The Importance of Stop-Motion

“There’s always a certain beauty to it, yet it’s unusual at the same time. It has reality. Especially on a project like Nightmare, where the characters are so unreal, it makes them more believable, more solid.” (Thompson, 1993, pg 9)

This quote is from Tim Burton talking about the medium of stop-motion animation, during the filming of The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993).

Stop motion is similar to cell-animation, where images are layered up on clear sheets of celluloid and photographed, different layering’s are then created and photographed so that when played back at speed a character looks like it is moving. Stop Motion works along a similar principal; an animator sets the scene and photographs it, he then moves the character slightly and takes another photograph. When repeated 24 times, this makes up one second of final animation. Although Stop-motion animation may seem like a relatively new filming process (last 20years) but it in fact predates cell animation. (Thompson, 1993, pg 14)

Production companies started using stop motion in the seventies and eighties to produce special effects, such as Industrial Light and Magic in Star Wars (1977), The Terminator (1984) and Robocop (1987). Aardman Animations got in on the action of stop-motion and in 1990 won an Academy Award for Best Animated Short film, with Creature Comforts. Now the multi million pound company is world famous for its Wallace and Grommet stop-motion animations.

Stop-motion is the chosen media for our MA project this year, telling the story of The Magicians Nephew by CS Lewis. We really like the beauty that comes from carefully crafted stop-motion animation, as Burton says in the above quote; it has beauty but is unusual at the same time (Thompson, 1993, pg 9).  It’s made from reality but looks magical- inanimate objects coming to life on camera. It therefore fits well with our project, particularly as the look we are going for is that of highly textured surfaces which you automatically get from stop motion artistry.

It does however come with its own challenges and considerations that need to be accounted for. In one article Tim Burton, whilst talking about the Nightmare Before Christmas, says that although he loves the medium it does present challenges for filming. For one, the audience, he says, can “become overwhelmed by the technique and get distracted from the emotion” (Thompson, 1993, pg 8). So it is important not to let the media take over the story, at the end of the day the medium should assist with the storytelling and enhance the audiences experience, not distract from it.

Another factor that needs to be considered is the strength of the sets where filming occurs. During filming sets have to be strong enough to not only hold the various props and characters but also some of the puppeteers themselves. In a Nightmare before Christmas it was not uncommon to see animators lying down on the sets as they adjusted their characters (Thompson, 1993, pg 147).

Animators need to be able to reach their characters to animate them so on the nightmare before Christmas they divided the bigger sets into smaller sections, having secret doors and openings for the animators to come out of so that they wouldn’t have to reach more than two and a half feet to animate something. (Redmorgankidd, 2009)

Filming moving camera shots can also provide problems. To film panning shots or camera movement­­­­­­­­ involving tracks a new approach is needed. In a live-action film the camera could just film as it moved on the tracks but in stop motion the characters still need to be adjusted so the camera movement has to be considered. To do this one technique is to decide upon the length of the shot, then from this calculate the exact number of frames and then marking these frames as little notches on a piece of tape showing the camera path. After each frame is captured the camera can be moved to the next notch on the tape. When played back, the camera and characters should fit perfectly in sync. (Thompson, 1993, pg 149)

To make a character speak required each animator to have a supply of different facial expressions, so that when put in sequence the character looking like they were talking or singing. (Thompson, 1993, pg 17) The process is long but the final piece benefits from this well loved process.

I think Stop-motion is an amazing medium for filming in, particularly fantasy films, as Burton himself said “It has reality. Especially on a project like Nightmare, where the characters are so unreal, it makes them more believable, more solid” (Thompson, 1993, pg 9). I think this could also be said for the characters of Narnia.




