Why is "Choppy" Animation Better?

Summary

The video explores how choppy animation, which uses fewer frames per second, can feel more impactful than smoother animation. It explains how techniques like animating on twos, threes, or even fours can emphasize certain moments, allowing viewers to feel the action more intensely. By holding certain frames longer and focusing on what's missing between frames, animators create a unique effect that engages the viewer. The video highlights how modern digital animation blends old and new methods, with artists 'fighting the computer' to achieve a more expressive style, as seen in films like Spider-verse.

Takeaways

• 🎬 Animation framerates vary, unlike video games which strive for a consistent rate like 24fps or 60fps.
• 🖌 Traditional animation often holds frames for longer durations, referred to as animating on ones, twos, threes, and fours.
• ⚔️ In scenes like the Cowboy Bebop fight, holding frames on threes (8fps) makes the action feel more impactful.
• 🎯 The absence of frames in fast actions, like an arrow hitting a target, can create a stronger impact by letting the brain fill in the gaps.
• 🌀 Japanese animation emphasizes after-effects and what’s not shown, while American animation often uses fast, fluid motion and smears.
• 💡 Older TV animations were economically limited, leading to fewer drawn frames, but this often enhanced the impact of key actions.
• 🖥 With modern technology, interpolation allows for smoother animations, but some artists deliberately limit framerates for stylistic reasons.
• 🐾 Films like *Puss in Boots 2* use a mix of digital interpolation and limited frames to create dynamic, impactful action sequences.
• 🎨 The revival of limited framerate animation emphasizes the artist’s decisions and adds soul to the animation, making it feel more personal.
• 🕷 The *Spider-Verse* films have revolutionized 3D animation by embracing artistic control over computerized interpolation, inspiring a new trend in digital animation.

Q & A

What is the primary reason why choppy animation can feel better to some viewers?

Choppy animation can feel better because it emphasizes the impact of certain frames by holding on them longer, which makes movements feel more deliberate and impactful, allowing the brain to fill in the motion between frames.

How does the frame rate in animation differ from video games?

Unlike video games, which aim for a consistent frame rate (24, 30, or 60 fps), animation frequently changes frame rates. Animators often use techniques like animating on twos (12 fps) or threes (8 fps) to create variation and emphasize specific moments.

What does 'animating on ones, twos, threes, and fours' mean?

This refers to how many frames a drawing is held for in animation. 'Animating on ones' means the drawing is held for one frame (24 fps), 'on twos' means it's held for two frames (12 fps), and 'on threes' for three frames (8 fps). The fewer frames, the choppier the animation appears.

Why is there often a 'huge jump' between frames in certain animations?

The jump between frames, especially when animating on twos or threes, is intentional to make certain actions feel more impactful and readable, enhancing the viewer's experience of the moment.

How does the animation style of shows like Cowboy Bebop make use of different frame rates?

Cowboy Bebop uses a combination of frame rates during fight scenes. While most of the animation runs on twos (12 fps), specific impactful moments may drop to 8 fps or even 6 fps, making these movements feel more powerful and dramatic.

Why do some animators prefer to hold on fewer frames for certain scenes, like an arrow hitting a bullseye?

Holding fewer frames, or even skipping the in-between frames altogether, creates a stronger sense of impact. The sudden appearance of an object, like an arrow hitting its target, can feel more intense when there is no gradual motion shown, leaving the brain to fill in the missing movement.

How do American and Japanese animation styles differ in terms of frame usage?

American animation tends to animate fast movements on ones (24 fps) with smears and multiples for a more cartoony effect, while Japanese animation often emphasizes the aftereffects of actions, focusing on what's not there or what happens afterward to create a more impactful result.

How has the shift toward 2D puppet animation (Flash animation) influenced modern TV animation?

With the advent of technology, TV animation after the 2000s began to focus more on 2D puppet animation, where computers interpolate the in-between frames. This led to smoother animation at 24 fps but sometimes at the cost of the impactful choppiness seen in earlier hand-drawn animations.

Why has there been a recent trend of combining traditional animation techniques with digital interpolation?

Modern digital animation often allows interpolation but purposely limits frame rates to twos or threes to achieve the impactful effect of traditional animation. This hybrid approach, seen in movies like *Puss in Boots 2*, retains the smoothness of digital animation while bringing back the artist’s deliberate decisions on frame timing.

How did *Spider-Verse* revolutionize 3D animation, and why was it significant?

*Spider-Verse* revolutionized 3D animation by showcasing a mix of traditional frame-holding techniques with modern digital animation. It encouraged animators to ‘fight the computer’ by intentionally limiting frame rates, emphasizing artistic choices over computer-generated smoothness, which brought a new layer of depth to digital animation.