Animation Basics The roles of planning and producing in animation
GCC Academy
Hello, everyone
This is Lee Jieun from Blue Wave Entertainment
Today, we'll be taking some time to explore the planning of animation and the role of the producer
Then, first of all, how does the planning process begin?
We'll learn together how the planning process begins
Secondly, we'll delve into the production process of animation
We need to understand how animation is produced
To be able to do planning, right?
And thirdly, the role of the producer
We'll explore exactly what a producer does
Finally, we'll look into how a project proposal is created
In other words, what kind of content should be included in a project proposal?
Let's explore together
The beginning of animation planning
So, how does the planning process begin?
First, we need a story, right?
There are characters also
There's a character drawing
And there's also a business plan
Then, which one should be prioritized?
A business plan? Well, I don't think that is it
It should in fact be a storyline or a character drawing
These two are commonly referred to as
A "chicken or egg" situation
However, if there's a story,
Designers tailor their work based on that text
They also design characters based on inspiration
Or perhaps you're sitting around a table,
while sitting around a table, perhaps enjoying a meal,
a character sketched on a napkin could become the protagonist
So, when we talk about what comes first, it's a bit ambiguous
But still, when storytelling and character drawing coexist,
I believe it might be the best start for planning
And then, there's the business plan
Then, how is the success or failure of animation determined in the planning stage?
The planning determines it
What's the most important thing in this planning?
Developing unique material that sets it apart from live-action films is important
Why? Because in animation, we're competing with live-action films
That's the structure we're in right now
Why this should be made into animation?
You need to consider that we're in a very important era
So, if you just make it into a live-action film because you can,
there's no real need to make it into animation
The most important thing is to make works
That feel like they 'have to be animation' into animations
Then how does it start? The planning itself
How does planning start? You need to find a subject
All that we've seen so far can be material
Especially comic books, graphic novels
As I mentioned earlier, anything with a story and pictures can be material
So, webtoons can also be excellent material
What's always important is good characters
And that good material helps with the creation of the animation
Characters are a very good material for creating great animations
Of course, storytelling is also the same
You can broadly divide it into two categories
You can divide it into two categories: works with original content and works without original content
When we talk about original content, we mean novels, fairy tales, comic books, webtoons, graphic novels, folklore, and playground/rides
There are tons of contents
The first animation was Snow White
It was Disney's first animation
'Snow White' was the first feature-length animation globally
However, Disney had a lot of difficulty when choosing Snow White
They were struggling with what to use as the basis for their first feature-length animation
What came to Disney's mind at that time was to create a story that everyone knows
Because at that time, animation was a very new medium
It's not like that now
However, back then, animation, which was a new medium
Was a very new/advanced technology, and became something like
"We'll show you familiar subjects and stories" using that technique
But while there is an original work for this, there is no owner of this original work
But there are cases where there is an original work and there is an owner
Novels, comic books, webtoons, graphic novels, and similar works have owners
Things that someone has drawn, stories that someone has written, and so on should be considered proper original works
We need to distinguish between those that are and those that are not
Moreover, we can also consider genres
The genre is what kind of story I want to write
Things we often contemplate what to watch at the theater
For instance, two people argue
"I want to watch a romance"
The other would be like "No, I want to watch a comedy"
So, they fight over what to watch
However, it seems like these days there's not much need for fighting
Dramas and movies are blending those elements quite well
But in the field of animation, there are cases where genres are somewhat divided
So, people often question themselves, 'What am I going to make?'
'Is my story interesting?'
'Is my story horrific?'
'Is this an adventure?'
Adventure and comedy are actually tied together
They're often bundled together, and there are many cases like that
Fantasy and comedy are also bundled together
So, you could say that comedy plays a role that often accompanies animation
It can be said that in modern animations, as the age group increases, genres tend to merge
So, as I mentioned earlier, original works with owners and copyrighted originals are good
They are very well-known
Also, famous, which means well-known
People want them because they're famous
Therefore
But what else is there?
