AWN Oscar Travelogue

Oscar Showcase Tour 09 Animation Resource Library Gallery

oscartour — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 18:34:02 +0000

The nominees check out Jungle Book and Alice in Wonderland art selected by Oktapodi director Julien Bocabeille (m) to view.

More amazing pics from the nominees experience at Disney’s Animation Resource Library, where the history of Disney animation art is housed.

Oktapodi's Francois-Xavier Chanioux takes a closer look at some art.

Julien also takes a closer look.

More wonders to see.

A vault full of maquettes.

Gobelins' Eric Riewer kneels down to get a better look at maquettes from Fantasia.

Lavatory Lovestory director Konstantin Bronzit marvels at some goreous background artwork that was once on display at Chiaba University in Japan.

Eric, Konstantin, and Robot's Taki Tsuyoshi check out production puppets from Nightmare Before Christmas.

Eric and Oktapodi director Quentin Marmier look upon original pencil drawings from Snow White.

The filmmakers gaze upon rare paint-on-glass backgrounds.

Julien gets a close look at one of the beautifully painted backgrounds.

A look at how the backgrounds are stored.

Taking a peek inside the giant scanner room at the Animation Resource Library.

Yep, that's original Steamboat Willie art we're looking at.

Julien can't believe his eyes.

The filmmakers check out the model for an upcoming art exhibit in New Orleans.

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My Day at Disney with the Nominees

oscartour — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 18:55:00 +0000

Oktapodi's Julien Bocabeille and I talked over lunch.

written by Bob Degus

For more than a decade, I’ve been a voting member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Short Film and Feature Animation Branch. Each year I look forward to our fall screenings where we get to see the finest short animated films from around the world and select the five nominees. It’s like attending the best film festival in the world.

Yesterday, I had the privilege of spending the day with the filmmakers of three of the nominated shorts — “Oktapodi,” “Lavatory Lovestory,” and “La Maison en Petite Cubes” — as they were welcomed into and toured the “birthplace” of American animation – Walt Disney Studios.

The idea is the brainchild of fellow Academy Member Ron Diamond, who, each year, takes the nominated filmmakers to meet their animation colleagues and peers at the major animation facilities, in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Watching this years filmmakers, who traveled from as far away as France, India, Japan and Russia, be greeted, honored and celebrated by 140 plus of Disney’s animators was a singularly emotionally moving experience for me and rates near the top of my experiences associated with the Academy Awards.

We were all impressed with the artwork.

The day started quite profoundly with a visit to Disney’s Animation Research Library. This facility is located in Glendale, CA and unfortunately is not open to the public. It houses – literally the entire history of the art of Disney animation, and is used by the current generation of Disney animators to look at the original paper frame by frame drawings and back grounds from the classic Disney films as well as related art objects.

We got to see some of the original drawings from Disney’s first feature “Snow White,” and even more exciting was seeing some from “Steamboat Willie” and Oswald the Rabbit. Here was the next generation of 21st century animators looking at original paper pencil art from some of the first animation ever made. For those who don’t know, long before computers, a pencil was an orange-yellow stick with lead in it once used to draw art on something called paper.

Stopped to pose for a picture in front of the original Disney Animation Building.

From the Research Library we traveled to Disney’s main studio lot and their Animation Building. After a break for coffee, the Oscar nominees were introduced to the packed theater of Disney animators and the nominees’ films were screened.

Since we had all already seen the films, we toured the main lot, and saw the original “Hyperion Building” physically moved from Silverlake, where Disney started, to Burbank, (the current location of the studio) and the original Burbank Animation Buildings (now offices).

Taki (l) and Kunio (m) check out the multiplane camera.

We had a quick stop at the famous multi-plane camera, no longer used, which gave the Disney films their classic look. The camera had multiple planes or levels that allowed the animators to create perspective similar to that of a live-action camera.

We rushed back to be in time for the screening ending and the nominees answered questions from the Disney animators. After, we all were treated to a lunch where one-on-one conversation could occur.

