Figure 1
Pre-production
Pre-production involves establishing the plot of the
completed animation. Because each shot in animation is so labor-intensive, it's
imperative to get shots right during pre-production. Re-animating a shot
(because a character uses knowledge not gained until later in the story, for
example) is very expensive, especially compared to live-action filming.
Most animations are storyboarded, in which the main action in each scene
is drawn in a comic book-like form. Storyboards are usually pasted on large
foam-core or poster board sheets, which can be quickly read through by the
staff. During pre-production, the staff reviews the storyboard for consistency,
and parts of the storyboard may be redrawn multiple times.
Production
Each shot in a 2D animation involves multiple single
drawings of characters(although some computer programs such as 'Anime Studio',
can create characters much like puppets, which can be posed at different
keyframes, and the computer moves the character between those keyframes). To
demonstrate the concept, think of a still camera that can take many photographs
in rapid succession. Imagine aiming that camera at a person and taking many
quick photographs as the person walks towards you. Each photograph corresponds
to an individual drawing in an animation.
A shot may contain only one drawing (especially in
"limited animation" forms like anime), but usually contain about ten
to twenty drawings. These drawings are divided into "keys" and
"in-betweens." Keys are important drawings that convey the extremes
of the character's movement--the first drawing is almost always a key--while
in-betweens (or "tweens") are the remaining, less important drawings
in the shot.
Typically, each drawing begins with a sketch, in pencil,
of the character's pose. This drawing is then cleaned up in ink, though this is
not always done; Disney went through a period in which this step was skipped,
as is most clearly visible in the original 101 Dalmations. Skipping the
inking step was thought to make the animation look more vibrant and alive, but
critics and audiences didn't like the look.
This is the point at which computers often step in. Some
companies hand-ink each drawing, writing over the cleaned pencil lines with a
pen. Others--especially studios whose artists can draw very clean pencil
lines--will scan the pencils directly into the computer, then ink the drawing
digitally.
The drawing is now considered a "cel." Before
computers, the drawing would now be photocopied onto a sheet of clear celluoid
or acetate, then hand-painted. This created a "cel," which was placed
on top of a background painting and filmed with the click of a film camera.
Cels are still highly prized by collectors, though few true cels remain. Many
of those on the market are reproductions.
Today, the digital cels are colored on a computer.
Meanwhile, a background is drawn (on the computer, or hand-drawn and scanned).
The background is imported into an animation program, and each cel is layered
onto the background in succession. This is then saved on the computer as a
single video file.
In practice, the keys are usually drawn by a top
animator, and these are then scanned and assembled into a "rough cut"
of the shot while the keys are given to a junior animator, who will draw the
tweens. The film can then be assembled during production, and junior animators
can be directed in small adjustments to improve the flow of each shot and
scene.In Asia, this is typically when dialog is recorded, so that the junior
animators can match the tweens to the vocal performance.
Post Production
Even after all the tweens have been colored and added to
the animation, the film is far from complete. There's still music and sound
effects to be added, as well as visual effects (glows, hazes, etc.). The
animation also may need to be edited in the more traditional film sense; shots
cut slightly short or held longer, even scenes cut entirely. It's said that one
famous anime series (Gundam Seed) changed its ending when the primary actor
broke down during recording, and new animation was hastily drawn, colored, and
incorporated into the final minutes of the show.
Refference :
- Picture