Because the image of the original work is too strong,
when I turn this original work image into an animation
There's a concern about whether it can satisfy people
So, in the case of webtoons, they often switch to live-action
That aspect is less of a concern
In the case of animation, especially when there is an existing image, it's a situation where you really have to consider that part
Obviously, it has to be better than the original
And we also can't ignore the copyright
Copyright arises simultaneously with creation
Even if you draw a character on a napkin, copyright is created
As a result, you own this copyright
It lasts for the duration of your life and continues for 70 years after death
It used to be 50 years, but it has been extended
In such cases, you receive money for copyright
As one receives money, you have to pay the person who holds the copyright to buy those rights
You need to acquire the right to create derivative works, which means you can create secondary works
It comes with the drawback of "increased" production expenses
But when you consider that you have to allocate that to advertising expenses, your advertising budget decreases
If I were to make an animation with a completely unknown story that nobody has ever heard of,
I would have to promote it
It would be a similar concept if you think of that advertising budget as copyright fees
While copyright fees are something that must be paid,
It can be said to impose a significant burden on production costs
Earlier, we talked about how various things can serve as material
Traditional folk songs can also serve as successful content
That's the hit work of Korea's traditional repertoire
The song called "Baby Shark"
Originally, it's a traditional song from the Americas
It's a children song, and Pinkfong developed characters from it
Baby Shark has taken on the appearance of a yellow character
It's become a yellow Baby Shark
When you make such a preemptive move, it tends to spread
Here, it's a song, but it could be a nursery rhyme or a fairy tale,
Such things can become as excellent content
The fact that it spreads implies that many people are familiar with it
So, it can receive a lot of synergy effects
Next, let's talk about the types of animation
Theatrical feature film, OVA (Original Video Animation) series, TV animation series,
Educational animation, web animation, game animation, experimental animation,
They're divided into various categories
This production format is greatly influenced by who the target audience or viewers will be
If I were to introduce each one, theatrical feature film animations
Typically, they don't exceed 70 to 120 minutes
They usually run between 70 and 120 minutes
The reason is that they aim for a general audience rating
Because it's Rated G, even young children can come and watch
Children as young as a few years old can sit through the movie in theaters
For movies like Pororo the Little Penguin, feature-length animations
They usually run just under two hours, sometimes a little over one hour
Many of them tend to be around 70 minutes
But for Disney feature films, they tend to be a bit longer
They are Rated G
So, adults also enjoy them a lot
They're often referred to as having double meanings in the storyline, rather than just targeting children
When children hear it, it's one story
But for adults, it's packed with humorous comedy
As well as adult-theme jokes, which many feature-length films are being produced in this vein
It means that such content can be incorporated into the storyline
Even in the case of Pixar, it's the same
Disney, Pixar, and similar studios place a strong emphasis
On incorporating such elements into their storytelling
OVA stands for Original Video Animation
In today's context, this is akin to what we have with Netflix
Because Netflix used to run a business that involved
Delivering DVDs for customers to receive
But in fact, when it comes to Disney, these are well-known feature films
Such as Aladdin, there are sequels like Aladdin 2 and 3
In this manner, instead of being released as feature films in theaters,
We're talking about ones that went straight to DVD or video release
So, these kinds of films are sometimes aired on TV
Usually, they are made primarily for sales purposes
Indeed, Japan also produces many of these types of works
The Japanese OVA market is quite extensive
In that realm, the fan base is very broad and deep
So, it's not just about renting these;
Many actually buy physical copies
Physical copies refer to DVDs, and many people purchase them for collection
Hence, collector's editions of OVAs are reported to still have strong sales
TV series animation is divided into two categories
It's categorized into preschool and school-age children
The boundary is very clear
For preschoolers, there's a strong emphasis on educational content
Of course, but it still needs to be entertaining
Animations designed for school-age kids provide greater entertainment for them
More emphasis is placed on this aspect
Thus, there's a considerable presence of toys for children of school age
Therefore, many aim to target toy sales towards
Animations geared for school-age children
Furthermore, let's explore instances from overseas to elaborate on this point
Like Cartoon Network or Nickelodeon,
There are channels that exclusively air TV series animations
In this case, they also have their own unique styles
Cartoon Network, for instance, often features a lot of humor geared towards boys
Nickelodeon, on the other hand, tends to include more comedy-oriented content
You can perceive it that way
Therefore, when creating animations for international broadcasting,
There are often many collaborations with such channels
In such cases, what approach should be taken when drafting a proposal?
