Applied Animation Development: Reference

The very first shot of my ChildLine animation is the girl walking through a classroom/student environment. She is central and it is a mid shot of her face on so the camera tracks her. 

I knew this would be a challenge to animate but I also knew it wouldn't do the shot justice if it were filmed any other way. It's essentially the establishing shot that establishes her as the central character and the fact that she is basically the only character in the animation.

I knew I was going to need reference (let's face it, you sort of need reference for most things in animation) and the reference I got was Lauren imitating the same shot.

I was initially going to film this reference shot before easter but I was advised that filming it with a DSLR camera and tripod would be far more effective than a handheld Samsung phone. 

I filmed multiple shots, taking full advantage of the equipment and the actor and in the end I feel the shots turned out successful. Had I not been so pushed for time I would have obtained a dolly or shoulder camera holder to make the camera even more steady but if I have any hope of finishing this thing on time I can't be too fussy with footage that won't even appear in the final animation.