Fri 19th Aug 2011, by Meleah Maynard | productfocus
Motion comics have been evolving since they emerged as a new type of entertainment more than a decade ago and Ian Kirby has been involved since the beginning. In fact, Wikipedia calls Broken Saints, a Flash-based animated film series released in 2001 that Kirby made in his parents’ basement with a couple of friends over three years, "one of the earliest examples" of motion comics. What is a motion comic? Utilizing a variety of techniques, a motion comic takes an existing comic book property and re-imagines it as an animated film.
Armed with a combination of 2D and 3D animation, visual effects, creative editing, direction, original music and voice talent, the creative possibilities for motion comics are virtually unlimited. Kirby is proving that today with Sequence—his Vancouver-based design and animation company. Sequence still makes motion comics, but their clientele has grown to include heavy hitters like Warner Bros. and Disney (among others). Having moved beyond Flash, they now rely on Adobe After Effects for 2D animation and MAXON’s CINEMA 4D for 3D animation.
Sequence used CINEMA 4D for several key Red Riding Hood scenes. To populate the forest, tree illustrations were placed on hundreds of 2D cards in the C4D scene.
Sequence’s latest project is a prequel episode to Warner Bros. feature film Red Riding Hood. Entitled Red Riding Hood: The Tale Begins, it combines live action and advanced motion comic animation. “The line between motion comics and traditional animation is almost indistinguishable with this project,” explains Kirby, adding that the animation style was very unique. “It's a fluid painterly animation with 3D walk cycles, full lip assignment and complex particle systems.”
C4D was used in several key scenes, including a dramatic pull back through a dense forest. Painted still imagery was projected onto the 3D geometry of the cabin to give it a texture and feel that integrated seamlessly with the 2D animation. Illustrated trees were then placed on hundreds of 2D cards in the C4D scene to populate the forest. As the camera pulls back through the forest, atmospheric depth and particle systems bring the scene to life.
이미지를 종심깊게 배치하는 방법은 이미 전통적인 것이 되어 버렸죠. 글에 나왔듯이 어언 10년...
하지만 종심의 깊이만 믿고 안주하는 성향이 이미 서구와 일본 모두에서 나타나고 있지요.
시청자들의 무의식 속에서는 " 뭔가 2% 부족하다 " 고 이미 느끼고 있습니다. ( 그게 사실은 200%일 수도 있음 )
인터넷에서는 이미 불평이 나오고 있는데 회사에서 일하는 사람들은 느끼지 못하는 듯....
마치 디즈니가 픽사에 뒤진 것이 3D를 쓰지 않았기 때문이라고 판단하는 우를 범한 거와 비슷합니다.
디즈니가 픽사에 뒤진 이유는 관료시스템으로 창작자를 죽이고 재미없는 "제품"을 양산했기 때문이지..
3D를 쓰지 않았기 때문이 아닌데 말이죠. 애꿎은 애니메이터들 20년 경력자도 마구 해고하질 않나...
근래에 등장한 이미지를 종심상에 배치하는 기법들 마저도 결국 이런 사고의 연장선상에 있다고 봅니다.
얕은 종심에 창작자 자신을 노출시키는 다소 위험한 위치에 서도 문제가 없도록 혁신이 필요하지요.
참호를 100줄로 파더라도 토마호크 미사일 1발이 그걸 무시하고 사령부 2층의 3번째 창문을 때리는 것처럼 말이죠.
표현의 주안점에 조금이라도 비껴나가면 타협하지 않는 깊은 미학에 기반한 마음이 필요합니다.
그것을 뛰어넘어야만 새로운 창작의 세계가 열릴 겁니다.