Annabelle's Bistro

Annabelle’s Bistro is a short film created by Multimedia students at Bradley University during the fall 2008/ spring 2009 school year. The film is about a hungry man, a distracted waiter, and a tough guy and what happens when these three characters are brought together by the actions of a playful little puppy. The film was designed and created using a “hybrid” animation technique,which combined both three-dimensional and two-dimensional elements to create this unique style. The characters were modeled, textured, rigged with animation controls, and animated in Maya while their faces were built and animated in After Effects. These separate elements were then composited together to form the final look of the film. Students were assigned specific tasks and required to meet stringent deadlines in order to ensure the successful completion of the film. The first steps were in learning how to use the software itself. Each assignment the students were given was designed to familiarize them with the animation tools as well as to put the film’s character designs “through it’s paces” to determine whether any adjustments in the construction of the films elements would be required to ensure smooth development. Once comfortable with the software, the students were then tasked to build the final elements and animated them appropriately. Students learned that to create a convincing performance, careful attention must be paid to individual character traits such as attitude, age, weight, internal motivation, as well as environmental influences such as the clothes a character wears, or props that a character might interact with.

For more information about Annabelle’s Bistro, please visit: http://annabellesbistro.bradley.edu/

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