Otto: WHAT MAKES THIS CHARACTER ENTERTAINING?
NOT JUST "IS THIS CHARACTER BELIEVABLE?
DOES HE HAVE A BACKSTORY?
IS IT A REAL PERSON THAT COMES FROM SOMEWHERE?"
BUT I ALSO WANT TO KNOW
WHY A SCENE WITH THIS CHARACTER IS WORTH WATCHING.
GOOD ANIMATORS ARE REALLY PEOPLE
WHO HAVE A LOT OF DIFFERENT SKILLS.
MOST OF THE TIME, THEY HAVE SOME DRAWING SKILLS,
THEY HAVE A GRAPHIC SENSE,
AND THEY'RE ACTORS -- THEY'RE PERFORMERS.
THEY HAVE TO PERFORM
AND UNDERSTAND THE ART AND CRAFT OF FORMING A CHARACTER.
THEN THEY HAVE TO HAVE A MUSICAL SENSE,
BECAUSE RHYTHM IS INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT.
AND THEN IT'S ALSO INCREDIBLY TECHNICAL --
WORKING WITH THESE COMPLEX RIGS
AND UNDERSTANDING WHICH CONTROL DOES WHICH SHAPE
OR GIVES YOU WHICH LIMB TO MOVE.
AND MY JOB, IN A SENSE, IS SHEPHERDING THE CHARACTERS
THROUGH THE PROCESS FROM DESIGN THROUGH MODELING, RIGGING,
BUILDING THE PUPPETS --
THESE DIGITAL PUPPETS, IF YOU WILL --
AND INTO PRODUCTION, WHERE WE ACT OUT SHOT-BY-SHOT.
AN ANIMATOR, IN A SENSE, IS THE ACTOR OF AN ANIMATED MOVIE.
HE TAKES A PUPPET AND BUILDS A PERFORMANCE WITH IT.
SO, THIS IS MY HOME OFFICE.
THIS IS WHERE I DO A LOT OF DRAWINGS.
THE BEGINNING OF PRODUCTION,
THIS IS WHERE I SPEND A LOT OF TIME IN.
I SURROUND MYSELF WITH A LOT OF, LIKE, ART.
THERE'S ALWAYS A STACK OF BOOKS,
PARTICULARLY COMIC BOOKS THAT I LOVE THAT INSPIRE ME.
I HAVE THESE AROUND ALL THE TIME,
AND I USE IT SOMETIMES WHEN I'M STUCK.
I JUST KIND OF OPEN A COUPLE PAGES
AND FIND SOME INTERESTING ATTITUDES,
'CAUSE ANIMATION, A LOT OF IT IS ABOUT SEEING ATTITUDES,
SEEING PEOPLE ACT A CERTAIN WAY.
YOU KNOW, THE WAY A STAND-UP COMEDIAN DRAWS FROM A POLITICIAN
TO THEN, YOU KNOW, IMITATE THAT PERSON ONSTAGE.
WE DO THE SAME THING,
BUT WE DO IT WITH DIFFERENT ARCHETYPES,
WITH DIFFERENT TYPES OF PEOPLE, WITH ANIMALS,
AND WE DRAW FROM THAT AND WE BRING THE CHARACTER OF THAT OUT.
AND WE HOPE THAT WE CAN FIND WHAT'S ENTERTAINING ABOUT IT,
AS WELL AS VERY SPECIFIC ABOUT IT.
WHEN WE START OUT,
WE HAVE NUGGETS OF IDEAS THAT WE KNOW WE MUST HOLD ON TO.
YOU KNOW, THE HOOK OF THE FILM,
WHO THE MAIN CHARACTER IS AND WHAT HIS MOTIVATION IS.
WHY DO WE TELL THIS STORY?
IMAGINE YOU HAVE TO BUILD A CHRISTMAS TREE, YOU KNOW,
IN THE DARK WITH 500 PEOPLE,
AND ALL YOU HAVE IN THE BEGINNING
IS A TRUNK AND A COUPLE OF BRANCHES.
AND THEN LITTLE BY LITTLE, YOU START ADDING ALL THESE PIECES,
AND EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE, YOU SORT OF, YOU KNOW --
"OKAY, THIS IS NOT WORKING," YOU GO BACK.
AND IT'S REALLY ONLY WHEN YOU START PUTTING THE LIGHT ON
THAT YOU REALIZE WHAT YOU HAVE AND WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE.
USUALLY, WHEN I START THE SCENE, I BOTH DO IT SORT OF VISUALLY --
I TRY TO FIND OUT WHAT THE SHAPES AND THE POSES ARE LIKE --
AND I ALSO KIND OF, IN MY HEAD, I PLAY IT OUT, I ACT IT OUT.
SOMETIMES, I ACTUALLY GET INTO THE POSITION
AND SORT OF IMAGINE, LIKE,
"WHAT IF IT WAS A CAT THAT BARFS UP A PIECE OF FISH?"
AND I GO [RETCHES]
BUT IT'S A COMBINATION OF ME IMAGINING
WHAT THE SCENE FEELS LIKE, ACTING IT OUT,
AS WELL AS THE VISUAL ASPECT OF IT --
WHAT ARE THE SHAPES, WHAT'S THE COMPOSITION?
AND THEN I GO FROM THERE.
WE SORT OF FIND THE CHARACTERS AS WE GO ALONG,
AND THEN ALL THESE LITTLE THINGS GET ADDED ON,
WHETHER IT'S FUR OR HAIR OR THE WAY, YOU KNOW, EYES FORM.
