Why Must Animators Check their Hookups?

Jerich0 - excellent shot continuity

As our second year animation students get ready to submit their film projects for Studio Module PR5001, it's important to remember that animators always need to check their hookups.

What does this mean? In animation terms, hookups are nothing to do with Tinder, or online dating. Hookups are about shot continuity, and making sure that one shot "hooks up" with another.

On a film project it is the animator's responsibility to make sure that their shot joins up seamlessly with the shots on either side of theirs.

Checking your hookups
Animators are commonly assigned to work on single shots on a project, which means there will often be another shot, animated by another animator, on either side of theirs.  These shots must play together in continuity, meaning that there must be a smooth flow from one to another. The pose of a character at the end of one shot should be the same pose in the next shot, or else the shots won't "hook up".

Animators - can't see the wood for the trees?

Storyboarding and 3D Layout
Obviously, the main responsibility for shot continuity lies with the storyboard dept, and later the 3D layout dept, whose shot planning gets handed over the animation dept for animation. However, this does not absolve the animators from taking responsibility for making sure that their shots connect up.

Remember the Big Picture
Animators have to concentrate hard for long periods on a single shot, and it is easy to get lost in the detail of what we are doing, losing sight of the big picture. We must always remember that the film itself is much more important than any individual shot. Sometimes, as animators, we can't see the wood for the trees.

Shot continuity in Jerich0
Take a look at the two shots from the short film Jerich0 at the top of the post. Shot 1 is a wide shot, and it cuts directly to shot 2, a medium shot of the same lizard. Note that the lizard is in the exact same pose in both shots. The animators have worked together to make sure that the pose is the same in both shots. They have checked their hook-ups, to maintain visual consistency.

Film-making Resources
For more information on making animated short films, follow the links below:

• Why Animators Need Mood Boards
• Why Animators Need Colour Scripts
• Managing Group Projects
• Why Animators Must Wreck Their Rigs
• How to Record Voice-Overs
• What are CBBs? (Could be Better)
• How to Create the Perfect One-Sheet Movie Poster (and why you need one)
• Getting Listed at IMDB

The Escape Studios Animation Blog offers a personal view on the art of animation and visual effects. To apply for our BA/MArt in 3D Animation, follow this link.  To apply for our storyboarding evening class, visit this page here.  For the next 12 week animation course, click here.