Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/663382
ANIMATION www.postmagazine.com 16 POST APRIL 2016 where Sony is, where the animation is done. I was actually up there for two years during the film, but the base was here in Sherman Oaks." Reilly: "Rovio had their own studio within the Imageworks facility. We had our own team up there that was separate from Imageworks. We had teams of people all over the world. We had designers in France, we had story artists, we had character designers in Brazil..." Kaytis: "Modelers in Spain." Reilly: "It was an international production, as well as the main hub of production being at Imageworks." What software were they using? Kaytis: "It's Maya. It was fun and a curse for me because I know how to use it, so sometimes I would sit down and tweak a shot and work on some blocking, and things here and there. It was kind of fun to get back in and dabble on this film and get hands on." Sound design is always important on an animated film. Kaytis: "We are working with Skywalker right now, and Tom Myers is our sound designer. He's doing a great job. He's got a great team up there. We are working with the Philharmonic in London." Reilly: "We were able to assemble a great team of people. When they saw beyond the basic premise of the game and what the movie was turning into, everyone just really jumped in and threw their whole heart and soul into it." Is part of the goal to establish an Angry Birds feature franchise? Reilly: "I don't think it's the goal, at least as us as filmmakers. It's not your primary goal when you start. You just want to make a great product. You want to make a great story and a great mov- ie. After that, if it's really good and the audience responds to it, you have the potential to create a franchise. That's the hope, but the goal is to create a great movie that the audience falls in love with. And then when you have that, franchise potential can grow out of it." Kaytis: "Everyone here — the whole crew — has worked on a lot of great films, and that's the goal — to make something that endures — a film that people want to go see again. It's not a fast food thing where you watch it and forget about it. Every choice that we make on this film is about making a film that people want to revisit and, in turn, that potentially creates a franchise. It has to be a movie first where people want to see more of these characters. And we really feel like that's what we created." Is the final product what you initially had envisioned? Kaytis: "It's actually becoming a really good realization of what we set out to do. The script was always very solid and always had great bones. And we knew the basic concept of birds and pigs and eggs and slingshots, and icons that people expect. But when it comes down to it, the film is not just that. That's plot, and the structure of the film. It's about the characters and their relationships, and honestly, you really do end up caring about these characters. As the creators, we love these characters, how their futures turn out, and it makes you want to revisit them." Reilly: "That is your greatest hope. Your dream is that, somehow, you can create characters that the audience is willing to go on a journey with…and when that happens, that's when you know that you have something special. You forget that the property came from a game. You are engaged with the comedic triumvirate of Red, Shock and Bomb…You are laughing the whole time. It turned out — in some ways — better than what we imagined." Myers is our sound designer. He's doing a great job. He's got a "We were able to assemble a great team of people. When they saw beyond the basic premise of the game and what the movie was turning into, everyone just really jumped in and threw "I don't think it's the goal, at least as us as filmmakers. It's not your primary goal when you start. You just want to make a great product. You want to make a great story and a great mov- ie. After that, if it's really good and the audience responds to it, you have the potential to create a franchise. That's the hope, but you can create characters that the audience is willing to go on a journey with…and when that happens, that's when you know that you have something special. You forget that the property came from a game. You are engaged with the comedic triumvirate of Red, Shock and Bomb…You are laughing the whole time. It turned out — in some ways — better than what we imagined." Fans of the game will recognize many familiar characters, as well as meet a few new creatures.