My husband studied film in college, so our ventures to the movies are always filled with unique commentary as he observes intricacies that would mostly go unnoticed among theatergoers. Although my passion for film began long before I met my husband, he has inspired me to go beyond the screen to delve into my favorite films.
Anticipation for Disney/Pixar’s latest film Brave is growing, and in preparation for the red carpet premiere and release in June, I’ll have some inside information about all that went into the creative process. During our time at Pixar Animation Studios, we had an opportunity to sit down with Claudia Chung (Simulation Supervisor), Louis Gonzales (Story Artist), Steve Pilcher (Production Designer) and Tia Kratter (Shading Art Director) to discuss the nearly 7 year process of creating the computer animated film.
Every time I see a film, particularly one that is animated, I think back to our interview with John Lasseter and his perspective on what makes a good movie:
Tell a compelling story; populate it with memorable and appealing characters; and put those characters in a believable world – John Lasseter
At the heart of Brave is a story about a mother and a daughter who don’t see eye to eye, stated Gonzales. During his presentation, he shared some insights on what it takes to get an idea onto the screen as a full-feature animated film. The story itself is constantly being fleshed out…refining and building so that they deliver a story everyone is proud of. During the early stages of the film-making process, the artists are drawing based on an idea, and it’s only when the creative team approves the outline that they are given a budget to do formal research.
Gonzales spent 10 days in Scotland soaking in as much of the people, culture, weather, and landscape as possible. The team took over 10,000 photos, drawing and documenting everything they observed and experienced to give the film an authentic Scottish feel. “We want to tell honest stories with honest characters so people can relate to them” stated Gonzales. Brave is set in 900 A.D. and everything from the earthy castle to the overgrown trees in the forest reflects that old world feel the artists aspired towards. While in Scotland, Gonzales recalled spending time with a group of locals who played folk music. The team asked questions and listened to their stories, experiences that sometimes make their way into a film. They also went to observe Scottish Highland Games and archery and met with a farmer who cared for Clydesdale horses, all of which are replicated authentically in the film.
Gonzales is as knowledgeable as he is talented and shared some interesting facts about the film’s creative process. A typical scene consists of anywhere from 200 to 500 drawings and each scene takes 3-5 days to complete. One hundred scenes were drawn but only 35 made it into the film. Over 111,000 storyboards were drawn for the film (with at least 25% more drawn that were not submitted) and if you want some comparative perspective, you’ll find that 80,000 storyboards were drawn for Cars 2 and +92,000 were drawn for Toy Story 3. As you can imagine, the film is visually stunning and spot on in it’s depiction of Scotland.
In addition to helping the artists create a believable world, the team’s two research trips to Scotland helped define the characters in the film. Both attire and the environment a character is placed in for any given scene helps to visually emphasize their personality.
Elinor (Merida’s mother) carries the weight of the kingdom on her shoulders, said Shading Art Director Tia Kratter. To emphasize that, the team gave her more weight on the bottom, bound her hair in soft fabrics and added vertical shapes to depict the control she thrives on.
Similarly, Merida is wild and adventurous and her hair is a direct representation of her spirit. In fact, according to Simulation Supervisor Claudia Chung, Merida’s hair was a character unto itself. With over 111,000 curls rendered on Merida’s head, you can undesrstand why it took 2-3 years to hone down the final look of her hair.
Even after watching the first 30 minutes of Brave, I gained a sense of the creativity and professionalism that was involved “from page to screen.” As we get closer to the film’s release, I’ll be sharing more information and exclusive interviews from the filmmakers.
Travel expenses associated with the event were provided by Disney.
Photos Disney/Pixar.
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I am seriously so excited to see this movie – love these “behind the scenes” pics and info!
Wow! This is incredible! I had not yet heard of Brave but I definitely can’t wait to see it and check out all of these amazing details! It is so easy to take for granted all of the details and animation… even what appears to be simple costume designs.. but 2-3 years just to get the hair perfected..wow.. This is definitely something to respect!
That is absolutely amazing. I’m going to show my 7 year old this post… she wants to be a fashion designer and I think she will find it really interesting! 🙂
Very neat stuff! I am so looking forward to this movie and the premiere!