Organizing your project
Before you start any animation project, you should have a basic checklist to help you set things right. It's far easier to start right than to have to retrofit your project after you have added some content. The following is a short list of the things that you should have ready before starting any animation work:
- Storyboard
- Shot list
- Frame rate
- Frame size
- Camera data
The last point is about the camera's focal length. It's very likely that we will not always use the same focal length. Some shots will be wide, others will be close ups or medium shots. Again, the storyboard is the tool that allows us to plan ahead this kinds of actions. While preparing a storyboard, it will be clear what parts of the animation will require the camera to frame wide shots or close ups. When we change the focal length during an animation we zoom in or out.
Annotating the storyboard or writing information in a shot list can help in keeping things organized. The focal length might...