AND LITTLE BY LITTLE, WE START BUILDING SCULPTURES.
WHAT DOES THE THREE-DIMENSIONAL VERSION OF THAT LOOK LIKE?
ONCE WE HAVE THE CHARACTER DESIGN,
THEN IT'S ABOUT DEFINING
EACH CHARACTER'S PERFORMANCE STYLE AND EXPRESSIONS.
WE HAVE TO GO TO TREMENDOUS DETAIL,
BECAUSE EVERYTHING HAS TO BE BUILT FROM SCRATCH.
A SIMPLE THING LIKE "IF I MOVE A MOUTH CORNER UP,
HOW DO THE CHEEKS BULGE?
DO WE HAVE A WRINKLE HERE?
IS IT VERY SIMPLE, OR IS IT VERY SOPHISTICATED?
DOES IT HAVE MULTIPLE WRINKLES?"
THE DESIGN DECISION HAS TO BE MADE ON ALL OF THAT.
WHEN WE TRY TO FIND WHAT MAKES THIS CHARACTER ENTERTAINING,
WE SOMETIMES PLAY WITH IMPROV ACTORS.
AND WE USE THE ANIMATORS THAT ARE HERE
AND WE GIVE THEM CERTAIN TASKS.
IT'S ALMOST LIKE I TRY TO POSE AND ANIMATE ACTORS
WITH THE DESCRIPTIONS THAT I WOULD USE AS AN ANIMATOR.
Man: THANK YOU FOR SAVING MY LIFE.
Otto: THAT WAS AWESOME -- BEAUTIFUL.
Woman: BRAVO!
Otto: WE'RE BUILDING OUR ANIMATION POST BY POST,
LIKE WE DID IN THE OLD 2-D DAYS,
WHERE WE DID HAND-DRAWN ANIMATION,
WHERE YOU HAVE A BLANK PIECE OF PAPER AND THEN A DRAWING,
AND THEN THAT DRAWING ILLUSTRATES AN IDEA.
AND THEN YOU GO TO THE NEXT DRAWING
AND KEY-FRAME BY KEY-FRAME, YOU BUILD A PERFORMANCE.
BECAUSE WE HAVE THE LUXURY
OF LOOKING AT SOMETHING AS MANY TIMES
AND EDITING AS MANY TIMES AS WE CAN,
WE HAVE TO BE VERY CAREFUL
NOT TO LOSE THAT SENSE OF SPONTANEITY.
THAT'S WHY WE USE EACH OTHER A GREAT DEAL,
AND WE NEED OTHER PEOPLE TO GIVE YOU FEEDBACK.
OH, YEAH. THAT'S AMAZING.
IT'S SUCH A TEAM SPORT, IF YOU WILL -- ANIMATION --
THAT YOU HAVE TO MAKE SURE
THAT EVERYBODY'S KIND OF PUSHING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION
AND, AT THE SAME TIME, MAKING SURE
THAT YOU GET ALL THE POTENTIAL OUT OF EACH ANIMATOR'S SKILL,
AND SO THAT'S MY JOB.
IT FEELS LIKE WHEN YOU WORK ON A FILM FOR SO LONG,
YOU'RE SORT OF -- YOU STOP GROWING.
PARTICULARLY IN THE LAST YEAR,
YOU STOP EVOLVING AS A PERSON,
BECAUSE ALL YOU THINK ABOUT
IS THIS THING THAT YOU'RE WORKING ON
AND EVERYTHING YOU SEE IN YOUR DAILY LIFE
IS RELATED TO THAT
OR YOU RELATE IT TO THAT IN SOME WAY.
YOU KNOW, ANIMATORS REALLY DRAW FROM LIFE --
YOU KNOW, OUR KIDS OR OUR FAMILIES.
THERE'S A SCENE IN THE FIRST "HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON"
WHERE TOOTHLESS IS MIMICKING HICCUP'S SMILE,
AND THAT WAS JUST AROUND THE TIME WHEN I HAD A BABY.
AND I REMEMBERED THAT MY SON WAS SORT OF TRYING TO SMILE,
AND IT WAS KIND OF THIS WEIRD...
LIKE, HE JUST COULDN'T DO IT,
BUT, IN A WAY, YOU GOT THAT HE WAS TRYING TO SMILE,
AND WE THOUGHT THAT THAT WAS A GREAT IDEA --
LIKE, "LET'S TRY AND MAKE TOOTHLESS DO THAT
FOR THE FIRST TIME."
AND IT'S SUCH A BEAUTIFUL MOMENT IN THE FILM.
CREATIVITY IS LIKE A DARK ROOM,
AND YOU GO IN AND YOU START SHINING LIGHT ON THINGS
AND YOU BUILD OUT FROM THAT.
I THINK IF YOU HAVE A LOT OF EGO
AND YOU THINK YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU WANT --
I MEAN, THERE'S A FEW PEOPLE THAT CAN DO THAT.
THEY'RE GENERALLY GENIUSES.
THAT'S NOT WHO I AM.
I'M CAPABLE OF LETTING IT EVOLVE
AND KEEP ADDING ON TO IT, KEEP MAKING IT BETTER.
TO ME, CREATIVITY IS ABOUT SEARCHING FOR SOMETHING,
AND WHEN YOU KNOW IT'S GOOD, YOU NEED TO NOT LET IT GO.