Secondary Animation - Take (Surprise)

Secondary animation is as its name implies, secondary to the primary movement. (Skidgel p.112) In 3ds Max 6 Animation: CG Filmmaking from Concepts to Completion, it is said to be any character-related movement outside of the skeleton and face and it's one of the 12 animation principles. (Fox p.382) Therefore secondary animation is the actions added to a character to bring life and to support the main action, which involves follow through and overlapping action.

Follow through and overlapping action allow a smooth flow from pose to pose, making sure that the motions are not distracting and robotic. The body parts need to overlap with a believable physics without overdoing it. In order to make animation believable, the motions need to have good clean arcs, in the wrist, elbows, feet, heel and toes as well as the head, hip and ankle. The line of action defines the clarity of the poses, therefore making sure that the poses are interesting and can be read clearly.

Another thing to consider in animation is the energy of the character. This manages the tension, energy build up and release in action. In the gun shot animation, the anticipation (movement begins slowly, speeds up, and slows down again) matched the subsequent action, which was the reaction of the gun shot by the character. The body language and gestures were synchronized with the sound which helps the animation to appear believable.

Keith Lango further suggests under silhouettes: "Make your poses read in an instant, not in an hour." This I achieved through the use of timing. In conclusion the acting done by the character matched dialogue intensity.

References:

Barrett Fox, 3ds Max 6 Animation: CG Filmmaking from Concepts to Completion.

http://www.keithlango.com/tutorials/old/popThru/polish.html