Redmorgankidd, 2009. The Making of The Nightmare Before Christmas (2/3). [YouTube video] Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=rAATOXkd5pU [Accessed on 23/07/12]

Thompson, F (1993) The Film. The Art. The Vision. Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas. Disney Editions, New York

Herbology- Wizarding Plants

The phenomenon that is Harry Potter has taken the world by storm and even though the final film of the final book is now complete, the Potter craze is certainly not over and its franchise is still growing. 400 million copies of the Harry Potter books have been sold worldwide, 6.9 million copies of the Half blood prince were sold in the first 24 hours of its release, the final Deathly Hallows book topped this even further when in the same time period it sold 15 million copies setting a new world record as the quickest-selling book of all time (Money, 2011). To help deliver the fourth Potter book, the Goblet of Fire, the United States alone allocated 9000 FedEx trucks whose sole purpose was to deliver the new book to eager fans. As a result of its immense success, the book’s author, JK Rowling, has totalled a personal fortune over £600million. (Money, 2011)

It’s not just the movie makers who have benefited from the Potter craze, the franchise alone is worth $24,711,000,000 (Statistic Brain, 2011). The video games franchise alone has brought in $1.5 billion of revenue (LEAW, 2011). Ticket sales exceed $7,216million and toy sales in excess of $7,297 million (Statistic Brain, 2011). Overall the Harry Potter market has been incredibly successful, producing 7 books, 8 films and millions of pounds worth of profit to date.

When filming had finished Warner Bros turned their custom build sound stages in London into every Potter fans dream, a Harry Potter Studio tour. A playground of all things Harry Potter, the Warner Bros Studio Tour is expected to have 5000 visitors pass through its magical gates each day (Sun-Times, 2012). Having been given the opportunity myself to go on the tour, I would recommend it to any Potter or film fan as a fantastic day out. The amount of information on show is perfect for any budding film maker or designer, and there is just too much to take in for a single visit.

Here are just a few of the photos I took whilst on the tour:

For the purposes of this piece of writing, however, I am going to investigate the use of Nature in the world of Harry Potter. When is it used, why is it used, and how is it used so successfully.

Plants have been used as ingredients in medicines and healing remedies for hundreds if not thousands of years. It is widely known that many species of plants contain healing properties, from Aloe’s soothing effects on burns, to Fennels aid to digestion (Linsdomain, 2010a). Many cults, groups and religions have taken the medicinal properties of plants to the next level and have even used them for witchcraft, potions and spells. The following are some examples of plants and herbs that have been used for their magical properties:

Vervain- Placing some next to your bed will prevent nightmares.
Wearing a crown of Vervain gives protection when invoking spirits.
When mixed with water and sprinkled round the home, it can drive out evil forces.
Burying Vervain in the garden will make your plants thrive.

Oak- Known as the ancient tree of the druids and also one of the Fairy Triad (being oak, ash and thorn).
Placing acorns in a window will protect you from lightening.
Planting an acorn at night, in the dark of the moon will bring good fortune.

Hazel- Good for making magic wands.

Dandelion- Tea made from ground and roasted dandelion root will give psychic powers and enable the drinker to call up spirits.

Catnip- Used in love spells.
When used as book marks in spell books, catnip will give the magical words strength.

Almonds -Also good for making magic wands as almond is the plant of air, out of which element magic is formed.

(Linsdomain, 2010b)

At Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Harry Potter and his classmates must attend their very own classes on magical plants. ‘Herbology’ is the study of magical plants and fungi, including their care, magical properties and uses, whether on their own or in potions. (Harry Potter Lexicon, 2012). JK Rowling at various points in the book talks about specific books related to Herbology:

Advanced Potion-Making by Libatius Borage

Encyclopaedia of Toadstools

Flesh-Eating Trees of the World

Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger

Magical Water Plants of the Mediterranean

Most Potent Potions

One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore

Toadstool Tales by Beatrix Bloxam

(Harry Potter Lexicon, 2012)

She obviously thought it significant enough in the Wizarding world that books would be written about such things, and that young witches and wizards would be taught about them at school. Magical plants are important to the Wizarding community, or at least in the fantasy world they are. The following is a list of specific magical plants that appear in the books:

