#Trained Eyes
As we become better animators, we become better observers of motion. We can
see things that happen so quickly the average person would miss them. Here's
an example.
While watching a recording I had made last Friday, I came across the promotion
for the movie "Powder". It's about an albino man with special powers. Towards
the end of the commercial there's a circular burst in a field that hits a few
people.
I liked the effects, so I replayed it a few times. I noticed a strange
flicker between two edits. The first shot is a bird's-eye veiw of a field with
the burst expanding in a circular fashion. The second shot is a worm's-eye
view showing the ring of the burst intersecting the people in the field.
Between the two is where I noticed the flicker.
I backed up the tape and replayed it frame-by-frame. At the end of the first
shot (bird's eye view) the ring is expanding outward. But on the last frame of
the edit, just before it cuts to the next view, the ring dissapears!
I expect the effect was created to a specific number of frames, and the editor
made the cut one frame too many. I can hear someone involved in the production
saying "Oh, nobody will notice it anyway." Well, nobody but us animators!!
When I go to see the movie, I'm going to watch closely to see if I can see the
"mistake" on the big screen.
Cheers.
— James — Choreo Motion —