This week’s focus was on starting to perform certain actions ourselves to use as reference. It’s important to understand the essence of acting — to feel the emotional shifts like a real actor and reflect them through both body and facial expressions.

In doing so, we need to follow the three core principles of animated acting:
Clarity, Sincerity, and Simplicity.

Planning

Following the brief, I created a character and gave them a simple backstory, along with a specific situation they’re currently facing. This helped me better immerse myself in the role and stay emotionally connected during the performance.

I designed the character as a reluctant middle manager who has no choice but to take responsibility for his subordinates.

Performance and Recording

The reference I filmed went through multiple iterations and a gradual process of refinement. Through this experience, I also deepened my understanding of animated acting and how to convey emotion more effectively.

The first version was relatively rough and included some common acting mistakes — for example, the character moved too close to the camera, as if addressing the lens directly rather than speaking to another person. This broke the illusion of the scene and weakened the overall sense of context.

This version also lacked emotional variation, so I needed to show more emotional shifts in the later iterations.

In the second version, the overall context felt more appropriate, but the emotional transitions could have been signaled more clearly — for example, through a blink or other subtle cues. During the performance, I also needed to ensure that the character’s gaze stayed focused on the imagined person, even during larger physical movements.

The final version addressed all the previous issues and is now ready to be used as the final reference.

Rig

Based on my reference, I selected a suitable character rig. Since my animation doesn’t involve facial expressions, I chose a rig without facial controls, which also helps reduce distractions during the animation process.

Blocking

Based on my reference and the specific proportions of the rig, I made some adjustments to certain poses. For example, since the character’s head is slightly larger than average, I had to tweak the overhead sword pose to make it look more natural.

Adjustment

In my character’s blocking, the preparatory pose felt too stiff. To improve this, I plan to adjust the action curves to make the movement feel more dynamic and fluid.

During the slashing motion, the action was designed too conservatively, which made the character appear too restrained. By exaggerating the motion arcs and pushing the curves further, I can improve the overall visual impact of the animation — without losing its sense of believability or weight.

This week focused on Blocking Plus, which involves adding more detail on top of the basic blocking. Small movements are introduced to prevent the character from looking stiff or lifeless.

Arcs are a fundamental part of natural movement — whether it’s an arm swing or a body turn, all actions should follow smooth and curved motion paths.

Reference shot

Using both the original reference video and my own sketches, I filmed a new reference with added dramatic effects. I also changed the camera angle — by switching to a first-person perspective, I aimed to make the animation more engaging and fun to watch.

However, since some movements are quite difficult to perform perfectly without training, my own reference included a few unnecessary motions. I had to adjust these and also extend the timing of certain actions to create a better overall rhythm in the animation.

This week focused on body acting. When designing physical performance, it’s important to clearly identify the key elements in the scene — the character, props, and background.

At the same time, the actions should be kept as simple and clear as possible to avoid confusion.

Idea

I found a sword-drawing (Iaido-style) video as a reference, which fits well with the theme of my previous project. The action is also a good balance in terms of difficulty — it includes detailed hand movements as well as a large, full-body turning motion.

I created a more practical reference based on the original video, tailoring it for easier animation use. I also added a bit of dramatic flair to the story — after the slash cuts through the target, it also slices through the camera tripod, adding a fun and unexpected twist.

This week was focused on the final integration and adjustments of all content.

I made final adjustments to the long take. I changed the character’s movement from jumping between pillars to running, and used camera animation to make the slashing action feel more powerful and impactful.

Final

This week, I focused on the initial integration of all scenes, and continued to refine some of the action designs within each scene.

In Scene 1, I gave the character a more superhero-style landing pose to enhance the overall visual impact.

Before the first phase of the fight in Scene 3, I added more still shots to build up the tension. This also helps set the stage for the fast, continuous action that follows.

At the same time, the long take is no longer a single continuous pull-back. Instead, the camera stays locked onto the character, creating more varied and dynamic camera movement. This approach strengthens the rhythm of the fight and provides a stronger emotional impact for the audience.

In the boss fight, I reduced the number of standoff shots to avoid slowing down the pacing. At the same time, I added a few wider, more comprehensive shots to help the audience better understand the overall situation.

This week, I worked on the initial design of Scene 4 and 5, and continued to refine the boss fight sequence.

Scene 4

Scene 4 is relatively simple in terms of content, but the main challenge lies in using the camera to express the character’s emotional shift.

The visual elements within the frame are very minimal — the key action is the protagonist taking the memory card.

Scene 5

Scene 5 serves as the final conclusion of the story. The protagonist leaves the laboratory, only to find a large group of enemies waiting at the entrance.

I chose to end the story in an open-ended way — as the protagonist draws their sword, the scene cuts to black, leaving the rest to the viewer’s imagination.

Boss fight

As part of the boss fight refinement, I changed the reason for the protagonist’s backward movement. Instead of being forced back, the character now steps back after a brief standoff.

This change makes the character appear more confident and in control, and also adds more visual interest to the scene. I focused on designing the moment of tension during the standoff to make it feel more dramatic and meaningful.

This week, I focused on refining Scenes 2 and 3, and began the early design of the boss fight. The main goal was to make the action more clear and efficient.

Scene 2

In Scene 2, I further reduced the number of enemies, limiting it to two kills. This helps avoid repetition and keeps the audience more engaged. It also allows each action to feel more focused and meaningful, while better supporting the camera design.

Scene 3

In the first phase of Scene 3, I kept the long take from the earlier version, but changed the two-hit sequence to a single strike that takes down both enemies. This makes the action cleaner and more efficient.

I also removed the enemy behind the character to avoid unnecessary complexity. To guide the character’s movement, I designed a new camera shot to replace that function.

In the second phase, I changed the reason for the character’s movement — instead of moving freely, the protagonist is now pushed back by the boss during the fight. Although the protagonist tries to strike first, they are countered.

The boss is finally defeated in a second iaido. This change makes the story feel more dynamic and dramatic, rather than flat and predictable.