So, I'm working on this stop-motion claymation short and there's a shot where these two porcupines are walking in from opposite sides of the screen toward one another and they're basically walking at the same pace. The director however wants me to offset one of the porcupines footsteps, but that would throw off the sync. I already panned each porcupines footsteps to their sides and to follow them as they come into the center of the screen where they meet.
What would you guys suggest?
How many fps is it? Because animation tends to have a lower fps than live action, you'll probably have a little bit more leeway sync-wise, meaning you can separate the footsteps, yet still have them both occur in the same frame of picture. Also, you could try giving their feet slightly different aural characteristics.
Without knowing much about the situation, i'd guess that what the director means by that suggestion is that they're concerned that it'll only sound like 1 pair of footsteps onscreen. Or perhaps they want more of a sense of chaos/movement.
Minor rant: some directors try to tell us exactly what to do, rather than make us understand their intention. It's down to us, then, to try and decode what their intention actually is.
Do it, show the director both versions back to back and explain yourself. If you feel strongly about keeping the steps in sync with the video, you need to express that, but ultimately it's the director's decision.
Don't porcupines walk on 4 legs?
I think it would be fine to offset them.
One thing I have learned about working with directors is that you must must must try their idea for them no matter how ridiculous the idea is - after all, he is the one entrusted with the success of the film. The good directors are the ones who notice it's not quite right and will let you reset it and do it the way you wanted to - but you must be willing to try anything he says.
At least try it and see if it works - I think it will because of the four feet and 2 of them might be hidden anyway.
The amount of leeway I have seen some people use up with ADR lip flap, I think you will be totally safe with slightly out of sync footsteps. Plus, if the footstep is a bit transient, all you would need is a few frames to offset them to the ear.
