Table of Contents 64q43
This Thursday (16th), the live action de "Beauty and the Beast", starring Emma Watson e Dan Stevens. Looking at the dance sequence today, we get the impression that it was a very difficult scene to build. Even with the advancement of computing technologies, recreating every detail with verisimilitude is impressive. 1n1z3s
However, just over 25 years ago, imagining the original scene was really challenging.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BUCMTP6uUY&feature=youtu.be
In the 1990s, digital techniques were very little used to create animated feature films.. Disney started using the CAPS (Computer Animation Production System) it's at Pixar I experimented with short films, but the process was still very archaic. It was from the need to create dance in the ballroom that the possibilities of computer graphics really came to be understood.
In an interview with Cartoon brew, the 1991 animation supervisor, Jim Hillin, told a little behind the scenes to develop this scene.
The challenges 4g5v3s
According to Hillin, at the time, no one knew for sure what they were capable of doing with the help of computer graphics. When he entered the project, there were 9 months left for the film's release and he would have a very tight schedule ahead of him.
“They said, 'Well, we have a big sequence in the ballroom. We want that environment in CG.' And I said 'okay, it's basically just one room'. To which they replied: 'yes and we're going to be moving the camera around the inside of it,'” she said.
You can see the pencil tests of this combination of hand drawing and computer graphics below:
[Vimeo 78018499 w = h = 640 360]
Until that moment, Disney had never made a set that moved, which in itself was a challenge. But the technology available at the time, according to the GC supervisor, was able to do few things. So just imagine the level of difficulty.
"We had five people doing computer graphics at the time and really, 25 years ago, the computers we were using were probably a tenth of the capacity of what your cell phone can do today."
“Another thing was the with .”, he said. “Disney was just using it to print wireframes and didn't render anything. They had never rendered in 3D. So we had to ride another one pipeline do with to make the scene”.
Aesthetics 2s1o6a
“So I had to think, how would we build this scene looking like something Disney would do? I went to the head of the Scenery Department and said 'if you were going to paint a ballroom, what would it look like?' It took two weeks for him to paint a picture illustrating the hall from the inside,” reported Jim Hillin. But why a frame?
“Now we had something to copy. So if we could make our salon in CG look like theirs in paint, the next thing would be to move the camera and everything would be fine.
The Animation Process a4nk
The creation process was a real team task and didn't just involve the CG staff. Jim's team had to work together with James baxter and the other animators, doing everything almost simultaneously. “We would give them the tags and other details so they could physically line up their work and start animating.”
“At one point,” he remarked, “I was talking to Glen Keane [Beast animation supervisor] and said 'this is what I'm thinking of doing' and showed an example of a frame of the scenario in which they would be dancing. And I showed a floor overlay and a grid overlay that fitted to the floor, 3 feet by 3 feet. The idea was for the pattern to represent every 3 feet of the ground, giving you a sense of how to animate. How much would their feet move if they were excited to waltz, for example. When he saw it, he said 'This is perfect, I don't need anything else'”.
The reception 1k6f1v
Jim Gillin confesses that he didn't expect much fanfare for the work he did on "Beauty and the Beast."
“I that the producer Dan Hahn wrote me a note saying that this was a sequel to the movie and it had turned out amazing. And I thought, well, he's just being nice. I didn't pay much attention to her until the sequel was all over the press. And I was like 'wow, that's cool'. Of course, these days, if I mention to someone who was in charge of the CG of the “Beauty and the Beast” ballroom scene, people look at me and say “you're kidding!”. To this day she attracts quite a bit of attention,” she concluded.
And you, what do you think of the dance sequence? Do you prefer the original or the live action? Leave your opinion in the comments!
