Its a bit late, but i just had to do this study… forgive me if i’m not making any sense!
I was watching Bolt the other night and I found the animation done on the director quite interesting. My lip syncing is a bit on the weak side so i had paid closer attention to his dialogue. theres a lot to say about this simple little clip. first, I just love the squash and stretch going on when the director of Bolt says “Boom Mic?!” It really makes the character’s face feel really fleshy and alive. Some may believe that this is all done automatically with the rig, when in fact you have to animate all that! especially how the jaw is affecting how the nose and cheeks are stretching and compressing. Notice how the cheeks compress inward right before they puff up in pose 3. its like he sucks in air through the nose first and then lets his cheeks fill with air. the puffed up pose then snaps right away into a stretched long face when beginning to say “boom”. it snaps right to the next frame and it makes you really feel the accent being hit.
I also love all the extra layers of animation going on while holding his last pose. notice how his head is JUST so slightly shaking left and right, giving a sense that hes super tense. the eye lid twitch helps sell the tension too.
That little sigh at the end is also great to keep the shot alive to the very end. Clay has always been trying to hammer the point that life must go on past the shot. there are several ways of accomplishing this and in this case, the animator chose to make the character sigh. you dont see his end pose, you just see him leading into that pose. just thought i’d share that tip with everyone!
But ya, I’ve been studying the crap out of this film. i’ve got a long way to go before i reach the level these guys are at. and i think its always a good idea to keep studying, even the most basic things. 
time for sleep.
