COLOURBOARDS & MATTE PAINTINGS

Some images from the title sequence, the black and white rough storyboards with their fully coloured counterparts. We did a lot of 2D work in the film, simulating 3D environments that we could not have fully achieved in 3D due to our budget restrictions, yet the style of the film and its art fully complements the use of this more handcrafted look. 

The opening titles are the perfect example of where the use of 2D was well integrated in the overall movie.

Above one of our flying images in full colour. This colourboard greatly helped us visualize some of the flying sequences in terms of light and mood, like in this case where the birds are flying upward out of a storm and into clear skies.

LIGHTBOARDS part II

As promised here is a little insight into the work of a most talented artist, and overall supernice guy, with which I had the pleasure to work with on Yellowbird, and without whom the film would not have had such a succesful and unique visual style: Romain Jouandeau.

 And typical of Romain, he speaks of himself and his artwork in very modest terms, and allows his pieces to speak for him.

I shall do the same, giving you only the briefest of information of each artwork and allowing you to look through some of the most striking pieces Romain produced, conceptual work and lightboards, which are used to set the tone for the colour palettes and light indications to be followed in order to light each scenario.

The following pieces are but a few of the hundreds of works Romain, and all the artists on the film,  produced in the 2 years he worked on Yellowbird.

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 Above the aerial shots of the French countryside painted by Romain for the musical scene at the end of the first act. I wanted to visualize the start of the journey in a fun, almost music video way, to skip through the traveling moment of the film with a lighter tone. We were lucky enough to have the Gogol Bordello song Uma Menina, kindly offered by Eugene when I approched the band. It captured the free punk spirit, birds flying in the sky freedom, and earthy vagabond-like Balkan moods I wanted for the film's music perfectly. And the bird's eye view shots here were inspired by the work of photographer Yann Bertrand.

CDV- When and how did TeamTo approach you first to work on the development of the film? 

 

RJ- I knew corinne Kouper the producer from before, we had already worked together on another project.

CDV- as an artist and designer you seem to have a pretty eclectic style, not settling for one in particular but exploring various possibilities. How did you come to the stylized designs for Yellowbird and what made you focus into this direction? 

 

RJ- Though I always liked working in different styles, Yellowbird’s style was rather new for me. By the way I was not the one who chose to work with this style as Benjamin had already worked a lot on the visual development of the film when I started. It’s actually the result of a number of artists working on the design, the intentions of the director etc...Little by little I think we evolved towards something more physical in terms of lightning and textures than was intended at first, still trying to keep that very specific “hard edges” style.

Below are some of the conceptual artwork and lightboards painted by Romain for each of the scenes of the film. Starting from the very first scene in which Yellowbird as an egg falls out of his nest into the spring morning French forest.

CDV- After the development of Yellowbird designs you went on to Computer Games artworks. How would you compare the experiences in terms of the artistic choices you make on both?

RJ- These 2 genres are very different indeed and going from an animated movie to a very realistic video game was not easy, but that’s what makes this work interesting. For Yellowbird the challenge was to make this style work with no prior references to go by. It’s exactly the opposite when you work using a realistic style, where you can always use the reality which surrounds us as a reference. Nevertheless going from one style to another is very gratifying, it opens doors which I did not even know existed when you’re used to just working with the same style. Even if the technical issues are different , the goal is still the same, to tell a story while keeping a coherent world.

 Here we see the arrival of Darius in to the abandoned Church, where he meets Yellowbird. I was inspired by the many derelict churches the French countryside has and, very similar to Italy especially after the Second World War, so many small villages that centred their life around the small church built before them, became ghost towns. I felt the setting was apt for the scenes involving Yellowbird meeting Darius, and Yellowbird taking over the leadership of the migration; there was something about the old ways fading away and passing, and the new way of life taking over that I felt was coherent to the setting and scenario, so the old abandonded church came as a natural choice.

CDV- Your involvement in the film was early on, how do you view the final look of the film now that it is complete, compared to your original concepts and designs for the film?

RJ- I worked 2 years on Yellowbird which gave me the unique chance to see the movie being done all the way to the end. I’m amazed to see that my work really transpires in what can be seen onscreen. The 3D team did an amazing work when you know how difficult it is to adapt 2D images into 3D, and especially with a look such as Yellowbird’s.

 

 

Above the Paris scenario Romain loved so much. It formed the basis of our Paris scene, one of the funniest and yet touching moments in the film.

CDV- What was your favourite experience on Yellowbird? Favourite scene/moment?

 

RJ- There was really a great team spirit in the studio during the whole time. No matter how many problems we ran into, everyone was always very positive!

I think that it can be felt in this very joyous movie! My favorites scenes are probably the ones in Paris, set in my neighborhood in Montmartre!

