Animation Guild | We are 839 Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1153535
FALL 2019 41 left: Magic inspired by the aurora borealis. opposite top: Yi triggers the yeti's magic while playing the violin in front of the Leshan Buddha. opposite below: The characters traverse the Chinese landscape. THE JOURNEY BEGINS The story kicks off in a futuristic Chinese city—glass filled, vertical with neon lights and crowds. "A lot of color and shapes seem very rectilinear and hard-edged, a lot of reflections and neon signs and graphics, and kind of intentionally hiding the sky and not showing stars or clouds until we leave the city, and then we get that contrast to start the adventure," says Boas. The adventure is a journey across 2,000 miles of majestic landscape that eschewed iconic landmarks familiar to Westerners (like the Great Wall) for the beauty of Quindao Lake, the vibrant Luoping canola fields, the massive Leshan Giant Buddha or the vast Gobi Desert. "I put a giant map of China on my wall when I started plotting the journey," says Culton. Though the characters travel logically from East to West, Boas says, there was "definitely some movie magic and liberties as far as how much ground they're covering." But the real challenge was conveying a sense of the evolution of the journey. "If you don't switch up your color palette through every sequence and be really specific, it doesn't feel like you're actually traveling," notes Culton. Each location had to have a signature look to underscore progress without repetition. "We researched a lot of the real locations—distinct palettes," says VFX Supervisor Mark Edwards. "The Buddha [has] this rich green foliage around this reddish sandstone. It's fairly distinctive. The canola fields are this ridiculously vibrant yellow, so that influenced where we would take that scene. But it was always thinking about time of day, lighting, construction, and how we could make it feel like a unique set at every placement." Boas, a painter, started developing a color script early on, mapping out the whole movie and creating a linear timeline of mood and color. The iconic blue of Mt. Everest represented home for the yeti and was used sparingly until they reach their destination. The color script's emotional arc also centered on Yi, who begins as a rebellious teen unwilling to accept the warmth of her family. Boas associated warm shades with Yi's mother and grandmother so at the end of the film it's a tool that conveys acceptance and resolution. A blueberry grove that exists by the Yellow Mountain inspired another sequence and setting. "The Yellow Mountain really showcases the scale and scope of that location," says Boas of the carved staircases that traverse the cliff face. "They fly off with a magic giant dandelion." Images courtesy of DreamWorks Animation/NBCUniversal "If you don't switch up your color palette through every sequence and be really specific, it doesn't feel like you're actually traveling"