Retakes and Revisions
When working in television/episodic you often have to make a choice regarding the quality of the final product. I have worked on series where the budget is quite large, resulting in numerous retakes and revisions in order to get to the highest quality possible. Mr. King does not have that budget. Not even close. In fact, we have one of the smallest budgets in recent memory. So when it comes time for calling retakes/revisions one has a difficult decision to make. What to call? What is the level that one aim to achieve. This goes for all departments. Storyboards, Location design, Animation, FX, Music.
What do you do when time, money and crew are short?
In short...Know your show.
Know what show you are making.
Ensure the show you are making falls within the budget attributed to it.
Be as clear as possible with your direction, in all areas.
Find a common language with each department to ensure efficient and accurate communication.
And, you don't have to settle. You do have to be able to adapt however.
Sometimes things don't go as expected. You pick your battles but you still have battles. Push for quality but have realistic expectations for what is possible without losing the morale of your crew.
We're all in it together, along for the journey. And at the end of the day I want everyone to be proud of what they've created and to look back on our production knowing it's the absolute best we could do.
Oh, and so far, Mr. King has exceeded my expectations, from all departments.
Monday, January 28, 2019
Tuesday, November 27, 2018
The pressure of an opening
I was tasked with coming up with an idea and subsequent board for the opening credits of Mr. King. The one catch was that it needed to be 30 seconds in length. Normally this wouldn't be too much of a problem as most opening themes today are on the peppy/high energy side. The plan for MR. King however, was to be a series that had a quiet type of energy. I also wanted to steer clear of an opening that had lyrics. " Mr. King, yeah, Mr. King, yeah, he's so remarkable...that Mr. King, yeahhhhhh."
Booo...
I've always loved the opening musical theme to Babar. Thought it was sweet, pretty, and beautiful. And recognizable. Norm Beaver, one of the heads of our music department, cast the net and we received 10 submissions of various themes. Long story short I chose a piece, the rough version you'll hear in the attached video, from Erica Procunier. Now that I had the piece of music the boarding could begin. My initial thought was for the opening to have a series of backgrounds representing each of the characters homes, pop up like a pop up book. One BG swinging toward camera only to be replaced by another. I tried this first and determined it didn't work. Back to the drawing tablet I tried another version where each location would" paint on. Again this didn't work as there were too many characters homes to show. I then tried a different approach entirely by having Mr. King paint his castle home as each character came to watch. Though it kind worked time wise I finally determined that no one, the audience most importantly, would know what the heck was going on. I grew increasingly more frustrated and also knew the clock was ticking as far as deadlines go.
On a Wednesday night, a week ago from this posting, I decided to just throw in the towel and stop. I'd have to ask for some sort of extension in the morning. Went to bed. The next morning I arrived at work and decided to open the very first pass/attempt that I had boarded. I stared at it for about 30 seconds then decided to cut my first background, which was Mr. King's house. This was all it took and it timed almost perfectly to the music. Obviously I had to climb a mountain to fully understand what I had at the base. Thankfully it has been well received by our group of commenters and I am happy to share the leica for the opening, with rough temp music, below.
Looking very much forward to the final product.
Booo...
I've always loved the opening musical theme to Babar. Thought it was sweet, pretty, and beautiful. And recognizable. Norm Beaver, one of the heads of our music department, cast the net and we received 10 submissions of various themes. Long story short I chose a piece, the rough version you'll hear in the attached video, from Erica Procunier. Now that I had the piece of music the boarding could begin. My initial thought was for the opening to have a series of backgrounds representing each of the characters homes, pop up like a pop up book. One BG swinging toward camera only to be replaced by another. I tried this first and determined it didn't work. Back to the drawing tablet I tried another version where each location would" paint on. Again this didn't work as there were too many characters homes to show. I then tried a different approach entirely by having Mr. King paint his castle home as each character came to watch. Though it kind worked time wise I finally determined that no one, the audience most importantly, would know what the heck was going on. I grew increasingly more frustrated and also knew the clock was ticking as far as deadlines go.
On a Wednesday night, a week ago from this posting, I decided to just throw in the towel and stop. I'd have to ask for some sort of extension in the morning. Went to bed. The next morning I arrived at work and decided to open the very first pass/attempt that I had boarded. I stared at it for about 30 seconds then decided to cut my first background, which was Mr. King's house. This was all it took and it timed almost perfectly to the music. Obviously I had to climb a mountain to fully understand what I had at the base. Thankfully it has been well received by our group of commenters and I am happy to share the leica for the opening, with rough temp music, below.