We then toured the main animation building where Disney has two upcoming films in production, one of which, “Princess and the Frog,” marks Disney’s return to classic hand-drawn animation.

What was fascinating for us to learn was that just like on “Snow White,” the animators were again using paper and pencils (see above pencil definition) to draw the animation. However, unlike the older films, those pencil drawings are now digitally scanned into a computer and various computer stations at the facility use the scans and act as what would have been called the ink and paint department, creating what we think of as color animation cels, or the in-betweening department (lead animators draw the key or main frames of action and then junior animators fill in the missing action). And effectively, the computer also acts as the camera would have.

Almost all of the details of both films are housed in that animation building, from the story department to production design to what clothes the characters will wear to editorial.

Posing for a picture on the outside of Mickey's hat.

Toward the end of our time together we got to go inside “Mickey’s hat”, and for me that was certainly a high-point of the tour – and I think it would be for anyone living in Los Angeles, as we drive by it so often on the freeway.

The day ended with the Disney animators inviting us to join them for their brief work in-progress screening of about 16 shots that were completed and needed approvals to move onto the next stage in the process.

For obvious confidentiality reasons they asked us not to discuss what we saw at the screening, but I can say that some of the shots were what was called “color finals” meaning the director and other team members were to approve them if they felt they were perfect, others were pencil drawings to approve final movement and then those shots could go to the color department, and the third group was rough sketches of shots at their beginning.

At one point in the screening a color shot was about to be approved as “final” and one of the animators shouted “Wait! There’s a “pop” in the shadow on the final frame of the shot.” And sure enough when they looked at that shot very slowly frame by frame, they discovered that a shadow disappeared one frame or one-twenty-fourth of a second early.

That is the attention to detail that goes into making not only the Disney animated films, but also those of the Oscar nominees.

As to who will win on Sunday for your Oscar pool? There is always an incorrect perception about the Oscars that there is one winner and the other four lose. I really felt yesterday, seeing these nominee animators and their American Disney colleagues together in the same room — that whatever the outcome on Sunday is — they are all winners. It’s not a cliché, because their films, touched and moved a large group of people to become a nominee, and that is what cinema is ultimately about.

The Oscar shorts tour theatrically each year and are eventually available on DVD. I urge you to find the screenings in your city. You will not be disappointed.

Bob Degus
Los Angeles

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L.A. Leg Kicks Off at Disney

oscartour — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 16:24:53 +0000

The tour poses for a pic with the Animation Resource Library archivists in front of background painted for a Donald Duck promotional tour.

As the tour swings from San Francisco to Los Angeles, the Oscar Travelogue switches chroniclers from Barbara Robertson to me, Rick DeMott.

Walt Disney kicks off the L.A. leg. For a touch of morning inspiration, we gathered at the Animation Resource Library. Having traveled with the Oscar Tour for the past two years in both San Fran and Los Angeles, it feels strange coming in midstream. I missed out on the bonding that took place in the Bay Area as the filmmakers from around the globe were getting to know each other. For the “Oktapodi” crew, the tour was the first chance for them to be together since graduating from Gobelins. Julien Bocabeille and Thierry Marchand, who both work for DreamWorks in Bangalore, India, joined FX, Olivier, Quentin and Emud, who already had a taste of the tour last week. Joining the six “Oktapodi” directors were Konstantin and Kunio, who having met for the first time in San Fran, have clearly bonded quickly, despite not speaking the same language.

No flash photography was used in the production of this photo.

Earlier in the week the archives requested the filmmakers send in their preferences for artwork. Julien was the only one to reply and we were treated to his exact scene choices from “Alice in Wonderland.” The animation archives are referred to as the Morgue, which is an interesting name considering the temperate controlled vaults are kept at 60 degree Fahrenheit and 50% humidity. The consistency is what protects the artwork, which is mainly paper based. We learned that before moving to the Flower street location, which used to be a production facility starting with “The Little Mermaid,” the archives were housed in the Ink & Paint building on the studio lot.