Even if my natural inclination is to work in a more realistic style, I’d love to have the chance to work again on a film such as Yellowbird!

Starting with two of the shots in the opening title sequence, we see the talent and scope of Romain's work, able to translate my rudimentary briefs into full colour pieces that give all the departments all the information they need to create the shots. 
I was especially keen on the shot of the raggedy boat on the small canal, which ends the title sequence, as its abandoned feel stirs up the same emotions felt in seeing little Yellowbird growing up without a nest, a family and his natural parents.
 

 

Two examples of the Twisted Trunk, the tree that is the house of our family, the main flock of birds we follow on their migration.

 Arriving at the Hotel Tree was always an exciting scene for us, and voiced by Elliot Gould, the conniving Owl makes for the perfect comedy character to bring the third act to life. Initially it was my most problematic sequence as it slowed the main story down and the recorded dialogue was too long. I was faced with the impossible task of cutting Elliot Gould's lines down to about 50% of what he had recorded, yet still keep the narrative and, especially, the comedic genius, intact. On seeing the sequence again, I feel that the process of storyboarding and re-storyboarding the scenes was quite successful as the Owl lost none of his strong comedy beats, and still drove the story forward. Even cutting the dinner sequence out of the film (you can see Romain's take on the scene in the lightboard below) doesn't take anything away from the scene. 
When working out what to keep and what to cut from the story or a film I follow one simple rule: if you need to bring your film down from 1 hour and a half to 1 hour and 15, or from 7 minutes to 5 minutes, it's all the same, regardless of how beautiful or striking a scene is,if it's not driving the narrative along you can do without it. If the scene is not giving you any important story points or revealing any pivotal character points then you should cut it. If you can say what you want in a simpler and more straightforward way then do without it. 
It would be great to be able to do a 3 hour animated opus, but the truth is, after 1 hour in a cinema most children need at least a toilette break, or a snack or simply need an attention break... Some scenes become necessary cuts... And the dinner scene in the hotel tree was just that- I could say everything that 4 minute scene said in one new line of dialogue dropped in another scene. It may not have been as pretty, or as well choreographed, but it's functional, and at times that's all you have to do!

 

Finally we leave Europe and start venturing North... Following a leader who really doesn't know his bum from his elbow; never mind leading a flock through their migration. I was very clear on one aspect of the colour brief of the film, which all the artists like Romain took on board: as the flock progressed North I wanted to strip the film of its colour and its warmth. I wanted to start from the welcoming and familiar warm colours of the Autumnal French forest, reds, oranges and yellows, and journey to the cold blues and greys. Until arriving to the absence of colour... The cold whites of the Arctic.

The colour journey the flock takes is the emotional journey of Yellowbird, who accustomed to one way of life, accustomed to his small World withing the confines of the abandoned house he grew up in, accustomes to a life of safe and warmth unused to the uncertainties of real life, has no real connection to others. So little by little I wanted the film to visualize the removal of the comforts he knows, stripping away the warmth and emotion until he has to reveal himself, his true self, to everyone, coming clean and revealing all his lies. Only then he, and we, could journey back to the warm colours of home... In the flock's case, Africa!

And luckily artists like Romain helped achieve these themes and ideas.

CHARACTERS part IV... DELF

Delf is the heart of the family. In her own terms a leader, taking after her father Darius, the flocks elder, she educates the young chicks in the ways of being a bird, of migration, opening their senses to the World from a bird's eye view.

Above an image from the classroom scene at the start of the film in which Delf teaches the young birds how to read the stars.

 

It was a difficult task to keep Delf a strong character throughout the film's arch when she goes through such hardship in the story.

(Warning: plot spoilers coming up)

The hardest issue I found, working through the storyboards, was to make the blossoming relationship between Delf and Yellowbird believable, yet subtle. I didn't want any big 'falling in love' scenes, and Delf always has a reason for convincing Yellowbird to carry on with the journey, to give him the strength and to boost his confidence and courage to continue leading their migration even when his own determination falters.

She needs to have reasons for this, and of course the health and safety of the flock are her priority once Darius passes away.

It's also this event that throws Delf's emotions into disarray, and lacking a strong father figure she connects to the new natural born leader... Or at least that's who she believes Yellowbird to be.

So it was this kind of dual aspect of the relationship I was interested in highlighting: Delf needs Yellowbird to lead the flock through the migration, even if it means conning him into doing it, and yet she starts to see his kindness and warm hearted nature and begins to warm to him.

Again we were blessed by a strong performance from our lead actor Dakota Fanning, who had the amazing talent of producing a warm, charming and heartfelt performance in two days, working with myself, a director who in the previous 4 days had flown from Paris to L.A. to record with Seth Green, then with the transatlantic jetlag setting in and flew overnight to New York.