A

Abyssinian Shrivelfig

Aconite (Monkshood, Wolfsbane)

Alihotsy

Ash

Aspen

Asphodel

B

Beech

Belladonna
Blackthorn
Black Walnut
Bouncing Bulb
Bubotuber
C
Cabbage
Cedar
Cherry
Chestnut
Cypress
D
Daisy
Devil’s Snare
Dirigible Plum
Dittany
Dogwood
E

Ebony

Elder
Elm
English Oak
F
Fanged Geranium
Fir
Flitterbloom
Flutterby Bush
Fluxweed
G
Gillyweed
Ginger
Gurdyroot
H
Hawthon
Hazel
Hellebore
Holly
Honking Daffodil
Hornbeam
K
Knotgrass
L
Larch
Laurel
Leaping Toadstool
Lovage
M
Mahogany
Mallosweet
Mandragora
Mandrake
Maple
Mimbulus Mimbletonia
Mistletoe Berries
Monkshool
N
Nettle
O
Oak
P
Pear
Peppermint
Pine
Pomegranate
Poplar
Privet
Puffapod
Pumpkin
R
Red Oak
Redwood
Rosewood
Rowan
Rue
S
Sage
Screechsnap
Scurvy-grass
Self-fertilising Shrubs
Silver Lime
Snargaluff Tree
Sneezewort
Sopophorous Bean
Spruce
Sycamore
U
Umbrella-sized Flowers
V
Valerian Roots/Sprigs
Venomous Tentacula
Vine
W
Walnut
Willow
Whomping Willow
Wolfsbane
Wormwood
Y
Yew

(List compiled from Harry Potter Lexicon, 2012)

This is quite a comprehensive list, which suggests it is of some significance within the world of Harry Potter. But it is not only in potions that the world of Harry Potter talks about magical or enchanted vegetation. On the outskirts of the Hogwarts grounds is the Forbidden Forest; described as a thick forest with beech, oak, pine, sycamore and yew. It is also said to contain wild and dangerous creatures like the Acromantulas (giant spiders), Thestrals (not so dangerous but still wild), Fluffy (the three headed dog) and many more (Harry Potter Lexicon, 2012). From its description, it suggests to me that the Forbidden Forest is a place of hiding, filled with mystery and the unknown, a place where animals and creatures dwell in dens, it is their lair and humans are not welcome.

“The forest hides many secrets” (Rowling JK, 1997, pg280)

I think it is this element of the unknown and the mysterious that makes forests and natural environments so magical. It is away from our urban jungles, unlike it, free and unpredictable, and I think this unpredictability is a key factor in what makes nature somehow magical.

This is a concept drawing of the forbidden forest by Andrew Williamson. You can see here how Williamson took inspiration from tropical mangrove roots but adapted them for trees 12-14 feet around (McCabe, 2011, pg339).

McCabe, B (2011) Harry Potter Page to Screen: The Complete Filmmaking Journey. Titan Books, London, Pg 339

In McCabe’s book he quotes the Production Designer for Harry Potter, Stuart Craig saying that he wanted the Forbidden Forest to feel like it had grown out of something real, that it was based on something real.

“The forest is recognisably normal on the outside...but the deeper you penetrate it, the bigger it gets, the more intimidating, the thicker the mist, and the greater the mystery”.

Stuart Craig, Production Designer

(McCabe, 2012, pg339)

I purchased McCabe’s book Harry Potter Page to Screen: The Complete Filmmaking Journey whilst at the Warner Bros Harry Potter Studio Tour. It is reveals an excellent insight into the world of Harry Potter but also into the workings of the film industry, in particular the involvement of the art department.

When I was reading through the book I was particularly looking out for information, opinions and design decisions related to the nature side of the potter world. Some interesting things came from my reading.