After we gazed over gorgeous Mary Blair concept artwork and posed for some pictures, we were taken into the vaults where the legacy of Disney animation is housed. In addition to being temperature controlled, the vaults have inergen fire suppression system, which pumps nitrogen, argon, and carbon dioxide into the room, removing the oxygen, to put out the fire while not killing any human remaining in the room. There is a backup water system, but the archivists don’t want to think about that option.

This row is just a portion of the art the ARL has for Sleeping Beauty.

The archives are confidential and not just open to anyone at Disney, we were told. However back in the day, Walt Disney himself let friend Ray Bradbury have the run of the place. Previously, cels, which were referred to as production residue, were tossed, or sold for a few dollars at the amusement parks. Inside these hallowed vaults we saw a corridor and a half of box after box of artwork from “Sleeping Beauty.” In one vault there were maquettes from various productions including cracked maquettes of the orchestra and ballet hippo from “Fantasia” that were found in a storage cabinet on the lot along with the actual “Pinocchio” marionette used as reference for the film. In a special light protected cabinet, the filmmakers were impressed by the collection of production puppets from “A Nightmare Before Christmas.” Like many of the archival techniques over the years, standards have changed for protecting the “Nightmare” puppets. At first they were in acid-free boxes, but the clothing was melting into the paper. Now they’re housed in plastic airtight cases, which protect them from any further deterioration.

Konstantin Bronzit looks up Jack Skellington.

Kunio and Robot producer Taki were happy to see artwork once owned by Chiaba University in Japan. The collection was donated to the school from Disney for an exhibition and when the school wanted to sell the artwork, Disney asked for the first offer, setting up an endowment for Chiaba. Now they hang on the walls of the vaults behind protective UV screens.

The filmmakers are amazed to be seeing original artwork for Disney classics.

Then the surprises came. First we were treated to production artwork from “Snow White,” featuring the princess herself. The archivists no longer thumb through the decades old paper but use small putty knives to flip the pages. Satisfied and amazed with that unique experience, we couldn’t have guessed what was coming next. We traveled down the hall to another vault where we had another amazing sight for us. The archivist opened up the folder and then we saw it — the wheel of a steamboat. An audible hush came over everyone there. We were witnessing page after page of artwork from “Steamboat Willie.” Julien, particularly, stared in awe at what he was seeing. He gazed closely, with his hand over his mouth, upon irreplaceable animation history, which only a lucky few get to see. But that wasn’t it. Next we got a look at the character that started it all — Oswald the rabbit from the 1928 short “Sagebrush Sadie.” That experience will be hard to top. As we left, the archivists had printed out copies of the picture taken at the beginning of the tour for us to take home as a memento.

This year Ron Diamond, tour champion, invited an Academy executive board member to join the tour. At Disney we had the pleasure to be accompanied by producer Bob Degus, who at one time has held every position in film possible, including Oxberry-animation cameraman. He might be best known as the producer of “Contact” and “Pleasantville.” After the Animation Resource Library, he was impressed. The look on his face, as well as, the filmmakers said it all. Even though I’ve done it before, the Oscar Tour never gets old, and always has wonderful surprises. Bob will be sharing he own thoughts of the tour later in the week.

Can't pass up the photo op at the corner of Mickey Ave. and Dopey Drive.

Next up, we jetted over the Disney studio to introduce the filmmakers to the packed crowd at the nominated shorts screening. The event was so popular the studio had to add a second screening following the first. Because this year’s films are shorter than last year’s films, we only had 38 minutes to take a quick spin around the Walt Disney lot, stopping at all the great photo ops, including the corner of Mickey and Dopey, as well as the old Animation building and the multiplane camera.

Konstantin listens to Kunio answer a question.

The Q&A tackled many of the same questions that were asked in San Fran. When no one had any questions to start, Konstantin volunteered the answer to why Kunio’s film is titled in French and not Japanese. This of course got a chuckle from the crowd, which was not the first Konstantin conjured. When asked how he got into animation, he said he was born with a pencil in his hand, an experience that made childbirth very difficult for his mother. Many of the “Oktapodi” crew started in computer science, progressing to computer graphic and then to animation. Kunio was a painter first, and then took an animation course and fell in love with the idea of making his paintings move. When asked what it was like to be nominated, they all had about the same answer — surreal. For many of the filmmakers, it’s their first time in the U.S. It must be surreal to come to the States for the first time and tour all the studios and have the artists there tell you they love your work.