Here Dakota was waiting to give colour to the straight role in the film. A colour in abundance we got!

It is always challenging to be the straight guy, when all around you are brilliant comedic turns from all the ensemble, yet every comedy needs this role, the one character who sees the madness around them.

Except in Yellowbird, Delf is so emotionally upturned by the events, she can't really see through Yellowbird's lies.

Below is one of the brief documents given to the animators and story artist in order to start learning the character, who they are, their personality and quirks, and points of reference.

 

 

Design wise we wanted Delf to look charming and light, we knew immediately she had to be graceful and in a bird like way, attractive.

As we settled early on to distinguish each character with different shapes and designs, even though they were all part of the same family, it was acceptable for her to look very different to her relatives, and to Darius in particular.

It would have been confusing to have a family of 12 birds in which they all looked alike, even if they slightly varied in shape and size; so the decision we made was based on maximizing each character's personality and charm.

Even Karl, the fastidious and annoying second in command who has his leadership usurped by the young upstart Yellowbird, has charm in his design; there's appeal in the shapes and stylization. And his character and attributes are perfectly captured.

I will go into more depth about Karl in a future post, as he is my favourite character.

So with Delf we settled on a long neck, giving hr silhouette an immediate grace and fantastic poise.

This assuredness in the pose really helps distinguish her strength of character, yet allows the animators to achieve poses that are graceful and light. And by lowering the neck it is very easy to show submission, or a loss of confidence.

In particular, as I wanted to see the birds move and act like real birds, the lowering on the posture was a very strong way to show a character's submission to another's will- much like in the animale kingdom.

Yet Delf never yields in the film, even when challenged strongly by Karl, she stands up for herself, and for Yellowbird... Even though her confidence and trust in the new leader will prove to be costly to the family and her.

As a point of reference and inspiration I looked at specific birds and gave animators briefs which contained plenty of information regarding these particular spieces.

The European Roller, a migrating bird who's predominantly blue plumage with touches of organges, purples and blacks makes them very distinguishable.

Formidable flyers and migrators, the rollers can be quite stocky, and as a species it is very striking in its strong direct flight.

 Above you can see some of the information given to the animators. Knowing the spieces of bird was very important to me to give the birds personalities, movement and mannerisms. On the bottom right corner you can view a comparison between an European Roller and Willie one of our characters in the flock.

And for elegance and lightness I asked the animators to look at footage of the Japanese Red-crowned Cranes which, with their beautiful graceful dance and posture would bring some of the qualities I was seeking in Delf's posing.

We do also play a lot with the size of her eyes, having these huge saucer sized pools of emotion you can stare into, I wanted to be able to use this as a tool to get the audience close to Delf, but also for comedy. In one romantic scene between Delf and Yellowbird, where she tries to convince him to continue the journey while he's torn by the feelings for her, the need to tell the truth and the fear that this truth will ruin the friendship, I use the eyes in a way that teases a little the usual romantic scene, and pokes fun at the big eyes shot you usual get in these moments in animation... We go way big with Delf's pupils!

 Below a lightboard image from the movie in which Delf stands with her father Darius observing some birds departing on their migration.

Below the 3D progression of the character in its model stage

 

LIGHTBOARDS- part I

A quick one this time to introduce the artwork of Romain Jouandeau, our amazingly talented concept and lightboard artist.
I will go more in depth into this aspect of the film's artistic production shortly, with artwork and a conversation with Romain where he shares some insight into his work on the film, but for now I'm here to share his fantastic work as he has just started his own blog on the work he produced on Yellowbird.  

You can find the blog here:

The Art Of Romain Jouandeau on Yellowbird

Enjoy!

STORYBOARDS part I- a conversation with story artist DEAN ROBERTS

As in all films the storyboarding process begins quite early, most times without the luxury of fully completed designs to help you along the way to finishing your sequence. So it is common to have the frustrating task to work through your initial versions of scenes designing sets, props and at times characters, until the approved ones are delivered to you.
Yet the first passes of the storyboard are also the most exciting and fun, when you're free to explore many avenues and possibilities which to take the story and characters.

The first job I undertook when leaping on to the Yellowbird project was to work through the changes I wanted to apply to the story and characters, and the best way to achieve this was through the storyboard.
I commenced working on very rough thumbnails, working through the many ideas I had for each scene, yet one man alone cannot storyboard a whole film in a few months, so I pulled together a small team who could achieve this in the budget and schedule we had at our disposal.
We had only 6 or 7 months to complete the whole film in storyboards, aiming to have the animatic done a few months after that.

