The Making of 'The Good Dinosaur,' Frame by Frame
Storyboard
Walt Disney himself created the modern animation storyboard process in the 1930s, and it’s only gotten more intense since then. Above is one of a whopping 154,061 boards that were created by the story team, which eventually sent 87,748 on to the next stage.
Concept art
The basic sketches then go to the editorial department, and some get translated into concept paintings that capture the look and tone that the director and cinematographer Sharon Calahan want to give the film. This frame-worthy piece was painted by Calahan herself.
Sets
From there, it’s time to begin putting the hand-created environments into the computer. The sets created the environment by using data from the US Geological Survey, a new approach that allowed them to place the action anywhere in the frame. The shading team then decorated it with color, texture, and other details.
Layout
Here is where an entire scene is built in the computer. The layout team places the characters and objects into the landscape according to both the needs of the story line and the environment created by the sets team.
Animation
Here’s where the characters come to life, as they turn from objects into moving, gesturing, and talking heroes and villains. The animation team uses more than a thousand tiny controls to manipulate the actions of each character, turning cartoon dinosaurs into nuanced, believable protagonists.
Lighting and final image
This is when the finishing touches are applied. It’s incredibly important, as the lighting department ties it all together and illuminates each frame with complicated lighting patterns that transform it from flat frame to lifelike environments.
Pixar generally takes many years to make its movies, because in animation, every single frame needs to be planned and manufactured from scratch. It’s arguably even more complicated for computer animation, because of all the steps required to build, manipulate, and polish the characters and landscapes in the film.
With Pixar’s 16th feature film The Good Dinosaur out this weekend, Yahoo Movies takes you inside the making of a single frame in the studio’s most visually accomplished film. Click through to see how it happens.
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