Everyone seems to be making DVD’s and putting them online for sale these days, so when we were first introduced to ‘The Animal Motion Show’, a DVD database of 2000 animal video clips and photos made specifically as a visual reference for artists, we were admittedly a little sceptical. I mean, anyone can bring a DV camera to a zoo, capture footage of animals, slap them on a DVD and put it up for sale as ‘reference’ material right? I’m glad we were mistaken; not only did ‘The Animal Motion Show’ exceed our expectations, it has set the standard for how reference material should be produced and packaged!

‘The Animal Motion Show Volume 1’ is produced by a company called Rhino House based in California. The DVD set contains two discs packed with reference footage and visuals. Disc 1 has chimps, kangaroos, squirrels, ostriches and tigers for study. Disc 2 is a bonus pack with more animals such as the alligator, tortoise, snake, baboon, etc.

How the DVD is structured
Each of the animals being studies contains a mammoth amount of reference material. Four main sections of study are given for each of the animals on disc:

• Locomotion – observes the mechanics and timing of movement such as running, walking, hopping, jumping, etc.
• Behaviour – unique personalities and nuances of each animal as they eat, scratch, sniff, fight, play, etc. Very entertaining.
• Visuals – close-ups, textures, and other revealing images.
• Facts – quick and interesting facts about each of the animals. Did you know that it is a myth that ostriches bury their heads in the sand?

What really amazed me is the way that the material has been packaged. When studying the locomotion of an animal, you can view the motions in slow motion, as a filmstrip or on a grid showing the motions on a frame-by-frame basis, allowing for animation teams to break down the motions meticulously. There is even a split screen view that puts two motions side by side for comparison. For example, you can compare the motion of a squirrel running and walking, to see the differences in movement and weight.

Filmstrips allow you to see an entire range of a motion at intervals.

The grid view gives you an overlay and frame counter, cycling
through the motions slowly, for meticulous study.

A full film-strip showing the run cycle or a squirrel.

Apart from being extremely useful for animators, one can see this DVD getting a few laughs thanks to the antics of the cameraman. E.g. zooming in on a chimp’s arse as she sashays away from the camera.

Conclusion
If you’re in need of good reference material for these specific animals or similar ones, you absolutely cannot go without ‘The Animal Motion Show – Volume 1’. Rhino House has done all the research work for you, saving an immense amount of time that would be spent at a zoo studying the animals, and perhaps not necessarily getting all the information needed. Rhino House has raised the bar of how reference DVD’s should be packaged.

Cool images