Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/686925
28 P E R S P E C T I V E | J U LY / AU G U S T 2 0 1 6 I was hired as Head of Storyboards, the first person on the film, and I quickly assembled a team of over a dozen top storyboard and 2D animatic artists to bring the movie to life. Because this was to be a hybrid movie, the storyboarding would also require a hybrid style, tempering the expressiveness of animation boards with the realism of live action. Above, top to bottom: Adolfo Martínez's stunning drawing of Kaa, hypnotizing Mowgli and about to pounce. Jim Mitchell drew this storyboard of Shere Khan confronting the wolf pack leader Akela, before he kills Akela by throwing him off a cliff upon learning Mowgli is on his way to the Man-village. Phil Langone's study for Baloo ready to charge in the final battle versus Shere Khan. "This process continued for over a year as we drew every exciting, touching and fun moment in the film... our drawings would set the tone for the animators who would later be in charge of bringing them to life. This required the storyboard team to really enliven their drawings, imbuing them with much more drama and action than one would normally see." The storyboards, done in Photoshop ® on Wacom Cintiq ® tablets, would be revised and refined before being handed over to be animated. Using After Effects ® , Premiere ® and Avid ® , these animatics, complete with scratch dialogue voiced by the crew and temporary music, would provide a thorough and vivid first look at the movie, much like classic animation story reels. This process continued for over a year as we drew every exciting, touching and fun moment in the film. Jon stressed that he wanted the storyboards to convey real acting and emotion with Mowgli, and even more critically, with all of the animal characters, as our drawings would set the tone for the animators who would later be in charge of bringing them to life. This required the storyboard team to really enliven their drawings, imbuing them