The proposal should be tailored to fit the preferences of the channel
It would be helpful to be aware of such cases
For instance, in the case of Nickelodeon's SpongeBob SquarePants,
Which is a very well-known comedy
The Simpsons is indeed a very famous animation
When it comes to shows like The Simpsons, they initially targeted a niche audience of enthusiasts
The target audience was young teenagers and older.
However, it became so popular and entertaining that
Even children started watching it
Initially, it garnered attention for its sharp wit and humor
There were a lot of edgy lines and humor in the dialogue
With children also tuning in, and considering The Simpsons has been around for quite some time
With children also becoming viewers,
it's fair to say that there has been a lot of language simplification nowadays
Thus, as animations become more famous,
The audience base gradually broadens
As seen in cases like this
Also, in Japan, animations are primarily based on manga, or comic books
Examples include Astro Boy, Jungle Emperor, and Lupin the Third
These kinds of works often spawn series adaptations
These series are often based on the original manga
Priority is usually given to adaptations of manga originals
I once met with Japanese TV channels
I had a meeting with them presenting our internally produced content
In a nutshell, they got straight to the point when discussing
Such as, "In Japan, having original source material is imperative,"
"Without a manga original, animation just doesn't happen,"
And they would tell you to just forget about it
So these days,
Korean webtoons are doing exceptionally well in Japan
Korean webtoons are even collaborating with Japanese animation studios
They collaborate to create animations together
In such cases, Korean originals and Japanese production
Merge to create works
It's a trend that's steadily increasing nowadays
Their works include Case Closed and Pokémon
That are very famous
So, these productions are
All based on original works from Japan
In the case of Pokémon, for example,
It originated from the game, not a manga
Anything that's famous originated from a well-known source,
That is the first requirement for Japanese animation
Because they invest a significant amount of money into it,
Japanese animation productions prefer things that are well-known
Recent works that have come out include
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba
Such animations were not available in Korea in the past
Nowadays, a lot of Japanese animations are coming in
Such works are now accessible on TV for us
Through platforms like Netflix,
Across all age groups overseas as well,
In the past, Japanese anime used to be
Anime that only attracted a niche audience in the West
But now, due to distribution based on platforms,
If I have a Netflix account,
Japanese anime is easily accessible
Korean dramas underwent a situation similar to this
The rising popularity of Korean dramas can also be
Attributed to the platforms
That allowed them to break out of niche fandom
Next, there's web animation
Web animations are,
Well, nowadays we should view this as OTT
Web animations are becoming increasingly based on YouTube
Very small-scale production companies
Even production companies consisting of one or two people
They can create and upload their own animations
When such animations catch on and become popular,
Which we commonly refer to this as algorithms
Due to algorithms, they inevitably grow in scale,
Making it difficult to remain small-scale since then
Because making one animation by waiting
Takes a substantial amount of time
Since waiting for that becomes challenging,
They start hiring many people, no matter how many,
To produce animations more quickly and efficiently
To provide services to people
The same applies to kid's song content, and we talked about Pinkfong earlier
Pinkfong itself has a lot of animated content based on those songs
It's somewhat ambiguous to precisely call that animation
Pinkfong itself has created a significant category of animation content
Alongside those, there are other characters like Pororo, Kong-Suni, and Robocar Poli
That create song content and reproduce it
The animation production method
Is being utilized in various ways
This approach leads to the creation of original animation content
On platforms like Amazon, YouTube, Netflix, etc.