“In order to create a believable world, all the places the characters inhabited needed to be credible. To achieve this, the sets needed to feel real, no matter how magical they might be.” (McCabe, 2012, pg323)

This is a quote from Stuart Craig (Production Designer) and I think it is a very good point that he makes. I had read similar ideas throughout conducting my research this year but Craig sums it up well. It links back to one of my previous blog entries after I spoke to Sean Myatt, a Tutor from NTU, and he said that to create fantasy you first need to create reality, its then the process of breaking it where fantasy is created. If we can relate to something in a fantasy film it makes it more easily believed because that element of reality is familiar to us- it’s then only a small jump to accept the fantasy element of the design.

In the fourth film, The Goblet of Fire, Craig talks about the design for the lake environment where the merpeople live. “...they enter the murky underworld of a lake filled with plant life, rocks, and creatures you imagine could exist for hundreds of years deep in a Scottish loch without being discovered and disturbed” (McCabe, 2012, pg129). It’s his use of the word “could” that I think is the key to designing for fantasy.  If you can convince an audience that something fantastic and magical could exist then your job as a designer has been successful. Craig goes on to say later in the book that rather than inventing something new and bizarre, the designs they used in Harry Potter were always exaggerated from something identifiable, “The magic, when it does appear, is all the stronger because it is born out of something that is recognisable. This makes the magic somehow more effective when it finally appears, whether it manifests as ghosts, wand effects, or moving staircases” (McCabe, 2012, pg323). This principal is the same throughout the design, from the exaggerated Gothic architecture of Hogwarts, down to the delicate leaf structures of a Mandrake root. It is all based on the recognisable.

The Mandrake root is a good example of how they have used this principle of starting with a recognisable form and breaking it into the fantasy genre. This concept painting is by Dermot Power and it shows the full body of a baby mandrake:

McCabe, B (2011) Harry Potter Page to Screen: The Complete Filmmaking Journey. Titan Books, London, Pg 426

It’s clear to see that the plant has a humanoid body shape like a baby with leaves growing out of the top. The identifiable element is the baby shape (with matching cries in the film) then the fantasy twist is that it’s actually a baby plant, so has leaves and is made of roots. Part of making something credible is giving it a purpose and a back story. For the mandrake it is that when it is removed from its pot it cries like a baby (with sometimes deadly consequences) but it has a reason for doing that; self defence. Everything in Harry Potter has a back story, a purpose, a history, a reason for being. Even the great Whopping Willow has a purpose for being at Hogwarts; it is revealed in the third book/film that it was planted the year Remus Lupin started Hogwarts as a student, to protect the entrance of a secret passage where Lupin fled during the periods he was due to turn into a werewolf. To make it credible it is given purpose.

Having taken a brief look into the world of Harry Potter and it use of plants, herbs and nature I have found some useful tips for my own work. The work for my MA is almost over but it will be useful for when I continue my research or for future design projects. I think one of the most important things I have established from this research is that nature already has an air of magic about it. It’s mysterious and in areas where there are some large organic structures, like deep forests, the magic is heightened. You don’t need to do a lot to a tree to make it feel a little bit magical. Hattie Storey, Art Director on Potter had this to say about wands, ““I think the more successful wands are organic looking, maybe whittled out of a bit of root or branch...To me, they are more mysterious and magical” (McCabe, 2012, pg481). She feels that the more successful wands, the most magical, the most enchanting looking wands, are those made from natural, organic, branches or roots. Its the ones that look most natural that feel most magical.

Another useful technique Potter has taught me has been to modify the existing. When designing the merpeople concept designer Adam Brockbank said that “Traditionally, there’s a break between the fish part and the human part...but we wanted to create creatures that followed a principle of naturalism and believability, and so we decided not to have that break.” (McCabe, 2012, pg431). They advanced the preconceptions we had of a mermaid and developed it to something new, something different.

