Making a TED-Ed Lesson: Animation

Transcriber: Andrea McDonough Reviewer: Jessica Ruby

翻译人员: mina wong 校对人员: Mingyu Cui

Enough mutations can bypass these fail-safes,

足够的突变能突破保护机制，

driving these cells to divide recklessly.

驱使这些细胞疯狂地分裂。

That one rogue cell becomes two,

一个恶性细胞分裂成两个，

then four,

然后四个，

then eight.

然后八个。

"How do you animate real materials,

George Zaidan（GZ）： “你们如何用真实的材料制作出动画的效果，

like brains and nerves and stuff like that?

像大脑、神经那些东西的呢？

How do you take something that doesn't move

你们是怎么让不能动的东西

and then make it move?"

动起来的呢？”

"So, that's actually, we used a method

Lisa Labracio（LL）： “实际上，我们用了一种

called stop-motion animation,

叫做“定格动画”的方法。

in which you are moving the objects

我们在摄影机下

underneath the camera,

移动这些材料，

each frame, one at a time,

每次移动一帧，

and you take a picture

每次移动

for each picture that you've created.

拍摄一张照片。

So, for this, we were watching a lot of videos

为此我们看了不少

on how cell division works,

关于细胞分裂的视频材料，

and from that, I created a line-drawn animation

以此为基础， 我制作了一组线条绘制的动画

that was my reference animation.

作为参考。

And, using the software that we use for stop-motion,

而且我们使用的定格动画软件

I was actually able to look

能允许我在

at that reference material while shooting

拍摄的同时观察参考图，

so I could kind of arrange underneath the camera

所以随着拍摄的进行，

in order to match my animation

我可以在摄影头下放置好材料，

as I would follow along.

以配合我的动画创作。

And we actually shot all of this on a green screen,

事实上，我们是在绿屏上进行拍摄，

and the purpose of using the green screen was,

使用绿屏的目的是，

for example, in the scene where you see

比如，你看到，

many cells dividing at one time,

一次有很多细胞进行分裂，

for me to have actually have to animate each of those cells

这对我而言， 就是在实际操作中要在同一时间

unanimously dividing at the same time

让每一个细胞都动起来，进行分裂，

would have been a lot of work

这样会使工作量比较大，

that we wouldn't have had time for.

但是我们没有足够的时间。

So, the green screen allowed me to do

所以，利用绿屏，

a couple of cell divisions

可以处理一部分细胞分裂的模拟，

that I could then duplicate

随后再进行复制，

in order to show cell division:

这样可以呈现细胞的分裂过程：

two, then four, then eight."

两个，四个，八个。”

"So, you only have to basically actually record it once

GZ：“所以，基本上只需要录制一次过程，

and then you can just duplicate it on the computer."

就可以在电脑上进行复制。”

"Exactly."

LL：“是的。”

"So, it sounds really painstaking.

GZ：“听起来的确比较辛苦。

How long did it take to, like, record one cell division?"

录制一个细胞分裂，需要用多少时间呢？”

"I think I did in a day, I did a couple of cell divisions.

LL：“我想我花了一天的时间， 做了几个细胞分裂，

So, sort of a full work day,

所以，大概需要一整天的时间。

so, probably a couple of hours for one.

大概几个小时可以做一次分裂的视频。

I think, actually, the stuff that took longer was the text.

其实文字编辑消耗的时间相对比较多。

We were animating the word, 'growth'.

我们对“GROWTH”这个词进行动画处理，

We were animating it getting smaller and taller and wider.

让它变得更小，更高或更宽。

And for this, I was literally adding one single seed at a time

为此，我真的是一次只添加一个种子

in order to create that animation."

来进行动画创作。”

"So, how did you animate the word cancer?"

GZ：“那么你们如何制作 ‘CANCER’这个词的动画呢？”

"I actually started with the word cancer written

LL：“其实是一开始拼好‘CANCER’这个词，

and moved backwards

然后反向操作，

and was surgically removing one seed at a time,

手动一次取走一个种子，

and then we played that photage backwards

再把这个过程倒序播放，

to make it look like it was appearing.