After the Q&A, we had lunch with the Disney execs and artists. I sat at a table with Olivier, FX, “Princess and the Frog” producer Peter Del Vecho and Walt Disney Animation Studios EVP Andrew Millstein. Olivier said that their three-minute student film took their six-men crew seven months to complete. In order to finish in time for their graduation jury, the final two or three months were a round-the-clock adventure. At Gobelins, students are put into crews where they all share directing duties, working out every aspect of the film with each other. This gave hope to the Disney execs for their latest short “Tic Tock,” which they hope to have ready in time to play before “Princess and the Frog.” Peter told us that about half the film is animated, and the rest needs to be finished in the next few months. Peter was so pleased to have the filmmakers their he invited the tour to swing by their Sweat Box session, a dailies screening for the department heads, later in the day.

The Oktapodi directors chat with legend Eric Goldberg.

One of the highlights of the lunch for the “Oktapodi” directors was getting a chance to sit down with Disney’s legendary animator Eric Goldberg, who said he really loved their film for its simplicity, timing and staging. He was very happy to receive a copy of the film from Gobelins tireless and enthusiastic spokesperson Eric Riewer. The six directors sat around listening intently to everything Goldberg had to say. They confided in him that story was a challenge, because they wanted to make the gags fresh and avoid the typical happy ending.

After lunch, we were treated to a tour around the studio. For many it was an amazing sight to see animators at animation desks drawing on paper. Currently, 60 animators are working on “Princess and the Frog,” which is pretty much the entire 2D talent. This is one of the reasons the CG short “Tic Tock” moved ahead of the 2D short “The Ballad of Nessie” on the production schedule. As we walked down the hall, we ran into artist after artist who gave us a quick word about their work on “Princess.” Art director Ian Gooding showed us some concept art for the painterly looking backgrounds. He said that for “Princess” the studio is purposely going back to a more hand painted look and avoiding the lavish 3D backgrounds. The entire production is being hand drawn and ink and paint is being done in Harmony. As for layout, 75% of the film is finished, and at any given time there are 10 sequences being worked on in the department. “Princess” directors Ron Clements and John Musker even popped out of offices to get a chance to greet the filmmakers and pose for a pic or two.

Next we moved over to the “Rapunzel” pod, where we got to see boards breaking down the key beats in the film. Directors Nathan Greno and Byron Howard just had their first story screening for John Lasseter and now they’re working out the details. Visual effects supervisor Steve Goldberg hopped out of a meeting to say hello. They were figuring out how they were going to make the film from how many characters to how they’re going to handle CG hair. Next we saw concept sketches for the men in the film. During a meeting Lasseter observed that it was a room full of men judging what made their prince handsome, so he asked that women from the studio be brought in to give their thoughts on what made a man good looking.

We ended the tour with the Sweat Box. John Musker introduced the various heads of the departments to the filmmakers and then we sat back and enjoyed an unprecedented event for the Oscar Tour, actually sitting in as decisions on a production were being made. There were four color shots and close to a dozen black & white shots for review. They varied in length and were played in a loop without sound. The artists were looking for any flaws in the animation. The only shot to be rejected was one where the voodoo priest Dr. Facilier spreads a deck of cards on a table. One of the artists caught a one-frame shadow pop in the left hand corner. The experience was a rare glimpse into the scrutiny that each shot goes through. Once the shots are approved they move to the next step of production. For the color shots, the directors go from the Sweat Box screening to editorial to see the shot with sound to make sure they work completely.

The Disney experience this year was extra special. And all the filmmakers seemed in awe. It’s wonderful how the studios have opened up and allowed the nominees to see more each year. It certainly is good to be nominated, especially when you’re a short animation nominee.

A great day at Disney.

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