The Incredibles Afterthought

I was bored yesterday so I went to watch The Incredibles special edition DVD that I bought a couple of years back. I watched the main movie on disc 1, alternating between with and without commentary, then I watch all the extra features on disc 2 such as the deleted scenes and making of The Incredibles.

If memory serves, I did not watch any of the extra features when I first bought the DVD. Then again, I probably don't know how to appreciate animation design back in secondary school. Watching the discs now gave me new insight to the making of an animation.

The Incredibles starts with an idea, then written as a script. Then the design team would come, working on the character, and setting designs. The story will also evolve during this time. The testing of colors, lighting for each scene will also come into play.

After all the 2-D work is done, the software and technical developer will come and design specific software for the 3-D design team to use. The sculptor will help doing the characters sculpture for the 3-D modelers to use. Actors will also come and assist the animation team and sculptor on the posture and the way the characters will act in the movie. The character Edna Mode is noted as one of the toughest, yet coolest characters of all the cast, to design.

The animation team have to work on character modeling and animation, clothing and hair simulation, location and set modeling and so on. After that, the visual effects team will work on the color feel and lighting of each scene. Violet's hair is also noted as harder to simulate and new software have to be develop in order for the hair to look natural.

Next comes the sound and music department. Because everything has to be created, sound of walking, banging, hitting and so on have to be manually created. The musical scores have to be written and recorded. Sound and music are important as they create an alternative way of feeling the movie.

Lastly is the marketing and publicity. Trailers have to be created, partners and sponsors have to be contacted. And lastly is to get the movie into the cinema.

 

Well, I am more interesting in the visual aspect of animation for now. So I also took the chance to finish reading "The Art of The Incredibles" I borrowed from the library. It features concept arts, character designs, quotations from the team, color scripts and other things from the film.