Studio Early Marchabout

Week to week, not a whole lot is different at the big studios. I stumble into this or that animation facility, toting my bag of 401(k) books. I chat people up, then stumble out again.

Exciting, no?

Once in a while, I look at an animation loop on somebody's computer and think: "Heey. That looks interesting." I tend not to look at storyboards hanging on walls or character development stuff because I make a conscious effort not to know much of anything. Like, a few days ago I'm in a story artist's cube when the story director comes in and initiates a conversation about redoes on a sequence. And a discussion ensues about whether one of the characters in the background of a story panel should be facing the doorway, or facing the window, or not be there at all, since now the foreground action is different and it doesn't play the same, yadda ... yadda ...

And I sit in a corner, mostly tuned out. Since I'm not plugged into story development anymore, I pay no attention when I'm accidentally around it. This is partly self-protection on my part. When I get asked for details about some feature or other, I want to be able to say truthfully "I don't know," rather than lie.

The other reason? Getting characters gracefully on and off screen, or deciding whether the pratfall or witty line works better in the middle of the scene or at the end isn't my bag anymore.

But work continues apace at DreamWorks and Disney Animation Studio. Kung Fu Panda is now receiving final touches with lighting before its June release. And heavier production work is happening on Bolt, with some crew getting into overtime as the wheels of production spin faster.