How did you find the first Toy Story?
I saw at the cinema in 95 during the first week of release. I remember seeing previews at SIGGRAPH last year, and I was very impressed. I already knew the name of Pixar because I had already seen several of their short films as well as the Spike & Mike's Animation Festival. I really enjoyed the movie but it had not given me desire to become a leader or joining Pixar. This world seemed very foreign.
I saw at the cinema in 95 during the first week of release. I remember seeing previews at SIGGRAPH last year, and I was very impressed. I already knew the name of Pixar because I had already seen several of their short films as well as the Spike & Mike's Animation Festival. I really enjoyed the movie but it had not given me desire to become a leader or joining Pixar. This world seemed very foreign.
How was embedded in a project such as Toy Story 3? At first I did not want to work on Toy Story 3 because I wanted to learn as a spectator, like the first two films. I hesitated also have to work on characters which were already well established and appreciated. But the more I learned about the movie, the more I thought it was great to finally work on it, so I asked to be included in the project. I am very happy to have been accepted.
What scenes are you moving?
As I indicated earlier, I was anxious to work on classic toys, so I asked them to work on sequences that showed the human characters. I did not have much experience in realistic animation of humans, and I thought it was a good opportunity to learn.
To draw physical and mechanical equipment realistic, I'm leaning more than ever on references videos. I animated a few scenes with Andy and his mom, and I was the first to make plans for Bonnie, the new character of the girl. It was a great experience for me, and it is also thanks to my own children I was able to draw and develop my performance lively. I even filmed my 5 year old daughter for references on some scenes.
Once I had enough scenes with humans, I decided like practicing on some of the classic characters. I was able to ask a few scenes of Buzz, Woody and Jessie. I did a few scenes early in the film with Woody toys that informs the bad news about "The operation is replayed, and I also had to make some scenes of Rush when he meets English first Jessie and is under the spell. These scenes were more challenging and we're all closer to the work of Carlos Baena, who had set the bar high for the animation of Buzz
English
As I indicated earlier, I was anxious to work on classic toys, so I asked them to work on sequences that showed the human characters. I did not have much experience in realistic animation of humans, and I thought it was a good opportunity to learn.
To draw physical and mechanical equipment realistic, I'm leaning more than ever on references videos. I animated a few scenes with Andy and his mom, and I was the first to make plans for Bonnie, the new character of the girl. It was a great experience for me, and it is also thanks to my own children I was able to draw and develop my performance lively. I even filmed my 5 year old daughter for references on some scenes.
Once I had enough scenes with humans, I decided like practicing on some of the classic characters. I was able to ask a few scenes of Buzz, Woody and Jessie. I did a few scenes early in the film with Woody toys that informs the bad news about "The operation is replayed, and I also had to make some scenes of Rush when he meets English first Jessie and is under the spell. These scenes were more challenging and we're all closer to the work of Carlos Baena, who had set the bar high for the animation of Buzz
English
What is your favorite scene?
I think my favorite scene is the first appearance of Bonnie. It does not say a word the whole scene and everything is silent performance. I used the storyboards as a starting point but I mainly drawn from the personality of my daughter who helped me generate ideas. I did extensive research, I shot my daughter, I had shot myself, I watched films reference other children in kindergarten, I looked at many pictures and I am a lot of sketches. From there he had to take the best ideas that could lead story on a unique and authentic way, satisfying the director's vision. One of the hardest parts was to animate two adults, then you can not see their faces. I had to keep them sufficiently "alive" for the viewer to deduce who was speaking, but not too much not to hide the performance of Bonnie.
I think my favorite scene is the first appearance of Bonnie. It does not say a word the whole scene and everything is silent performance. I used the storyboards as a starting point but I mainly drawn from the personality of my daughter who helped me generate ideas. I did extensive research, I shot my daughter, I had shot myself, I watched films reference other children in kindergarten, I looked at many pictures and I am a lot of sketches. From there he had to take the best ideas that could lead story on a unique and authentic way, satisfying the director's vision. One of the hardest parts was to animate two adults, then you can not see their faces. I had to keep them sufficiently "alive" for the viewer to deduce who was speaking, but not too much not to hide the performance of Bonnie.
What was your most complex scene?
The previous two, that of Bonnie and that of Andy and his mom were complex because they are very long and they need the natural and human-performance seen in its entirety. Bonnie has to walk on his knees and interact with a box of toys, and Andy must bear boxes, walking up and down a ladder and have a silent conversation with her mother. I know technically how to animate scenes so it does not bother me to have to play with more complicated constraints and actions. The trick is to keep everything organized and manage my key frames efficiently. I chose to work in step mode for most of my scenes, and I often had to start all over again for two seconds so as to maintain control of my timing and have as much space as possible before converting to spline . It was a new method for me and a new learning opportunity on this film.
