Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1401019
36 I m ps e . o rg wanted to just stop and watch the scenes in real-time. Even if I didn't need to! And sometimes, of course, to be honest, there were scenes that I knew we probably wouldn't use because they just didn't fi t within a particular zen kind of thing. But, what a job—in the best way. I mean, I really felt like this is so fun! But I had to keep disciplining myself to keep looking, keep searching, and scanning through all those movies as quickly as I could. SL: You're looking for moments that will play without music or dialogue. But of course there are a lot of scenes with dialogue or "lip-fl apping"—that you just can't use. DB: I think we've worked around that, a few places where you might—well, not "cheat" it, but there actually might be dialogue. But because of the way a character is angled, or whatever, it's not as noticeable if you don't hear the dialogue. For example, there's a shot from the fi rst Frozen—I think it's in "Everyday Comforts," the one that was mentioned, where Anna wakes up. In the fi lm, she actually is saying things. But we took a few liberties with that. SL: While you're going through all the scenes and putting them together, you're not dealing with the sound stems from the fi lms yet, right? You're just dealing with the picture editorial choices and content—the story, pacing, and fl ow of the piece. The assembly of the audio elements, and all of the work tracking them down was done after, right? DB: Yeah, and thanks to Shannon (Mills), because he certainly made my life easier! DAVID FLUHR: Mine, too! DB: It really was freeing to know I don't have to worry so much about how these sounds are going to mesh. I mean, obviously, I tried to keep that in mind a little bit, and defi nitely listening and paying attention to the sound. For someone like me who maybe is not as well-versed in sound, there are certain scenes in Disney animation where I feel like, "Oh my God, the sound design in that! What a brilliant idea!" There's a scene in Tarzan where Tarzan and Jane meet. Tarzan puts his hand out and they connect. They touch hands with each other. It's a back-and- forth shot between the two of them. There's a moment where—the shot is on Jane, I believe, her hand is against Tarzan's—and then it cuts back to Tarzan. He realizes this is another human being! And you hear in the background, a lightning bolt! It's been raining, it's just been this gentle rain, and you hear a little bit of thunder. And it's perfect! Stuff like that, I thought, "Well, that's gotta be in there!" SL: I imagine that coming from marketing and working on trailers might have inspired some of your transitions. There are a few of those classic trailer tricks. For example, there's a moment, again in the Season 2 episode where the characters are just starting up their day, that there's a shot where Sebastian wakes up with a start—and then you cut to the bell tower ringing from Pinocchio. Fun stu like that. DB: Yeah, that was really fun, to look for those moments. I wish there was more time to look for those, actually. Because those are really fun. DF: We'll do that on Season 3! DB: There you go. I like that idea! And sometimes you just get lucky, when you're going through these fi lms. It's actually a credit to the artistry of these fi lms. You start seeing things that are consistent through all of them. I think the most obvious example of course, would be in the "Transformation" episode. Disney fi lms are full of magic and transformations and things changing, evolving and growing. For a topic for an episode—a subject like that, there's tons to choose from! SL: That's another thing. You have a HUGE fi lm library to pull from. DF: In the "Waterways" episode… I have a list here with all the fi lms L-R: VP of Disney Animation Publicity and executive producer of Zenimation, Amy Astley, and Steve Lee MPSE THSM