Color Scripts in Animation

After taking the color grading minicourse a few weekends ago, I started to wonder how color correction and color grading played into traditional animation and how if might be different to the process that its used for live action films.  Color correction and grading are actually used quite frequently for animation in the same sense as live, to give the director more creative control on the final image and adjust each scene accordingly for the perfect emotional tone and to relate to the story.   In a sort of non-computerized form, animation films have their own version of Lookup Tables (LUTs) in the form of color scripts.  An LUT is essentially a way to modify the original image shot to the intended image to be displayed, and color scripts are sort of a way for animators to determine what kind color needs to be changed when the time comes for the process.  Color scripts are a way to map out the colors and saturation for each scene in order for the director to have a clearer vision of what the final product will look like, and possibly make more changes along the way.  Big-studio films like the works of Disney and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs use color scripts that are developed early on, and go hand-in-hand with the story development, as when some scenes change the emotion and color can change as well.

Color Script for The Incredibles shown above, mapping out each scene chronologically

Script for Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, providing a palette of colors above 

to correspond with the specific scenes, not necessarily in chronological order

As much as I still need to practice color correction and grading with live action first, I find the techniques for color in animation quite fascinating, it's essentially another kind of storyboard to develop in the preproduction process in order to have a more solid vision of your final product.  Definitely something I'd like to try on some of my projects in the future.

a 3D look but a 2D Feel

I am a huge fan of traditional 2D animation. I love how ridiculously expressive you can make the characters, and I love how you don't need to depend on the physics of the real world to make your cartoon enjoyable. When I see films like Disney's frozen I ask myself the question of "Why did this need to be animated" or rather "What is animation adding to this story". And to be frank I don't know that I've found an answer aside from the fact that having 3D models of every character comes in real handy when rolling out lines of action figures and other such merch.

It's not that I don't like 3D animation in general. I just feel that it can get so close to the look of the real world that any abstraction would severely disturb the audience watching.

Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs was a 3D animated film produced by Sony Studios that I feel captures some of the very best that 2D and 3D animation have to offer. Take a look at the clip below:

While the look of the film is undoubtedly 3D, it really does feel like you're watching 2D cartoon. The characters move erratically  and emote expressively, you can see during periods of fast movement that someone has actually gone in and drawn smears and multiples into the 3D frame, and whatsmroe is that it never takes itself too seriously.

Like I said before, I don't have a problem with 3D animation as a medium, but I'd love to see it used to it's full potential.

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2

For the final blog I chose to look at Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs 2 because I just watched it on Netflix and found myself marveling at the animation.  I think what impressed me most was the different textures that the animators created - from the wild tufts of hair on the main characters head down to the patterns in the antagonist's lab vest. 

I also enjoy how the animators use subtle things to convey the characters changes in emotion - the pupils getting bigger to show excitement, or the eyebrows furrowing to show disappointment and sadness.  Overall, I thought this was an impressive, and hilarious, movie that everyone should take some time to watch!

Intro

Hello! My name is James Sussan. I'm a senior TVR major. Looking forward to working with you all this semester.

I've always been fascinated by animation. It's a ludicrous amount of work to produce, with a high level of skill involved, but the result could be something absolutely glorious every time. Not only that, but the possibilities and creative boundaries of an animated project are nearly limitless. As evidenced time and time again by film studios such as Disney, Pixar, and Dreamworks, a fully realized animated film can leave an impression that lasts a lifetime, whether a feature-length project or a quirky short.

In our first couple classes, we've started learning the basics of animating in After Effects. Essentially, I now know how to create a shape, and make it do certain pre-programmed actions using code. The idea that a person can start with something as simple as a few shapes and a few codes, and end up with something as heart-warming as "Toy Story", or "Up", is something that truly excites me for this class. Not that I am expecting to create a full, professional, animated film anytime soon. However I'm sure my experiences in this class will be a lot of fun and will help me appreciate the art of Motion Graphics and Animation to the fullest.

An animated movie I saw recently that really surprised me was "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs". I never saw this movie when it came out, because I honestly assumed it would be stupid and unfunny. The children's book it was based on never seemed like the type of thing to be translated into a successful film. A friend showed it to me a couple months ago though, and now its up there with some of the best animated movies I've ever seen. It's creative, hilarious, and yes, at times heartwarming. It's nothing at all like the children's book it's based on, which is a great thing because this allowed the movie to create original characters that helped push the raining food concept into a cohesive story.

Luckily for me, there's a few behind the scenes videos for "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" on YouTube. One of my favorite scenes from the movie is the Jell-O Palace Flint creates for Sam. I think this is pretty much everyone's dream:

I always liked watching these types of videos, where the animation gets broken down step by step. I'm sure they'll mean a lot more to me however by the time the semester is over.

These videos already make the amount of work put into animation look really scary. Despite that, I can't say I'm not eager to try my hand at it. Hopefully I can make something one day anywhere close to as cool as these movies. 

Today's forecast

is Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. Kind of... my post for today is about Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. I have a secret obsession for little kid animated movies and this is one of my top three. What draws me in are a few things: the fact that it rains delicious food, the quirky characters, and especially the vivid colors of every scene. The whole movie is eye candy to me.

The movie is based on the children's book. For those who don't know the plot I'll sum it up for you. The main character is Flint Lockwood and he makes a serious of failed inventions his whole life, but finally he finds a breakthrough invention where a machine can turn water into food. It's all dandy until the machine flies out of control and is sucked into the atmosphere. Over a span of a few days the town of Swallow Falls experiences some weird weather, where it rains food. This turns into a huge (literally) uncontrollable issue and Flint needs to deactivate the machine before the town is ruined. Of course it has a happy ending because it's rated PG. It's a really cute movie and if you have a little brother or sister you could watch it with because you don't want to look like a weird 20 year old watching a kids movie, I recommend it. Have a great weekend!