A Produktionsbolag animerad film is not only visually stunning, but it must also be audibly immersive. Thankfully, modern technology allows filmmakers to take advantage of a wide range of tools to make this happen.
It all starts with a script. This is where artists sketch out the plot of their movie. This is called storyboarding.
Storyboards
Storyboards are a vital part of creating an animation video. They help the director and production team understand how a scene is meant to play out on screen. This is especially important for complex scenes with complicated VFX or stunts that may need to be re-shot. Storyboards allow the directors to make changes on paper before the expensive process of shooting begins, which saves time and money.
Whether they’re hand-drawn or diagrammed on a computer, a good storyboard should be clear enough that everyone can see how the finished video will look. This includes the camera angles, the lighting requirements and other technical information.
A good storyboard will also have directional arrows for where action is supposed to take place and a big wide establishing shot that gives the sense of scope. This is particularly important for large action scenes like battles, car chases and other climactic scenes.
Character Design
The characters in a film must be captivating to keep the audience engaged. Getting the right look for a character is vital, and requires the artist to create an image that captures their personality and is consistent with the film’s style.
A successful character design is based on the principle of shape language, which dictates how an artist uses form to express a character’s personality and characteristics. Character designers must also be strategic with their use of color palettes and be intentional with how they use each shape to convey a character’s traits.
After a script is written, visual development artists produce drawings on construction paper or other materials to help solidify the film’s look. This includes drawing a variety of poses and actions to determine how the character will move, the way they’ll hold themselves, what their outfits will look like and what props or environments they will inhabit. Sketches are refined and shared with others for objective feedback on anatomy, proportions, readability of facial expressions and gestures. 3-D study models known as maquettes are made to help the team maintain consistency when drawing a character from different angles.
Voice Actors
The voice actors are the most critical component of an animated film, and they often have a great impact on how viewers perceive a character. Many animators seek out skilled voice actors to portray characters that evoke strong emotions and nuances, as well as sing in musical scenes.
For example, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Opetaia Foa’i’s music for Moana infused Polynesian musical styles into the movie’s soundtrack, creating a culturally resonant and memorable experience. Auli’i Cravalho’s powerful vocal performances as Moana also earned her critical acclaim and an Academy Award nomination.
Similarly, Idris Elba’s voice acting in Bayonetta 3 helped the game achieve greater commercial success than its predecessor, despite being released on a different console. Getting a big-name celebrity for a voice role is cheaper than hiring a professional VA, and it brings in a larger audience. This makes sense to studios, who want their movies to make money. But this strategy is not without criticism.
Compositing
Animated films are made up of sequences and shots, and every single one needs to be perfect. A compositing artist is responsible for ensuring that the scenes work together, detecting any errors and using a variety of software to help create the final piece.
They use digital images, matte paintings and computer graphics techniques to assemble video or still image layers. Compositing artists are also responsible for a wide variety of special effects, including keying, masking and color correction.
The compositing process also involves 3D compositing using a number of techniques such as rotoscoping and paralaxing to simulate depth. They can also animate particles and add text to a shot.
The lighting artist is another vital part of the team, as they are responsible for lighting the film. This requires both an artistic eye as well as a solid understanding of real-world lighting physics and camera lens distortion. Without good lighting, the film will look flat and lifeless.