Looking very much forward to the final product.
Thursday, November 22, 2018
Animation, almost the final frontier
When our production started I knew our studio was going to be very busy. I also knew the city was going to be very busy. As a result when it came time for crewing up animators I knew it was going to be a challenge to secure senior type animators. Don't get me wrong. I have no problem with junior types and in fact readily welcome them. But there was a fear that I would be "stuck" with an entire team of inexperienced animators. Animation, after all, is what this is all about.
Judy Leung, our studio manager, was tasked with crewing up Mr. King. It was a challenge to be sure.
Long story short...We hit the Jack Pot! Judy has managed to put together a great group of animators that to date have pretty much nailed the look which I was hoping for. All but one of the animators are new to our studio. All of them have fantastic attitudes. All seem very happy to be working on the show. And most importantly, we have a great balance of experience.
I like to think the series is animator friendly. It helps that I was an animator for many years and thus have structured the show to allow for achievable deadlines. I will post samples of some of this beautiful work in the near future.
Judy Leung, our studio manager, was tasked with crewing up Mr. King. It was a challenge to be sure.
Long story short...We hit the Jack Pot! Judy has managed to put together a great group of animators that to date have pretty much nailed the look which I was hoping for. All but one of the animators are new to our studio. All of them have fantastic attitudes. All seem very happy to be working on the show. And most importantly, we have a great balance of experience.
I like to think the series is animator friendly. It helps that I was an animator for many years and thus have structured the show to allow for achievable deadlines. I will post samples of some of this beautiful work in the near future.
Client notes, without the clients
So Mr. King is a bit of a unique production in that we don't have outside clients. I have worked with demanding clients who have a strong idea of what quality is, despite budget, and I have worked with clients who have no idea what a constructive note even is. The notes they give can either push you towards achieving higher quality or end with you wanting to rip your hair out out of frustration.
For Mr. King we essentially have the following people giving comments on scripts, leicas, and finished animation.
Hugues Dafour: Corus Kids/Network guy
Genevieve Cote: Creator/Illustrator of Mr. King
Vanessa Esteves: Supervising Producer
Kids Can Press: The publisher of the Mr. King book series.
Stacie Goldin: Educational consultant.
I personally couldn't be happier with this group. When Comments are given they are constructive but more importantly come from a place of caring about Mr. King.
What helps, I think, is that they had all been brought on early enough to be apart of my vision for the series. They all were won over by my initial pitch and I believe felt they were part of something special. In the beginning when things are most fragile, they each gently offered up concerns or suggestions, keeping their ego's in check. This was very constructive and helpful. As a result I feel very fortunate for the group we have and like to think they too feel very much a part of what will no doubt be a very successful series.
One thing to note in particular about notes...It's okay to not have them. In fact this can help immensely with confidence and focus. Compliments, honest ones, are as important. And just because you can make a comment, doesn't mean you need to.
Sometimes things are beautiful just the way they are.
Below, for posterity, are some comments I received on a leica for Mr. King's Picnic.
For Mr. King we essentially have the following people giving comments on scripts, leicas, and finished animation.
Hugues Dafour: Corus Kids/Network guy
Genevieve Cote: Creator/Illustrator of Mr. King
Vanessa Esteves: Supervising Producer
Kids Can Press: The publisher of the Mr. King book series.
Stacie Goldin: Educational consultant.
I personally couldn't be happier with this group. When Comments are given they are constructive but more importantly come from a place of caring about Mr. King.
What helps, I think, is that they had all been brought on early enough to be apart of my vision for the series. They all were won over by my initial pitch and I believe felt they were part of something special. In the beginning when things are most fragile, they each gently offered up concerns or suggestions, keeping their ego's in check. This was very constructive and helpful. As a result I feel very fortunate for the group we have and like to think they too feel very much a part of what will no doubt be a very successful series.
One thing to note in particular about notes...It's okay to not have them. In fact this can help immensely with confidence and focus. Compliments, honest ones, are as important. And just because you can make a comment, doesn't mean you need to.
Sometimes things are beautiful just the way they are.
Below, for posterity, are some comments I received on a leica for Mr. King's Picnic.
Leica notes – 5A Mr. King’s Picnic – rough leica notes
Genevieve, Vanessa, Hugues (no notes)
Lovely story with timely social undertones!
