3: deliver a clear reversal shot to confirm the power shift, then end cleanly without dragging.

3) Self-Study: Constraints / Parenting / Locators

I also studied the differences and practical uses of Parenting, Constraints, and Locators:

• Parenting is a permanent hierarchy—stable, but not ideal for frequent handoffs.
• Constraints are switchable relationships—useful for “control handovers” through weight changes.
• Locators act as invisible anchors—cleaner prop setups and easier adjustments later.

This week’s lesson materials emphasize that a story is not “what happened next”, but rather a chain of cause and effect connected by “therefore / but”. The class exercises also revolve around this point: first, use SWBST to quickly determine the main line, then transform it into a version driven solely by cause and effect, and finally onto the storyboard.

Class Quiz: Storytelling Pair Activity (Flood + Ladder + Freedom)
The story concept of our group is a metaphor:
• The flood = disaster
• The ladder = tool/technology
• When humans completely relied on nature, God sent the flood as a punishment/test;
• When humans began to create tools and attempt to “conquer” nature, they gained freedom.
I have reorganized it into a cause-and-effect version (which better meets the requirements of the class):
Humans completely entrusted their survival to nature. Therefore, God sent a flood to bring about disaster.
However, humans began to create tools such as ladders to change their situation.
Thus, humans no longer merely waited for nature to arrange things, but gained the freedom to act.
Reflection: This exercise has made me more aware of the difference between “theme” and “plot” – the theme is “from dependence to control”, while the plot must be driven by specific actions (disaster → invention → escape/ascension). If the shot only shows “the flood is very large”, the audience will think it’s a disaster film; but when the shot shows “building a ladder / using the ladder” as the turning point, the viewpoint will be valid.

Class feedback: Implemented the storyboard from last week in Maya
The teacher reviewed the tasks from last week and asked us to implement the bar story version (the version by the group members) in Maya.
Reflection: Transitioning from 2D storyboards to 3D production will reveal the real problems: whether the camera position, shot path, occlusion, and spatial relationships are reasonable. Some shots that seemed “OK” in the storyboard will fail in Maya due to spatial incompatibility, forcing me to return to the fundamental question – what exactly does each shot want to show the audience and what does it want them to understand.

Assignment: Film Photography Analysis (I chose a segment from “The Legend of Fu Sheng”)
The assignment requires selecting a 1-2 minute segment and analyzing how the cinematography supports the narrative (through angles, lighting, layout, composition, etc.), rather than merely repeating the shots.
I chose the segment from “The Legend of Fu Sheng” titled “Opening → Su Quanshao’s Death” because it was accomplished through cinematography alone: establishing the world view, visualizing the concept of protons, and establishing Yin Shou’s controlling demeanor.
In my analysis, I will focus on the following points:

• Cold opening (snow + details of the corpse): Presenting the war as a systematic slaughterhouse, setting the tone to be extremely cold first;
• Low-angle shots / wide shots to create a crushing power contrast, making Jizhou’s “having no choice” a factual aspect of the scene;
• High-angle shots of Yin Shou + progressive questioning rhythm to turn the dialogue into an interrogation, pushing Su Quanshao towards the inevitable “having to use death as evidence” ending;
• Approaching / helping up the “gentle illusion”: Packaging political violence as a personal consolation, completing an open demonstration.

This Week Summary
The most effective aspect for me this week was: first, write the story in a cause-and-effect manner, and then decide on the shots. The shot language is not supplementary explanation; instead, it transforms the “perspective” into visual facts that the audience can directly perceive.

This week, I completed the tutor’s storyboard tasks, focusing on how framing/composition, camera angles, and camera movement support storytelling and emotion.

1) Assignment: Scene Storyboard (Lawrence of Arabia excerpt)

I storyboarded one scene and clearly labelled all camera moves in each shot (push/pull/pan/track/follow/static).
Key takeaway: camera movement isn’t decoration—it controls when information is revealed and how emotion is paced.

2) Activity/Quiz: Creative Adaptation (The Incredibles excerpt)

I adapted the selected clip into a storyboard, prioritising:
• Clarity: the audience can instantly read the focus
• Rhythm: cuts and framing changes shape the tone

3) Assignment: 5 + 5 Challenge (A guy in a bar) + Peer Exchange

I created two storyboards using 5 shots × 5 seconds (25s total), with no dialogue and no acting/facial expression—only camera language. I then swapped boards with teammates and explained the choices.
Challenge: without dialogue or performance, emotion must be carried by composition, movement, and shot order. Peer feedback helped me check if the story was readable.

Summary
• Every camera move needs a purpose
• Storyboarding trains “director thinking”
• Constraints made my visual storytelling more precise