The previous two, that of Bonnie and that of Andy and his mom were complex because they are very long and they need the natural and human-performance seen in its entirety. Bonnie has to walk on his knees and interact with a box of toys, and Andy must bear boxes, walking up and down a ladder and have a silent conversation with her mother. I know technically how to animate scenes so it does not bother me to have to play with more complicated constraints and actions. The trick is to keep everything organized and manage my key frames efficiently. I chose to work in step mode for most of my scenes, and I often had to start all over again for two seconds so as to maintain control of my timing and have as much space as possible before converting to spline . It was a new method for me and a new learning opportunity on this film.
Have you worked with other leaders?
In fact it is very usual for us to share our pictures. Often an animator working on the characters of substance, and another on the characters in the foreground. This type of separation is the simplest because it does not require much communication and collaboration between the leaders, because their characters do not interact. Sometimes two leaders share a scene of dialogue, each animator, working on one of the characters. It is more complicated and requires more planning and communication. I shared some scenes in Toy Story 3, but the characters did not interact so I worked more on my side. For example in my scene between Andy and his mom, another leader (Mike Stocker) drew the animation of the dog, Buster who walks past the camera at a time. I had to coordinate with Mike images where the dog would appear and how long it would eclipse my characters, but apart from that we did not discuss the animation of our characters.
In fact it is very usual for us to share our pictures. Often an animator working on the characters of substance, and another on the characters in the foreground. This type of separation is the simplest because it does not require much communication and collaboration between the leaders, because their characters do not interact. Sometimes two leaders share a scene of dialogue, each animator, working on one of the characters. It is more complicated and requires more planning and communication. I shared some scenes in Toy Story 3, but the characters did not interact so I worked more on my side. For example in my scene between Andy and his mom, another leader (Mike Stocker) drew the animation of the dog, Buster who walks past the camera at a time. I had to coordinate with Mike images where the dog would appear and how long it would eclipse my characters, but apart from that we did not discuss the animation of our characters.
In Toy Story 3, you pick a few favorite characters from previous movies and where you need to resume the type of animation they had. For new characters, leaders must find a way to animate original and interesting. How did you manage that?
For classic characters, we had two full-length movie reference, of course, which is very useful. We also had the animators who worked on these first two films, which could answer questions from moderators. There was a lot of upstream work, during pre-production, documenting the classic characters and create guides for new leaders as conference and leaves with models drawn. For new characters we faced the same challenge and use the same process we always do. We discuss the character with the director, working very closely with the designer of the character of wire, so as to have the model ready to lead, and we are doing many animation tests (initially silent and then with dialogue) to try to identify the character.
For classic characters, we had two full-length movie reference, of course, which is very useful. We also had the animators who worked on these first two films, which could answer questions from moderators. There was a lot of upstream work, during pre-production, documenting the classic characters and create guides for new leaders as conference and leaves with models drawn. For new characters we faced the same challenge and use the same process we always do. We discuss the character with the director, working very closely with the designer of the character of wire, so as to have the model ready to lead, and we are doing many animation tests (initially silent and then with dialogue) to try to identify the character.
Unlike Pete Docter and Andrew Stanton, Lee Unkrich is editor at the origin. How did you work with him? Each director has a different style and a different approach to animation, based their personalities and experiences. Lee is not an animator, so he did not note animation complicated, but was very clear in his remarks about how the characters should play and what he expected from the scene. As the creator of the film, I found Lee's more technical and precise because it acted as both editor and as a director.
Do you have any anecdotes about the creation of Toy Story 3?
The animation department likes to have parties and other events to keep in good spirits and good energy. At one point early in production, many of us had decided to shave the hair to have a "net start" on the film. Even Lee Unkrich accompanied us. I never shaved my head before and I liked it, but I'm not sure my wife has enjoyed ...
The animation department likes to have parties and other events to keep in good spirits and good energy. At one point early in production, many of us had decided to shave the hair to have a "net start" on the film. Even Lee Unkrich accompanied us. I never shaved my head before and I liked it, but I'm not sure my wife has enjoyed ...
What you feel for taking part in the adventure Toy Story 3?
I'm glad I took part in Toy Story 3 because I think it's a great movie and it was a good way to learn and a great experience for me. It was especially fun to draw references from my family life, something I could not have done five years before. My talents and sensibilities are constantly changing, and I'm happy to be in an environment that has always offered something new and work that inspired me.
I'm glad I took part in Toy Story 3 because I think it's a great movie and it was a good way to learn and a great experience for me. It was especially fun to draw references from my family life, something I could not have done five years before. My talents and sensibilities are constantly changing, and I'm happy to be in an environment that has always offered something new and work that inspired me.
What is your next project?
Cars 2!
Cars 2!
With thanks to Scrooge for his translation!
0 comments:
Post a Comment