To stand out from other media,
They focus on producing original animated content
Initially, they acquired content from animation producers
For distribution purposes
Excluding Disney, Amazon, YouTube Netflix, and others are not animation production companies
Hence, they seek to possess exclusive content
Due to their substantial financial means
OTT original contents
And animated contents are being produced
There are also cases where well-known works are produced as spin-offs
Netflix also produced spin-offs of content like 'Larva'
A spin-off of a series like 'YooHoo and Friends' has been produced
And is currently being shown on Netflix
The production process of animation
Now, let's delve into the steps
Involved in creating animation
The animation production process is broadly divided into 2D and 3D categories
2D animation involves hand-drawn artwork
In simple terms, 2D animation is like our hand-drawn artwork
Recently, most animation is done digitally
You can also draw on your phone
Hence digitalization has progressed a lot, but
Indeed, we're talking about drawings done by hand
Additionally, our conversation pertains to computer-generated 3D animation
3D animation refers to
Using software programs and
3D computer graphics
To create three-dimensional visuals
But back when 3D wasn't available,
Computer animation began to emerge
In the late 1990s and around the 2000s
It became closely associated with the start of 3D animation
Before the proliferation of computer animation,
During a time when such technology wasn't actively used,
What we referred to as 'stereoscopic animation'
Or '3D' didn't exist in the same way we understand it today
If asked what was considered three-dimensional,
one might think of clay animation
And similar techniques as being three-dimensional
I was told about it
By the creator of the term "claymation"
When asked why they chose that method of work, they responded
At that particular time, clay was the only available choice
For creating three-dimensional animation
Besides claymation or perfect animation,
I will provide you with an overview of the production process
By categorizing it into 2D and 3D
So, what do we need to create animation?
We will need a script
First, we'll need a script and characters
Let's start with the script
There's a script
This script is for a fairy tale or
For example, Disney did 'Beauty and the Beast,' but
Let's use that as an example for now
In the case of Disney's 'Beauty and the Beast,'
Considering it's a Disney production, they would have the characters
Prior to that, there's a storyline where a girl is held hostage instead of her father
And she lives with the Beast
And they live happily ever after, and so on
There was a story like that
That's the script,
Adapted and expanded from that story
That, along with art development, becomes part of the process
We require art direction to depict the appearance of her home,
the castle they resided in,
and other visual elements
In this scene, we direct it with such and such framing, or with this kind of shot,
And translating it into visuals is what a storyboard entails
And with that storyboard in hand
We create something called "story reel animatics"
Recently, we've been producing a significant number of these animatics
Even in the early 2000s,
We barely used animatics in Korea
However, this technique gradually becomes more common
Storyboarding involves connecting comic-like images together,
And when we play them in sequence,
We can generally gauge the length of a scene
Or how long it will be
Therefore, this process is a necessary step
So, after going through this animatics process,
After confirming the storyboard, we determine the timing,
And then we move forward with animation using it as a guide
So, when it comes to the 2D production process,
After going through the scenario, art direction, and so on...
Next, let's talk about the posing stage
Posing involves creating various poses
It's like when someone says,
"Try to strike a good pose for the photo"
So, posing discusses which poses
Are most effective for animating
By combining layout and posing,
We transition them into the animation process
And then we proceed with coloring
Once coloring is done, we also check to ensure everything is done correctly
Then we composite all these elements together
And that's the animation production process, leading up to the final editing stage
This is a storyboard illustration
As you can see here on the storyboard,
Everything you wrote is visualized through illustrations
That is the storyboard
Which is absolutely essential for every step of the production process
Not only 2D, but 3D also
Storyboard production is a mandatory part of the process
In 2D animation, storyboarding is even more critical because
The facial expression of characters, among other things,
The storyboard artist needs to capture everything accurately
Otherwise, the entire animation production process
Can be severely compromised
Storyboarding is particularly crucial in 2D animation
It's important in 3D as well
It's important in 3D as well, but it doesn't necessarily have to be drawn the same way
Since there are already character models created through modeling in 3D
I'm particularly emphasizing the importance of storyboard in 2D
And then to designing characters
Character design is also necessary
Through various stages, until the final character is completed,
A considerable amount of design work is involved
Especially in animation,
'Is this character likable?'