The final and I think most important design tool was to start with something identifiable. It’s no good designing a tree that looks nothing like a tree, because the audience won’t believe it and so it will detract from the story. By basing a design on something the audience can relate to they will already have a connection with that object, then when you enhance it or exaggerate it they are much more likely to believe it. If they believe it “could” be possible then it was successful.






LEAW.com, 2011. Harry Potter statistics [online] Available at http://www.leawo.com/blog/2011/07/the-final-adventure-of-harry-potter-and-the-deathly-hallows-part-2-received-over-43-6m-box-office-receipts-abroad-since-the-theater-release/ [Accessed on 17/07/2012

Linsdomain.com, 2010a. Herbs and Plants [online] Available at http://www.linsdomain.com/herbs.htm {Accessed on 17/07/2012]

Linsdomain.com, 2010b. The Magical Properties of Herbs and Plants [online] Available at http://www.linsdomain.com/herbs.htm {Accessed on 17/07/2012]

McCabe, B (2011) Harry Potter Page to Screen: The Complete Filmmaking Journey. Titan Books, London

Money.co.uk, 2011. Twilight vs Harry Potter [online] Available at http://www.money.co.uk/misc/twilight-vs-harry-potter.htm [Accessed on 17/07/2012]

Rowling, J.K (1997) Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Bloomsbury, London

Statistic Brain, 2011. Total Harry Potter Franchise Revenue [online] Available at  http://www.statisticbrain.com/total-harry-potter-franchise-revenue/ [Accessed on 17/07/2012]

Sun-Times, 2012. ‘Haryy Potter’ tour opens in London [online] Available at http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/movies/11617134-421/magic-harry-potter-studio-tour-opens-near-london.html [Accessed on 17/07/2012]

The Harry Potter Lexicon, 2012. Books (and one play) by title [online] Available at http://www.hp-lexicon.org/wizworld/books.html#flesh-eating_trees_of_the_world [Accessed 17/07/12]

The Harry Potter Lexicon, 2012. Herbology [online] Available at http://www.hp-lexicon.org/hogwarts/classes/herbology-class.html [Accessed 17/07/12]

The Harry Potter Lexicon, 2012. The Forbidden Forest [online] Available at http://www.hp-lexicon.org/hogwarts/castle/forest.html [Accessed 17/07/12]

Work: Narnia- Floating Cogs/Creation scene

New visual for Narnia- I realised I'd done lots of concepts for plants but hadn’t done any of rock formations or natural landscape designs, so I created this image. It shows Aslan in the bottom right hand corner singing (as described in the book), but I have added cogs to the scene as if they are forming from his words, and the floating away to their destination.

I printed this image on the Uni printers and it came out really well, almost perfectly matching the on screen colours so I'm quite pleased. We have started laying out the book this week and this image will be in as a large fold out page for maximum impact.

Work: Narnia- Gate into the Garden

One of the scenes I am designing for is The Garden. This is where the tree from my previous blog post is situated and where Digory plucks a magic apple for Aslan. The Gate has a fairly basic description in the book, just as being Gold, with silver writing on it and surrounded by a wall made of turf. This Concept visual is to represent that gate.

Work: Narnia- Tree in the Garden

This is a rendering of the Tree in the Garden where Polly and Digory have to go and collect a magic apple for Aslan. In the book the description of this tree is quite basic so it left me quite a lot design space to play with. The book does describe the other trees in the garden as being “not only green but also blue and silver”, so I adapted this for the central tree and made it purple, green and silver- this makes it stand out a bit more showing it to be more important.

Work: Wood between the Worlds SECOND render

Render number two, this is slightly more what I envisioned in my head but I still don’t think its right- yes it shows the look but it doesn’t quite feel like it’s giving enough information. I might do some tree concepts to try and explain the Idea a bit more; this would help give a wider picture of the whole design...I’m conscious that I'm running out of time though so it may have to do.

