Illusion of Thought
“Performances are based and built on the thinking process, and characters changing moods and emotional states and their interactions are a result of these thought processes” (Webster, 2012). Sometimes it is simply the case of moving the eyes to indicate thought and maintain the life of a character.
Body Language
Body language can give insights into character's characteristics, and paying close attention to it a more believable character can be achieved as they will have a more distinct personality.
Emotion and Empathy
A character should be driven by emotions, as when we feel emotion we "do something about it" (Hooks, 2011). The emotions we feel in any given situation will differ between individuals due to our own values and mental associations, but emotion must be animated for an audience to be able to empathise with characters. "We humans empathise only with emotion" (Hooks, 2011).
These factors, when accompanied with suitable staging can result in a good character performance, so long as the character looks as though it intended to make the movements it did, which according to Webster (2005), should be your ultimate intention.
I've also found through my practical testing, that the use of reference material is definitely going to have an effect on animated performance. Despite there being a lot of negative opinions about Rotoscoping, I don't think it should be disputed as a suitable method of capturing a performance, as I have been able produce some very smooth and realistic animations. Though whether it would be suitable for animations/actions that are more exaggerated and lively, I'm unsure; perhaps it is the type of movement you are working with that will determine whether Rotoscoping is suitable or not, though only further testing and practice with Rotoscoping will determine this.
Despite not being entirely confident with my writing and researching skills, I have been nowhere near as stressed throughout the past few months than what I initially expected to be. Though I did have trouble getting started with writing, once I was able to make this start I found myself being able to progress with minimal difficulty. My project planning definitely helped me with this. By planning out a schedule, and making a note of what chapters I wanted to write about in my dissertation, I was able to see how much I need to write per day and about what topic, in order to be finished by a date I was comfortable with. I was able to get my practical finished before Christmas, which allowed me to focus on writing for the remaining weeks. I actually ended up finishing my writing and proof reading a week or so before deadline, which gave me good time to get my dissertation bound and finish off other tasks for hand in. I know it's a work ethic I have adapted in previous modules/years, but I've found it to be extremely useful in this instance, so I definitely will be continuing to organise my projects in this manner.
I've certainly found CoP to be extremely useful, and I have learnt vital information to better myself as a character animator, which I will be able to apply to other modules.
