Production Recap Feb 27th to March 10th

Lately on Pet Projects...

Things have been a bit different the past two weeks: part of the team was off, and still the show must go on!

On March 1st, Mack Bo joined the team for animation and started working on some tests to get into the style. That allowed Rik to see more concretely what the characters could become once animated: with both Pablo and Mack Bo's tests in mind, it was decided that most of the animation would be on 2s (one key frame every second image) and that we would animate on 1s only for specific, action-packed shots.

This question often animates (pun intended) the beginning of a production as this influences the overall style - more smooth or cut - and the pace of the animation team. Choosing to be on 2s means a more jumpy and less time-consuming style. And, as a producer, I can only approve, right?

Mack Bo's first test.

To give work to animators, you may have understood that we needed to move shots to layout and allow Hjalti to work on them to set the cameras and the main timing. As shown below, Hjalti didn't work on facial expressions... not that he could have! Indeed, Met was off on vacation last week so the rigging step didn't advance in the meantime.

Another expressive layout shot by Hjalti.

As Vivien and Julien were off too, there was no new elements in the design, sculpting or modeling steps. This proved to be challenging as Rik had ideas to discuss or test but had to remain patient and focus on what could actually be done. That's another reality of production: people need time off, the project often has to keep going and we all have to adjust. Plus at Blender we also have artists working on development, like Simon who spent a few days with the Geometry Nodes team. Nothing new here though, just more juggling!

Rik's blocking of the int. rocket.

So, what did Rik do with part of his team gone? He managed to advance some designs and mock ups to help Beau's work on sets and props, and he started working on layout with Hjalti. See, you can't be bored when making a movie.

Come back next week for more final designs and, hopefully, the first animated faces!

Pet Projects is currently in pre-production and the progress can be followed here on the Blender Studio website.

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