No notes from me, just one tiny suggestion: maybe the ant's antennas drooping to amplify their exhaustion? (scene 30-31)
Mr. King's neat manners with the napkin at the end are very cute - obviously, Tex has taught him well!
Adorable. Love the ant-burp at the end ☺
No notes.
Makes me nostalgic for a summer picnic!
All good!
END
Monday, October 22, 2018
Product placement
Eliana Clemente was hired as my Storyboard Revisionist. But she is so much more.
A talented draftsperson she has been able to help out with Prop design and perhaps someday soon, colour.
In the meantime her passion for our little project has shown no bounds. I present exhibit A: A Mister King Hot Water Bottle Cozy.
First in a long line of M. King products, I'm sure.
Like Mickey Mouse I'm sure it will be worth a fortune some day.
A talented draftsperson she has been able to help out with Prop design and perhaps someday soon, colour.
In the meantime her passion for our little project has shown no bounds. I present exhibit A: A Mister King Hot Water Bottle Cozy.
First in a long line of M. King products, I'm sure.
Like Mickey Mouse I'm sure it will be worth a fortune some day.
How to rig a character
Or how to rig a character for efficiency.
I have worked in hand drawn animation, Flash animation, and 3D animation but never really worked in Toon Boom's Harmony. That being said I've always felt that character rigs at our studio may be a bit over produced, if that makes sense. Some times characters are rigged so thoroughly they take away the necessity to actually draw. Some times the rigs don't fully consider the final look of the character or the range of motions they'll be put through.
One of the first conversations I had with Scott Williamson, or TD Supervisor, was that I wanted a simple rig for our characters that was going to be easy to work with and very efficient. Our characters have an animated texture which glows within and a sort of charcoal, sketchy line. I wanted the texture to have little to no impact whatsoever regarding the animators and the brush line had to be easily replicable. Scott was able to deliver on both accounts as well as add some special treats which we discovered during our time together on Bubble Guppies. We're talking sliders which control pre posed character posing and expressions. buttons which control the animated textures being on or off, timing of textures, opacity of textures and a bunch of other stuff I have no idea about.
Some of this has existed before Mr. King but to my knowledge not as efficient and simplified.
I have asked Scott to type up a more thorough list of that which he has worked to create but for now I think he's too busy creating more "simple" tools.
Craziness ensues
So as expected it's been a while since posting. Partly because it's been more of the same and partly because it's more of the insane.
Scripts continue to pour in, as do character designs, prop designs, background designs. Storyboards have been launched, Leica's put together, actor records...recorded. It's relentless.
And I couldn't be happier!
Scripts continue to pour in, as do character designs, prop designs, background designs. Storyboards have been launched, Leica's put together, actor records...recorded. It's relentless.
And I couldn't be happier!
Art at last
Wouldn't be much of a production blog if I didn't start sharing some production art work.
The backgrounds Don has been working on are spectacular!The characters that Sun Mi and Emily worked on, amazing! The props that Bora and Nick have been working on, stunning.
Such amazing talent that I'm fortunate enough to be working with.
See some samples below...
Friday, August 17, 2018
Scripts..or how to pack a punch
7 minutes.
7 minutes to tell a story.
Beginning, middle, end.
Moral/learn.
7 Minutes can be more than enough time to tell a story, if properly paced.
As with everything 'Mr. King' related, less is best would be the best approach.
The Remarkable Mr. King was created to match Genevieve's (writer/illustrator) books which had carefully told stories with beautifully, deceptively simple, illustrations. She only painted what needed to be painted, but in a unique way.
She only wrote what needed to be written, but in a storybook way.
Scripts for Mr. King are no exception to these rules. And some times, most of the times, our writers get caught up in the excitement of our characters. They write fun actions, great interactive dialogue, exciting actions. And it's both Andrew(script editor) and my responsibility to ensure we remove most of it. We skim through every line, every note, ensuring that when we're done we're left with only what's necessary to tell the story in unique way.
This is why I created the writers style guide. Obviously they all know how to write, but sometimes being literal to a three act structure, helps one focus.
A typical Mr. King story follows...
Act 1: Mr. King likes/dislikes something. He is presented with the opportunity to act on this and has his "Big Think", which is the formation of his plan on how he thinks he should pursue his like, or deal with his dislike. This "Big Think" leads us into Act 2.
Act 2: I usually like three events to happen through Act 2. Three things that gradually grow to show our audience that this was perhaps, not the best course of action for Mr. King to take. It always results in an "Uh oh!" moment where Mr. King realizes must acknowledge his mistake and have a Thoughtful think in order to fix his error in judgement. This leads us into Act 3.