Work: Wood between the Worlds render

I’ve finally started designing the Wood between the Worlds... only slightly behind schedule. I started by sketching the design out then running it through Photoshop. It proved very difficult to render and I got quite frustrated with it, and almost gave in to despair! But then I tried a different rendering style using a little bit of photo collage to create a different look, resulting in this...

It’s not really what I want but as an image I think it looks quite nice and dynamic so I’ve kept it as some development work. Now I have to try and render it how I want it to look...however that may be.

Work: Laser Cutting

I went to the laser cutter the other day to get my model bits cut for the Great Hall of Charn, and here is the evidence. Unfortunately the laser cutter had a problem so I’ve not been able to cut the long walls, so for now the bits are sat under my desk waiting to be assembled.

I had leftover space on my sheets so decided to have the bits cut for a model of the magical bell plinth that sits in the middle of the hall. I forgot to take into consideration the thickness of the wood so I had to assemble it a little differently then I planned but I think it still gets the design across.

Work: Charn- CAD for laser cutting

These are the CAD files I had to make for laser cutting my model of Charn’s Great Hall. I’m going to go see the technician shortly to check the files are correct and then fingers crossed start cutting. I rekindled my relationship with AutoCAD to produce the files, and past experience taught me that curves are evil so thankfully a lot of the design was strait lines and repeated patterns.

I hope it looks good once made.

Theory: Urban Fantasy

Urban fantasy is a sub-genre of fantasy. One of its main characteristics, as the name suggests, is that it is set in an urban environment, typically a city. Unlike some fantasy storylines set in the wilderness or on alien planets, Urban fantasy comes the added storylines of social etiquette, political complications and all the social implications that come with Urban living.

An example:

“If Jon slays a witch in the middle of the wilderness, and no one hears her fall, there aren't any consequences for Jon. On the other hand, if Jon slays Morgawse, who happens to be the mother of King Arthur and of his son Mordred, not to mention a political force in her own right as ruler of Orkney, Jon must deal with political and emotional fallout. If he hides his deed, he must worry about discovery; if he flees to France and from there across Europe to the Holy Land, he'll have adventures along the way; if he sticks around and boasts of his prowess, he earns Mordred's wrath and puts Arthur in a difficult spot.” 
(http://www.writing-world.com/sf/contemporary.shtml)

Urban fantasy can come in many different styles; aliens invading modern cities, mythological creatures invading settlements, alternate universes where magic and civilisation live in harmony, modern times where the magic community live in hiding unknown to most people. A popular example of the latter is Harry Potter where wizards, witches and monsters live unnoticed by ordinary humans but dwell among us in hiding.

Urban fantasy does not have to be confined to modern cities and times however. Authors Marie Brennan and Cassandra Clare have been known to use urban fantasy in Elizabethan and Victorian settings. It is still Urban Fantasy because of the location it is set and the social implications that come with it.

I have looked at Urban Fantasy as a possible setting for Charn where the white witch used to live. The back story of Charn could be that magic, monsters and witches lived in plain sight of ordinary life. So when I design the sets for Charn I could have dead people, monsters and wizards all in the same place within the city, as if magic and monsters was the norm.

Style: Film references

Using our new Format (see previous post) we found some good film references; some past, some upcoming and some behind the scenes.

The first is Coraline (2009) which is “hand crafted in Stop-motion animation”. The author, Neil Gaiman, says that “Stop motion is such an interesting Medium because there is a realness, but you can also stylize your reality”. Stop motion therefore lends itself for mine and Hannah’s project as we really want the gritty textures of puppets but with that realness of stop motion movement. As said it also allows the reality to be stylised which is a key area in our design concept. In Coraline they also used Post Production effects to remove all the joins from Corallines various face moulds they used- this idea of using CG to enhance the stop motion is something I want to use for the set designs.

