Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1192296
32 cgw w i n t e r 2 0 1 9 relationship between the animators and the simulation and/or effects team. So, a significant change was made to the studio's pipeline in terms of how animation interacts with the effects and simulation teams, to bring them closer together within the review process with the directors. "It became much more of a single team rather than separate departments," he explains. "They were privy to the character animation directions, and we got to sit in on their reviews with the directors, too – which was not a common practice before this film." Mission Complete When the directors set out to make Spies in Disguise, their goal was to create a spy movie for the whole family. They also set out to create a unique film under the Blue Sky banner, and indeed they have. And the result was a cross-pollination between multiple departments, which interacted in ways they haven't historically done so. But then again, there is no such thing, really, as "typical" at Blue Sky, which has been pushing the envelope in animation since its founding in 1987. Indeed, Blue Sky is synonymous with the successful squash- and-stretch style of the Ice Age series. How- ever, let's not forget some of its other unique animated productions mentioned earlier. It's safe to say that we can now count Spies in Disguise in that same category. "I am really proud of the film. I feel like it's a huge step forward for our crew in terms of their acting abilities as well as their tech- nical abilities. And it's something that I'm excited to continue to leverage into the next movies," says Gabor, a veteran of Blue Sky's Peanuts and Epic. "The great thing about working at Blue Sky is the variety and swing of the projects, from The Peanuts Movie where we were animating on twos and included 2D animation, to Epic, which was very realistic and had detailed animation. And now there's Spies in Disguise, a hybrid of really textured, zippy animation pared down to subtle nuanced acting." As Ian Fleming wrote in Casino Royale, "He was a secret agent, and still alive thanks to his exact attention to the detail of his profession." The same attention to detail exhibited by the team at Blue Sky. n Karen Moltenbrey is the chief editor of CGW. LANCE JOINS OTHER PIGEONS, WHICH EXHIBIT MORE BIRD-LIKE MOVEMENT. ARTISTS PLAYED WITH PRACTICAL LIGHTING IN THE COMPOSITIONS. THE CHARACTERS ARE MIDWAY BETWEEN CARTOONY AND SOMEWHAT REALISTIC. LANCE HAS STRAIGHT, CLEAN LINES AND IS SHAPED LIKE A MARTINI GLASS.