Professional Animator

Today, I met Trevor Jarvis who is professional animator. He taught me a few things about animation that will help me make an opening animation for our film. To make animation I had to use the software called flash.

I learnt how to create motion animations and shape animations. Motion animation is when an object moves from one place to another (we can see were the object is travelling). To create a motion animation, firstly I had to create a shape and then convert it to a symbol. To convert it to a symbol, I had to

1. Use the 'selection tool' to select the shape

2. Click on 'modify'

3. Then click on 'convert to symbol'

4. Lastly click on 'graphic' then 'OK'.

I then had to insert a key frame. To do this you must click the 24th box of the timeline and then click on inset key frame. (It is important to remember that 1 seconds of your animation equals to 12 boxes). The next step is to move your shape to where you want it. Finally, click on the previous key frame and then click on properties. Once this is done, click on tween motion. You must repeat this process if you want a longer motion animation.

I also learnt how to make a Shape animation (shape changes from one to another e.g. from a square to a circle). I also learnt how to make the object grow or shrink in size and make it fade away. To make a shape animation, you must first make a shape using the selection tool. Then click on modify and convert it to a symbol. The next step is to insert key frame and then draw another shape. Finally, you click on the previous key frame and then click on properties. This time instead of clicking on tween motion you click on shape.

I was able to try out the software 'flash' to make a motion and shape animations. This experience for me was very exciting as it is something I have never done. However it was very hard to create the animations as I kept making a lot of mistake. Overall, meeting Trevor was very useful as it will me make our opening title for our short film.