Or 'Is this character attractive/beautiful?' These aspects are crucial
Therefore, characters that stand out
And all the other things, including color schemes
Are decisions we make during the character design process
Next is layout
When we talk about layout,
It involves arranging various images
Specific layouts are
When a character goes to a certain place,
For example, the place the character needs to go to
Or the character's living quarters
If the character is abandoned somewhere,
Then they're abandoned in a very scary city
Then you would imagine such abandoned city
The layout design allows us
To understand what kind of atmosphere it is
It's broadly divided into two categories
The layout design directly used in animation, and
Layout design for setting the mood
So, it's divided into these two categories
And another aspect is in the layout process
When considering how a character fires a gun, for instance
Showing how the gun is fired
Showing the hand movements involved
Those are included in the layout process
So, when these actions come together to form a sequence,
It becomes animation
The difference between 2D and 3D can also be explained
Based on the software utilized
In terms of production
I mentioned that 2D is more flat, while 3D is three-dimensional
Pre-production refers to the processes before actual production
This process is quite similar
Designing characters or creating concepts
These aspects are similar in both 2D and 3D
Similar, but the kind of program used afterwards
Software program is now also available in 2D
You don't just draw by hand anymore
2D has been digitized
However, 3D programs are quite different
Hence, there's a process called modeling
Let's assume the previous steps are the same
Because there's a process called modeling,
Starting from cubes or box shapes and then sculpting as if carving
There's a process of creating characters like that
And then rigging
There's a process of connecting those parts of the character
With these elements, a 3D model is created, and then placed into a background
The process of laying out and placing the character onto a scene or background
And then animating
The process of animating and trying out movements
And then adding special effects
And then rendering
Rendering is the process like
The process of developing a photo
After that process,
It involves compositing to produce the final output
If I were to explain with a bit of drawing,
There's a modeling process
There are modeling and mapping processes
Modeling often starts from cubes in the beginning
You divide and shape those cubes in various ways
Positioning here and there, shaping it
Eventually forming the shape of a human or an animal
Creating the model through this process is what modeling is all about
For a very concrete example,
Think of it like sculpting
Starting with a big rock and chiseling away at it
Sculptors essentially carve out a person from there
Or alternatively, molding and shaping with clay
Creating and shaping the model, whether it's a person or anything else
Think of it as digitizing and replicating that process
Once the character is fully created,
Then you need to apply coloring or texturing on top of it
Then, you flatten all of that out
Using tools like Photoshop to enhance it
That's when coloring is applied to the image, which is called mapping
In 2D, layout refers to
Placing the character on top of a background image
In 3D, layout involves
Placing the created 3D modeled character on top of a 3D modeled background
Placing the character onto the background
Creating it just as seen in the storyboard
So, actually, the storyboard
Might not show every detail
That's why storyboards are considered
More crucial in 2D
In 3D, you can reference and utilize anything you want
As long as the story continuity is maintained
Whereas in 2D, much more delicacy is required
This is a scene for animating
Most animation programs are set up like this
Divided into four panels
You view it from four angles to see how the character moves
You need to think three-dimensionally
And animate accordingly
2D is flat
You only need to animate the scene you're viewing
Whereas 3D is three-dimensional, so
You animate from the top view, right, left, and also from the top down
Sometimes, you even need to view from the bottom up to the floor
So, you work on the animation by viewing it from four perspectives
That's the way to think about it
Rendering process refers to
As we discussed earlier, we flatten out everything
Like flattening a three-dimensional box, you flatten the character
And then you also add coloring and such
Illustrating with a sense of reality
You an consider rendering as that kind of process
Therefore, after the rendering process,
The characters that didn't look good earlier
Now really looks like
The feeling I had when I colored it
Of course, here there's also lighting and such
These kinds of things need to be included
And there's something called compositing as well
Compositing is when you combine two or more images to make a single picture
Which involves creating a scene by arranging various elements
In fact, when rendering, it's common to render the background and characters separately
And then composite them together
This is the process of combining the final elements together in the end
The process of combining them into a single image
Is what you call compositing
The role of a producer and the creation of a proposal document
The most important aspect of the producer's role is
Writing a project proposal
The contents of a project proposal include various elements
We'll discuss them right now
First of all, the title
The title needs to be clear and engaging
It should be a title that is both easy to understand and memorable
Therefore, for these reasons, it's good to have impactful titles
And an overview is also necessary
The overview describes what the project is about
I will explain it with some real situations
This project is a work that I have produced
It's called 'Teenie Scouts BigFive'
There are Season 1 and 2
And this is a TV series consisting of 11-minute episodes across 52 episodes
The duration and number of episodes are important details to include
The production method is important
It is produced using stop-motion animation
And then language
It is available in two languages: Korean and English
Lastly, there is a target audience
The target audience refers to the age group that the content is intended for
I hope you would consider that as important
These details are essential components of the overview
Let me explain the intent behind the 'Teenie Scouts BigFive' plan.