“It doesn’t try to be human...it is what it is, it’s very clever and slightly disturbing” Ian McShane

The next film is Frankensweenie (2012) a new Tim Burton film due for release this year. It is another stop motion film with a Post Production finish adding extra details and erasing marks. It looks crisper then a standard Stop Motion render and as said this is something I want to make use of. Its other unique feature is that it is in Black and White. I will be using a similar de-saturated look for Charn when I design it.

ParaNorman (2012) is from the makers of Coraline. It uses Stop motion mixed with some special effects. The movement, especial facial movements, in some of the scenes in the trailer look stunning and quite lifelike while still maintaining their character and texture of stop motion puppetry.

"It allows us to unite the versatility in design and mechanics of CG with the richness and solidarity of physical objects" (themakingof.com)

This final video is a short film by Carlos Lascano; A Shadow of Blue. It’s beautifully made using Stop Motion elements with CG backgrounds, Models, Post Production Animation and Live Action shadows. This is a good clear example of the techniques me and Hannah will be using for our telling of the Magicians Nephew. The puppet and its immediate surroundings, in this case the bench at the start of the film, will be stop motion animated and miniature set builds, with then fully CG backdrops. I also like how they use a key colour of blue near the end of the film, this is the same idea I will use for designing Charn but Red instead of Blue.

 

Style: Format

Long discussion regarding final format, in order to focus in design. Hannah and I agree that this would be flexible in directorial decisions eg all CG/all live/incorporating other techniques.

Pitch somewhere in between Coraline and Alice in Wonderland (2010)

ENVIRONMENT-  CG-scapes with real life interactive elements eg sets for character close-ups. Real/exaggerated textures, over-textured, handmade look.

CHARACTER-  Puppets, stop-motion. Exaggerated features and textures. Filmed on green-screen with sets/props for interaction (like A Shadow of Blue) Movement like a puppet is utilised for style and using the material to further the narrative eg Hanging people in Charn like hung marionettes.

COLOUR-  London; de-saturated sepia. Charn; de-saturated black and white with flash of red.

This may seem a long way from my origional vision of complete GCI (like Alice in Wonderland) but after discusion I now think this is a much nicer idea, producing an effective gritty design full of texture and interest would be more interesting to see and more interesting/challenging to design for.

Work: Redefining Roles

Hannah and I sat down before my placement and discussed at length how we were doing with The Magicians Nephew and how we saw our final product, what it would contain and how it would look etc.


The conclusion from this meeting was that we become “Pre-Visual Artists producing a Concept Outline” for the film. By doing this we were free to be as creative as we liked, fill in detail where detail was needed, and have more time to develop and produce a coherent visual treatment. To back ourselves up we researched practitioners within the field; George Hull, Walter P Martishius and Dawn Brown.


George Hull, Creative Director, ESC Entertainment
CGNetworks Production Coverage
Concept Art Production for the Matrix Reloaded/Revolutions


Commissioned to start helping the visual development process but later moved to the studio to join the Production Designer, storyboard, and Previsualisation artists


Drew design concepts for set interiors and vehicles


The film contained several thousand visual effects so this had him dedicating most of his time to drawing and painting key sequences from the script


“What was unique was the attention the directors paid to concept design and graphic story telling- very refreshing and creatively fulfilling”

Produced about 100 drawings of how set designs, miniature models and visual effects shots should look as well as 100s of colour storyboards including several high-detail production paintings

Pre-visualisation

“The process always starts by talking through the script with the directors and sketching out designs or scenarios: I would then ink in more detail and finish them into colour paintings or storyboards.”

“In post-production, I transitioned to ESC Entertainment as a Senior Visual Effects Art Director – I found the best way to provide art direction was to digitally paint ideas into highly detailed ‘key-frames’. These gave the crew visual targets to help describe precise lighting direction, colour palettes, value, composition and atmospherics.”