Act 3: Essentially this act is where Mr. King fixes the problems he may have caused from his Big think and shows the correct, more appropriate way of dealing with his original desire. Act 3 always ends with a special moment between our narrator and Mr.King sharing a poignant moment together, summarizing the learn in a well thought out sentence or two. Something remarkable.
7 minutes may not seem like a lot of time to incorporate all of this info. But if you think of it like 2 minutes 20 seconds per act, if written carefully, should be more than enough time to tell an entertaining Mr. King story.
And we mustn't forget about the music...
7 minutes to tell a story.
Beginning, middle, end.
Moral/learn.
7 Minutes can be more than enough time to tell a story, if properly paced.
As with everything 'Mr. King' related, less is best would be the best approach.
The Remarkable Mr. King was created to match Genevieve's (writer/illustrator) books which had carefully told stories with beautifully, deceptively simple, illustrations. She only painted what needed to be painted, but in a unique way.
She only wrote what needed to be written, but in a storybook way.
Scripts for Mr. King are no exception to these rules. And some times, most of the times, our writers get caught up in the excitement of our characters. They write fun actions, great interactive dialogue, exciting actions. And it's both Andrew(script editor) and my responsibility to ensure we remove most of it. We skim through every line, every note, ensuring that when we're done we're left with only what's necessary to tell the story in unique way.
This is why I created the writers style guide. Obviously they all know how to write, but sometimes being literal to a three act structure, helps one focus.
A typical Mr. King story follows...
Act 1: Mr. King likes/dislikes something. He is presented with the opportunity to act on this and has his "Big Think", which is the formation of his plan on how he thinks he should pursue his like, or deal with his dislike. This "Big Think" leads us into Act 2.
Act 2: I usually like three events to happen through Act 2. Three things that gradually grow to show our audience that this was perhaps, not the best course of action for Mr. King to take. It always results in an "Uh oh!" moment where Mr. King realizes must acknowledge his mistake and have a Thoughtful think in order to fix his error in judgement. This leads us into Act 3.
Act 3: Essentially this act is where Mr. King fixes the problems he may have caused from his Big think and shows the correct, more appropriate way of dealing with his original desire. Act 3 always ends with a special moment between our narrator and Mr.King sharing a poignant moment together, summarizing the learn in a well thought out sentence or two. Something remarkable.
7 minutes may not seem like a lot of time to incorporate all of this info. But if you think of it like 2 minutes 20 seconds per act, if written carefully, should be more than enough time to tell an entertaining Mr. King story.
And we mustn't forget about the music...
Technical difficulties...and successes
The funny thing about the studio I work for is that they are extremely creative but sometimes extremely complacent.
Our studio history has been extremely innovative whether creating a feature film, Rock and Rule, one of the first 3D tv series, Roly Poly Ollie, the first Flash broadcast series, Quads, a first Toon Boom series, 16, and countless innovations which helped bring productions such as The Backyardigans and Bubble Guppies to the high quality level which our audiences appreciate.
Our studio created an asset management tool called 'Nelnet' which helps one upload, download, images, scripts, movies etc, which was extremely innovative for the time. Still is actually. It's really quite amazing and not unlike popular management tools such as Autodesk's Shotgun. Better in some respects.
Unfortunately, one of the buttons doesn't work the way it should. Apparently I need to undertake some sort of quest regarding sacrifice and endurance, not unlike Jason and the Argonauts, in order to have this button fixed.
Oh well, not the end of the world, thankfully. But honestly...a button?
Our studio history has been extremely innovative whether creating a feature film, Rock and Rule, one of the first 3D tv series, Roly Poly Ollie, the first Flash broadcast series, Quads, a first Toon Boom series, 16, and countless innovations which helped bring productions such as The Backyardigans and Bubble Guppies to the high quality level which our audiences appreciate.
Our studio created an asset management tool called 'Nelnet' which helps one upload, download, images, scripts, movies etc, which was extremely innovative for the time. Still is actually. It's really quite amazing and not unlike popular management tools such as Autodesk's Shotgun. Better in some respects.
Unfortunately, one of the buttons doesn't work the way it should. Apparently I need to undertake some sort of quest regarding sacrifice and endurance, not unlike Jason and the Argonauts, in order to have this button fixed.
Oh well, not the end of the world, thankfully. But honestly...a button?
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