Animator Responsibilities

### Content Creation

The animator is responsible for taking the supervisor's vision and bringing it to life. During production an animator goes through multiple phases of animation and review. With each phase the animator is expected to follow instructions, read documentation, and adhere to formatting standards and deadlines.

### Communication

As a team member an animator is also expected to communicate with their supervisor as well as their other team members. Communication is what keeps a project together even if it's bad news. Mistakes happen all the time in production. Whether it's a corrupted file, or they're unable to meet a deadline, or your personal life suddenly gets in the way. It's ok! That's understandable, that's *being human*. But if nobody knows about it then it becomes a much bigger issue. When communication breaks down, that's when problems occur. So the general rule is, if you do something, let everyone know! It keeps production moving.

"I spent two hours on this shot today."

"Playblast is done, I submitted it for review."

"I won't be able to work this week, I'm harvesting cucumbers."

"Look! I made her hat move!"

### Staying Positive

Production is a team effort and morale is a big part of what drives the team forward. If morale is low then confidence falters, people are less willing to communicate, and productivity suffers. It is the responsibility of every individual to keep morale up. This means being supportive, showing appreciation when a team mate accomplishes a task, and treating each other with respect and kindness. If a person complains a lot or expresses anger or frustration, that negativity ripples throughout the team *very quickly*. Bad things happen. But there's no reason for it to bring the entire team down. If you run into problems, don't hesitate to ask for help. But keep a professional tone. If there is a persistent issue or you feel the need to vent for a bit, talk to the supervisor in private. It's a way to communicate your grievances without hurting team morale and it helps the supervisor get a clearer sense of how the team is doing.

### Reviews

Cinematic production will through four reviews. For each review a playblast submitted to syncsketch is required following the proper formatting guidelines. There is no specific deadline for each phase. Collabs are voluntary and are supposed to be fun! You get done what you get done. But the more you accomplish the better the final result will be. Here are the four reviews:

#### Kickoff

The kickoff is a review that happens before the animation even starts. It's an opportunity for the supervisor to talk about what they expect from the shot and go over specific beats and potential issues. The purpose of a kickoff is to add clarity to the animatic so there's no miscommunication with the animator. It prevents wasted effort. The only responsibility of the animator is to just listen and ask questions.

#### Blockout

Taking the animatic to the end of the stepped phase, including all breakdowns and contacts.  If animators prefer to start in spline that works, but Things the supervisor is looking for here:

* Readable action
* Performance
* Silhouettes
* Rough timing
* Key facial expression
* Key finger poses

### Spline

Once blockout has been reviewed and approved, animators can take their shot into spline and do a first pass.  Things to watch out for:

* Arcs
* Contacts
* No pops, gimbal, or isolated movement
* Final timing
* Continuity
* Facial breakdowns
* Finger breakdowns

#### Polish

The final stage of animation.  Animators will have different definitions of where polish starts, but if anything this is a chance for them to get a second critique and finalize their animation.

* Weight
* Overlap
* Smears (if needed)
* Fidgets
* Chaos
* Final fingers
* Final face

### Have fun and learn something new!

The whole point of this collab is to teach people using hands-on cinematic production. But also to just have fun animating something different. So relax and enjoy yourself!