I will explain why we created this project
Here, we aim to engage children in adventures with toys,
In a lively, exciting world
To cultivate social skills in children through role-playing and experiential learning in a fun and vibrant world
That was our intention with this project
So, for a project like 'Teenie Scouts BigFive,' the target audience would primarily be preschool-aged children, so it would need to be very gentle
It should definitely have content that is gentle and not harmful to children
Also, before writing this proposal, we conduct market research
To understand whether children would enjoy this type of content
Market research also serves as the foundation for our planning
The market research includes successful case studies as well
Also considers current trends to ensure alignment with what is popular nowadays
Differentiation is also a key consideration in market research
Why the 'BigFive'?This type of content would likely be included to explain the reasoning behind the project's name and concept
And how the project will differentiate itself from other similar works
From the brief glimpse you've seen of the 'BigFive,'
You'll notice there are cars and dolls, among other things
So, we benchmarked Toy Story for our project
Because the theme of toys is the same
However, Toy Story is a feature-length animated film
Thus, the age range is a bit higher
Since our target audience is preschool-aged children,
The contents that should be included in it are
That is highly beneficial and somewhat educational for children
So, looking at the synopsis, it goes like this
Here is our content
The Big Five are toys living in the kids cafe Little Big Hero
After the children finish playing and return home,
The toys in the kids cafe come to life and begin their own day
And the Big Five are the heroes of the toys
Whenever fellow toys encounter adversity,
They stand as the steadfast protectors, ready to intervene
Alright, what adventures await them today?
This is an example of a synopsis
And for the universe,
As I mentioned earlier, the universe that Big Five emerged from
The world where only certain toys live
Without the presence of humans
Such universe is established
With that particular universe in place, we create the story
We can't really deviate from that universe
That's how crucial the universe is
And another important aspect is
The part about which characters we'll use for this project
This is a bit of a brief overview
The character's name is Pat
This character is a police car named Policecar
And it can transform into a robot
I summarized it quite succinctly
Next comes the business plan
In the case of 'Teenie Scouts BigFive,'
We built the story upon a toy,
Besides animation, there were also considerations regarding toy merchandise
Next, we need to include the schedule
The schedule indicates how much we've produced
And how much more production is needed
With that production timeline in mind
By reverse-calculating the personnel expenses, we can determine the production cost
And then we'll need to include the schedule table
This is how the project proposal is comes together
Based on this proposal,
You can proceed with producing the animation
Summary The beginning of animation planning Preparation process for planning Story (writing), character drawing (graphics), business plan Types of animation Feature-length theatrical animation OVA original series
TV animation series Educational/enlightening animations Web animations Game animations Experimental animations
The production process of animation The production process of 2D animation Script - art direction - storyboard - animatics - layout - posing - animation - coloring - checking - compositing - final editing
The production process of 3D animation Script - art direction - storyboard - animatics - modeling - rigging - layout - animating - special effects - rendering - compositing
Producer's role and project proposal creation Contents included in the project proposal Title Overview Planning intentions Audience Differentiation from other works Synopsis Universe Character introduction Business plan Schedule and costs