Research on Action Analysis

Below are some videos we took to illustrate character interaction involving shared carrying of heavy objects and passing them from one height to another. 

                                      

                                     

The above video features two people carrying a long, heavy object. They have to angle themselves at either end so as to balance the ladder between. This shift in the centre of gravity of the ladder prevents either end from dragging on the floor. The balance of the weight between the two of them also allows them to use only one hand to carry an object that would normally require two.

During the walk into the room, the person at the front seems to be carrying more of the weight, whilst also leading the person at the back, who is just there to keep the balance.

When they reach the wall, however, and open up the ladder, they have to use two hands as they are angling the ladder vertically, which requires more effort as the length of it means it is difficult to manoeuvre. The person at the back takes the lead this time, taking more of the weight of the ladder and placing it firmly on the ground, while the person at the front just acts as a counterbalance for the weight of the top of the ladder. 

When one of them starts to climb the ladder, the other holds on to keep it steady, again like a counterbalance, as the added weight on the top of the ladder shifts its centre of gravity and makes it more prone to toppling over.

In the above video, two people are unstacking chairs. The person unstacking the chairs has to change their hand positions several times, in order to get a good grip on the chairs so they can be lifted high enough to clear the stack. The resistance from being "stuck" to the other chairs also makes them harder to lift when on the stack. Individually, the chairs are easy to carry and can be quite carelessly handed between two people, as can be seen when the first person passes the chairs to the other.
When the first person finds it harder to unstack the chairs, as they are too tightly stacked and start to lose balance when the top is lifted, the other person steps in to hold the rest down, acting as a counterbalance, allowing the top chair to become free without toppling the whole stack. (which would cause pain and/or a loud noise, neither of which tired animation students can handle....)

Again, this shows how individually the chairs can be carried by one person, and easily passed between two people. When the stack of chairs needs lifting, however, the two people have to work together, each lifting from opposite sides. They both have different grips, suggesting that one is carrying more of the load than the other.