"cut a deal" Blocking 103

"cut a deal" Blocking 103
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I worked on this shot over the weekend - added in breakdowns, ease-ins/outs and some settles. In addition to the functional requirement of a breakdown pose to describe how the character gets from one key pose to the next, at this stage I dive pretty deep into the performance side of things.

In this near-final blocking pass I'm mostly focussed on getting body language to read clearly. The shot is still in "stepped-mode" but with many more poses now. The broad actions of the characters' performances are timed to enhance the rhythm in their dialogue. I'm also aware of the importance of contrasting small moments with big ones. Determining when "noise" is needed to offset an extreme, building in anticipation and realising just how little is enough to"keep alive" a moving hold. I also like to build overlap into my breakdowns - not just from a physical / locomotion perspective (which is a given) but overlapping acting phrases -lead and follow in gestures that help bring the character's thought process to the surface. In the process, a few keys have been re-worked either in their placement on the timeline or the design of the pose itself, or both! Whatever it takes to get the performance to feel more believable.

I've started to work on the face a bit - mostly as reference for when I eventually get to full facial animation stage, but only after I've completed in-betweens on the body.