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Before starting my own animated short film, I decided to watch and analyze a few existing animations. This helped me understand what makes a short film successful, not just visually, but emotionally and narratively too.

I began by watching a selection of animations from different sources. I looked at Pixar’s “Piper”, Gobelins School’s “Jubilee”, and an independent short called “Snack Attack” on YouTube. Each had a unique style and tone, but they all followed a clear structure with a beginning, middle, and end.

Storytelling in Animated Shorts

Most of the short films I watched followed a clear and simple narrative structure. For example, Pixar’s “Piper” tells the story of a baby sandpiper learning to find food. The plot is simple, but it’s told in a way that feels emotionally powerful. I noticed that a strong story doesn't need words, just clear conflict, character development, and resolution.

In another short, “Snack Attack”, the story included a twist ending. The old woman believed a teenager was stealing her snacks, only to realize later that she was the one taking his. This reminded me that even in under five minutes, there’s room for character, conflict, and even humor or irony.

Animation Styles and Visual Choices

The styles across these films were very different. “Piper” used ultra-realistic CGI to make the sand, feathers, and water look almost real. Meanwhile, Gobelins’ “Jubilee” used bright colors, bold character designs, and a more hand-drawn feel. This showed me that style can match mood, realism feels emotional and natural, while stylized designs can feel more playful or abstract. 

                                                (A segment from "Piper" turned into a GIF)

For my own project, this made me think about how my visual choices will affect how the audience feels. A softer, more painterly style might work well for emotional themes, while bold lines and saturated colors could suit comedy or fantasy.

Camera Angles in Animation

Camera angles are just as important in film as it is in animation It builds perspective and it directs the eyes on what is meant to be portrayed. In “Piper”, there are a lot of low angles that show the bird’s small size compared to the big world. This makes the audience feel what the character is feeling, fear, wonder, and eventually, pride.

                                                (A segment from "Piper" turned into a GIF)

Close-up shots were used to show emotion, like wide eyes or trembling wings. Wide shots, on the other hand, helped introduce the environment. I realised that even in animation, the camera needs to “act” like it would in live action to help guide the audience’s attention.

What I have learned

This research gave me a clearer idea of what to focus on in my own animation. I learned that camera angles, storyline, plot together in good harmony makes a good animated short film. But sometimes short films doesn’t need complex dialogue or a big cast for it to be good as well. 

Analyzing Piper by Pixar taught me that a strong animated short doesn’t need complex dialogue or a large cast to be effective. For my final project, this helps me the importance of focusing on a clear story, well-defined character motivation, and visuals that support the narrative, helping me create a simple  romantic fantasy animation.

There are two main ways to approach animation: straight ahead and pose to pose. Straight ahead animation involves drawing frame by frame from start to finish. This method creates fluid, dynamic motion but can sometimes lead to mistakes in proportions or continuity. 

Pose to pose animation involves creating the key poses first and then filling in the in-between frames, which is useful for planning complex movements. 

The main difficulty with straight ahead animation is maintaining consistency, while pose to pose can feel stiff if the in-betweens are not drawn carefully.

Learning Outcome

By practicing straight ahead animation, I learned how to create fluid and dynamic movements that feel natural and continuous. I also discovered the challenges of this method, such as keeping proportions consistent and maintaining continuity throughout the frames. This taught me the importance of careful observation, planning, and refining as I animate, rather than relying solely on intuition.

How This Will Help My Final Project

This skill will help my final project by allowing me to animate moments that require smooth, flowing action, such as magical effects, gestures, or emotional movements between characters. While I may combine straight ahead with pose-to-pose techniques for more controlled scenes, knowing how to work frame by frame gives me the flexibility to create more lively and expressive animation in my romantic fantasy film.

Arc

Most natural movements follow a curved path rather than a straight line. This principle is called an arc. For example, a character waving their hand or a ball bouncing follows a smooth curve. Animating along arcs gives actions a fluid and organic look, which is more visually appealing than straight-line motion. 

The difficulty is that straight-line movements are often easier to draw but can make animation look mechanical. Planning arcs requires careful attention and practice to get them smooth and natural.

Learning outcome and how this will help my final project

Understanding the animation principle of arc will help me make movements in my final project look more natural and fluid. Most natural motions, whether it’s a character walking, reaching for something, or casting magic, follow curved paths rather than straight lines. By applying arcs, I can make my characters’ movements feel graceful and visually appealing, which is especially important in my romantic fantasy animation. 

Anticipation

Anticipation is a small preparatory action that signals a main movement is about to happen. For example, a character winding up their arm before landing a punch. This principle is important because it guides the audience’s attention and makes actions feel believable. Without anticipation, movements may look sudden and awkward, and the audience can be confused about what is happening. 

Learning outcome

Practicing anticipation helps understand the importance of small actions in storytelling, learn how to lead the viewer’s eye, and create more fluid and realistic movement. 

However, The main difficulty is timing the anticipation correctly. Too short a preparation can make the movement abrupt, while too long can slow down the pacing of the animation.

How this will help my final project

This is especially important in my romantic fantasy film, where subtle gestures and emotional moments matter. Using anticipation will help me make my animation smoother, more engaging, and more professional.

Understanding anticipation will help me improve the clarity and realism of movements in my final animation project. By adding small preparatory actions before a main movement, I can make my character’s actions feel more natural and easier for the audience to follow. For example, before a character reaches out or turns, a slight backward movement can make the action more believable.