Shot 6

Animation


Toy Soldier Animation: I started with the toy soldier on the floor, propped up with its right hand and its other hand on the pencil.
I then animated the soldier pulling its body up and moving its right hand to grab the pencil with a planted key.
The toy soldier then pulls itself up some more and brings its boot forward into a crounching position while the soldier repositions its left hand by removing the planted key and resetting it.
The soldier then uses its leg and arms to stand up while moving its right hand to grip higher on the pencil by removing the planted key and resetting it.
The soldier finally stands up fully by pushing against the crutch and drops its right hand to its side.

At the beginning of this shot the soldier's expression is sad but then twists its face into a struggling/exerted face. After the you soldier is standing I start to show an expression of curiosity.

Prop Animation: When the soldier leans on the pencil and uses it to stand up fully, I animated the pencil pushing against the floor to a slant, keeping its tip on the same spot.
I finished with the pencil end finishing under its arm. This was to give the appearance of the toy soldier leaning on it as a crutch.

Lighting


There is a main spot that acts as the street lamp and this has Ray Traced shadows. There also a second spot light that gives background light to the scene. This light casts no shadows.

Camera


As the toy soldier stands up, the camera moves outwards. This is so when the soldier is standing, it is not cut out by the edge of the screen.

Problems

Had a bit of trouble making the weight of the character and body movement look realistic. To solve this problem I looked at myself in a long mirror using a pole to help stand up on one leg.

Opinions

This shot was a pain to animate. Getting the character to look like it was putting its weight on the pencil and using it to help stand vas very difficult. I am very happy with this shot though, I think it's an accurate representation of reality.