让它看起来像是浮现出来的样子。

We use that trick a lot of times in stop-motion

我们在定格动画上用了许多次这项技术，

because if you want things to really conform,

因为如果你想让 效果看起来更加自然的话，

any time that you're having things come together

无论是做聚集的效果

or fall apart,

还是散开的效果，

it usually makes more sense

最好是

to start with that together frame

从相同的一帧

and work from there,

开始创作，

and do the scatter from there,

开始把种子们分散开，

and then, just play that in reverse.

然后进行反向播放。

It's a little too painstaking.

这实施起来的确有点辛苦。

Stop-motion is painstaking,

制作定格动画的确辛苦，

it's a labor of love,

虽然是出于对工作的热爱，

but you have to also be practical

但是有了时间限制，

when you have a deadline."

工作起来必须要实际可行。”

"So, there's this technique that you guys use

GZ：“那么你们为了让细胞看起来栩栩如生，

to make the cells look like they're alive

而不是很呆板地静止在那里，

so they're not just sitting there.

还使用了这项

That's called shimmering.

所谓“微闪”的技术。

How does that work exactly?"

这是个什么样的技术？”

"So, in animation, shimmering is usually when you are,

LL：“在动画制作中，‘微闪’的意思是

if you're doing drawn animation,

当你在制作动画时，

you're drawing that same drawing multiple times

把同一图形画很多次，

but with slight variations

但每次都有很小的差别，

so that way, you don't have a stagnant, still frame

所以动画中的每一帧

under the camera.

都显得生动。

With the cells, using the seeds and the Nerds,

用种子和彩虹糖当作细胞，

we had the opportunity to really have a look,

这样一来就有机会观察

like they were kind of vibrating and pulsating in a way.

它们晃动的情况。

And so, those are actually, depending on the cell,

这些都是要依据细胞的情况，

three to five pictures.

通常需要三到五幅照片。

With the candy Nerds,

至于彩虹糖，

I would rearrange their position each time

每次我都重新安放它们的位置。

so there's actually removing all the colorful Nerds,

先把周围其他颜色的糖都移开，

leaving the purple ones in the center

只留下中心紫色的部分，

and moving the colorful ones back in

然后将其他颜色的移回到

into a different position.

不同位置。

But with the seeds,

when the seeds were shimmering,

但是种子的话，

当它们微闪的时候，

for that, I would actually

我就会

just very, very, very lightly, like,

特别，特别小心

roll my hand over it very slightly

用手轻轻地转动它们，

and then make sure none of them

与此同时，确保它们都

fell out of the constraints of the cell,

在细胞的形态范围内，

fix the edges,

固定好边框后，

and take that picture,

拍下照片，

and just slightly do that again.

接着再小心翼翼地重复一次。

So, it just slightly changes their position

所以，只是稍微改变它们的位置，

or rustles them up a little bit

或者是稍微摇动它们，

so that would cycle over and over.

就可以反复播放，

And those would play on what animators call threes.

这就是动画制作者所说的“三”。

And threes means that each picture

“三”，指的是每张照片

is on screen for three frames

在屏幕上持续三帧的时间，

at twenty-four frames per second.

每一秒有二十四帧，

So, for the shimmers, you were seeing

所以你看到的“微闪”效果

eight different pictures each second of footage."

是每秒有八个不同的连续镜头。”

"How much of your sweat and tears

GZ：“你在这些彩虹糖上

are on these Nerds?"

花了多少精力呢？”

"I think, actually, to be honest,

LL：“我觉得，说实话

the part that was the most perspirational

最辛苦的部分是

of using the Nerds for animation

当用这类糖果进行动画制作时，

was the place where we had to separate them into colors

我们必须把它们的颜色分开，

in order to use them to animate.

以便更好地进行动画处理。

Every time I would put them on the screen to animate,

每次，我都会将它们放在绿屏上，

on the tabletop to animate,

在桌子上进行动画处理。

I would have to separate them out

在一天的工作结束后，

at the end of the day again.

我又得把它们分开。

And that was the most frustrating part.

这是一个令人心烦的过程。

And, honestly, up until, like, three weeks ago,

实话说，比如三个星期前，

I dropped my purse on the ground

我不小心把包掉在了地上，

and, like, lentils came out of my purse and onto the floor.

里面的彩虹糖就像 豆子一样从包里散到地上。

Like, there's, this video will stay with me forever."

我永远忘不了那个场景。”

"In your bag."

Biljana Labovic： “在你的包里。”

"In my bag.

LL：“在我的包里。

It goes wherever I go."

与我形影不离。”