The first story artist I approached is probably the fastest pencil I know: Dean Roberts, story artist on Corpse Bride, Gnomeo and Juliette, Tale of Desperaux, The Golden Compass, to mention a few.

I met Dean while working on Frankenweenie and, aside from the speed in which he delivered scene after scene of beautiful yet simply drawn shots, I was amazed by the quality of the ideas behind the drawings. I always felt that a storyboard artists best asset is not really his or her drawing skill but the strength of the ideas, the ability to solve story issues, untangle complex problems in the narrative of a film's story, its characters, and to visualize these in the best shot and edit options.

Here Dean gives us a little insight in his work process and the task of storyboarding Yellowbird's most challenging scenes.

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CDV- You storyboarded some of the most dramatic and also cute scenes the film? How do you begin to work a sequence as tense as the shipwreck, and jump to one as light and fun as the classroom? What are you're starting points, and where do you look for inspiration? 

DR- With the classroom scene I had the voice artists performance as inspiration. Its always easier to work with the final performance as I can draw my storyboard panels to reflect the voice artists' delivery. As the scene was about Delph being teacher I positioned the birds to look like they were in a classroom set up even though they were in the branches of the tree.

The shipwreck scene was all about drama and atmosphere.I had lots of reference of old rusting derelict tankers to help with scale and detail. I established that the two search parties went off in separate directions. The ship was on its end which made it interesting to stage . I wanted to show that the various locations the birds searched were at dangerous angles which meant avoiding shots with the usual horizontals. Doors were shown on their side , railings ran upward and the birds had to fly vertically up and down as they navigated the ship. I also wanted to show the scale of the ship compared to the tiny birds lost in its corridors. its great to get 'scale on the big screen' I also drew these boards with more tone than usual to create the scary atmosphere that would hide the oil covered sea birds showing them mostly in silhouette.

Below are the panels of the start of the shipwreck sequence.

CDV- as a storyboard artist you have to have a pretty varied and eclectic CV, yet you're drawing style is specifically your own, you seem to come to your own shorthand for characters regarldess of the visual style of the film; do you focus more on a films' cinematic style and how do you come to recognize this, and apply it to your storyboards?

DR- I worked as a traditional animator for many years and learned all the posing and staging rules that make 2d drawing clear. I learned from many great animation artists and you pick things up as you work. Eventually all the little things you learn become your own style. I also have my own strong values of storytelling and staging which I try to apply to my sequences. Good reference always helps. I like to have model sheets of the main characters at hand . yellowbird had pretty much all the main characters designed when I joined the production so it was easy to slip into the style of the film. Knowing the locations makes designing your sequence easier . It can also highlight staging problems too.

CDV- I always prefer to make an initial editing pass on my storyboards even though I know a lot of storyboards rely on an editor to cut their storyboards for them; how much importance do you give to cutting your own work, and how do you find the 'rthythm' within a scene?

DR- I've been storyboarding for so long now I tend to self edit as I draw . A lot of board artists thumbnail first but I tend to dive in with final boards. This may seem foolhardy but I find I draw better when I commit . If I thumbnail first my finished panels tend to become stilted versions of the thumbnails. This doesn't mean I never thumbnail . I still need to work things out on complicated sequences such as 'shipwreck.'

I work on toon boom's storyboard Pro which is a superb program for drawing panels and seeing sequences play as you work on them . It has a timeline across the bottom of the panel which allows me to quickly see my sequence running more or less as an edited scene . This way I pretty much know that my seq works as I intend it when I turnover to edit . Of course story edit decisions are made which can mean things get chopped but that's part of the process. You tend become thick skinned as a storyboard artist.The panels are there to function the film not to stand out as little illustrations.

CDV- Your involvement in the film was early on, as one of the first storyboard artists. How do you view the final cut of the film now that it is complete, compared to your original storyboarded scenes?

DR- I was very pleased that my sequences were pretty much intact in the final film . It helped to have a good relationship with Christian, the director. We could talk about the scenes and work out how we wanted each beat play . I got closer to where the scenes needed to be a lot quicker this way. It was still then down to me to get drawing!

CDV- What was your favourite experience on Yellowbird?Favourite scene/moment? 

DR- I think my favourite moment was in the shipwreck when Karl was arguing Delph on the loose girder. I had the voice track and got to do a bit of broad acting . Karl was very funny to draw. 

CDV- And is there something specific you'd like to add to the post about your work? 

DR- I am proud of my work on Yellowbird and several of the sequences I worked will be part of my portfolio in the future . The story and characters allowed me to produce some of my best work I've done over the past few years.

In the coming posts, as well as continuing to delve into the design and characters of the film, I will now discuss some of the pivotal scenes in the film through the storyboard, then lay-out and finally animation.