“Whenever I start an illustration, I think about the focal point and value composition first. I like images that can be bold enough to make the point in a few seconds, yet subtle enough to have depth and emotion”

“At the beginning of the creative process it is important not to get too tight with your work. For me, the production process starts with me blocking out my designs or storyboards in pencil first and then having the directors check to see whether I am on the right track. Because the Wachowski Brothers wanted considerable detail in the artwork I did, I would almost always ink my pencil drawings into higher design resolution.”

I did this illustration to pitch a few art direction ideas to the brothers

Besides making a scene look dramatic, a concept artist should always try to elaborate on the ideas as well. They don’t always get used, but it is an important part of the creative process.

Walter P Martishuius

Production Designer, Art Director, Set Designer

For a Production Designer, concept art is used as a communication tool to convey the look, feel and emotional content of the film as a whole, a set, or moment in the film

“The first use of the art is to express Walter’s vision of the film to the producers. The concept art is Walter’s opportunity to share with everyone what he “sees” for the project. At that point the look and style of the film is either approved or revisions are made. Once everyone agrees on the style, the images are shared as a source of inspiration with the rest of the production company. These images are usually presented in what Walter calls his concept outline. He will do an image for every major movement in the film. This way you can get a feel for the overall look of the flow of the movie. With the concept outline a viewer can see, at a glance, the balance between light and dark, colour, mood, emotion, shape and form as the movie progresses.

The concept outline can be as few as a dozen images or as many as thirty or forty or more.

The concept paintings can then be used by modellers, texture artists, lighting leads and effects artists as reference.

Dawn Brown

Illustrator, Set Designer, Concept Artist

Red Queen’s Castle (Alice in Wonderland 2010)

In Alice in Wonderland she was involved in the conception of the sets for the Red Queen’s Castle.

Worked with Set Decorator Karen O’Hara. Dawn produced concept sketches based on Karen’s direction and Karen showed them to Tim and Rob Stromberg (PD). Dawn the makes revisions to the design or if approved they go to set designers for blueprints then onto the shop to be built.

“Its the small unspoken details that are so important in telling a story like this.”

Most of the animal furniture Dawn created never made it to film but “that’s showbiz”.

For the red Queens castle Karen wanted lots of artwork- Dawn created over 25 pieces but only one was seen in the movie.

She created the environment by talking with Tim and Helena Bonham Carter so it would reflect where her character was coming from.

Articles:

http://www.cgsociety.org/index.php/CGSFeatures/CGSFeatureSpecial/george_hull_concept_art_production_for_the_matrix_reloaded_revolutions

http://www.waltermartishius.com/conceptarthome.html

http://animatedviews.com/2010/tim-burtons-alice-in-wonderland-how-illustrator-dawn-brown-decorated-the-red-queens-castle/

Interview with a Production Designer: John Barry

Production Designer John Barry is best known for his work on Star Wars: Episode IV (1977), A Clockwork Orange (1971) and Superman I (1978) and II (1980). Barry started his career in the Art department on the 1963 epic, Cleopatra, Directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, and is now well known in the film industry (IMDB). In 1979 Barry collapsed during filming of Star Wars: Episode V (1980), and later died of meningitis, but his imaginative design work still lives on (IMDB).

I was reading a book the other day and came across an interesting quote by Barry:

“I like doing science fiction and fantasy films. You can let yourself go. I prefer designing surrealist things. I find it much easier, too, because you’re free to choose. When you’re in a jam, you can simply change the rules.”

(Ede, L. 2010. P169)

I think this is a really good quote and really helps me with my project. I agree with Barry that designing surrealist things are much more fun as your imagination is the only limit to what you can create. The last part about how you can “simple change the rules” is perfect for answering my research question. To create fantasy nature you just simply change the rules of real nature. You make water plants live on land, small plants large, large plants small, combine animal species, fuse organic and manmade together, the list goes on.

I can simply... change the rules

Ede, L (2010) British Film Design: A history. I.B.Tauris,