Acting Reference

So I've recently watched the movie Juno and I thought it was a really cool movie. Even though it didn't have any explosions or car chase, I found myself really into the film. Ellen Page does a great job in her performance and she has a lot of personality. Here is a small clip from the film that I thought was really cool for reference. The whole sequence where Juno tells her dad and step mom that she is pregnant is awesome.

CLIP


What caught me about this shot was how important video reference is to animation. Let's say you get a shot like this to animate. You are asked to do a simple shot of Juno responding to her step mom about the baby fingernails.(Last shot where she says "yeah." Now their are two important things about this reaction. First you must know what this sequence is about. You can't just get a shot and animate it. You must watch the entire sequence to get the vibe from your character. You must understand what has happened in the sequence and not just your shot. Second, you must know your character. How would they act in this situation? In this clip, Juno says "yeah" but is shaking her head no. She's shaking her head no because she can't believe it either. (about the finger nails) This is where a layered thought process is going on. She's responding to her stepmom AND thinking I can't believe it either. Some animators might take the shot as it is and animate a head shaking yes to go with the yeah response. This could work but it's not giving enough information about what the character is thinking. This is why video reference is key to get that level of believability in your characters. So next time you get a shot, don't just jump on the computer to get it done faster. Try shooting reference and add those subtle details that make a shot sing.