Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1401019
40 I m ps e . o rg sometimes reverbs also help with these transitions. You know—classic mixing stuff that we do. We don't want to ever be obvious about that stuff , we just want it to be in the spirit of it. And when we did our playbacks, either remotely or on the stage this past year, it was all about making sure we kept the spirit of it. Like, "Yes, okay, we have to be a little careful about Baymax flying because it could be too aggressive." You know, we would just come up with ways to dial it back or smooth it over, EQ, stuff like that. Just to keep it in the spirit. DB: I think an example of what (DF) and Shannon did that just amazes me is the "Rain" episode, which has a lot of scenes from Raya, the most recent Disney animated fi lm, but you go back to shots from Bambi. And what you guys did on that episode to make it feel cohesive, in the sense that although you're in this environment that's somewhat consistent, you're going from (diff erent eras and styles of animation)... When I saw that The Lion King and Cinderella at the mix session, I thought, "Wow! This is truly amazing what these guys do!" SL: It really was such a fun thing to watch Zenimation, and see a sequence that I realized I worked on—but hear it for the fi rst time in years without dialogue, without music—I'm hearing the sound e ects I cut—I can hear my work! One of the sequences I cut for Richard Anderson in Brother Bear is in Zenimation. The scene where they're playing in the lake. It was a big musical sequence, but it was nice to hear all my sound e ects—the splashes, water pass bys—without music. AA: That is incredible. I hope that was a point of pride for you! Because we have that text at the end of every episode that says "Zenimation is a tribute to the visual and sound artists of Walt Disney Animation Studios." I hope it creates that spark for people, to pick up those wonderful fi lms and take a look at them. SL: So … will there indeed be a Season 3? You've already culled so many great moments from these fi lms, and you don't necessarily want to repeat any of them. You did fi nd a way to use scenes from Fantasia, which originally was music-driven, but there's only so much you could use there. What do you all think? DB: That's a great question. We don't really know for sure about that. We hope so! That would be great. But you bring up a good point —if there is, it would be really fun to do a "deep dive!" DF: Well, in two or three more years, we'll have three or four new movies! AA: I think there is much more we can do with the Zenimation idea. I think, fi rst of all, there's a whole world of shorts. When you think of shorts like "The Old Mill" (1937), it's practically a Zenimation episode unto itself already!" SL: Disney is a company that has always taken great advantage of their catalog of fi lms and characters. More than any other studio. They've really made use of what's in the archives—protected it, and used it to create even more product. Zenimation really refl ects that. AA: That's a great thought. I grew up in the '80s and '90s, and we had those clamshell VHS cassettes you'd get from Blockbuster, or your local video store! There have been diff erent ways of accessing the legacy titles over the years, but with the advent of Disney+—we truly have never had all of our titles in one place the way we do there. And so I think this show being a part of Disney+, is also a wonderful way to take, maybe, a scene from Zenimation and go, "Hey, what was that from?" And maybe that sends you on a journey to "Ichabod and Mister Toad!" Right? Hopefully, it helps reinvigorate an interest in some of these wonderful legacy titles. To view one of the complete interviews with the crew of Zenimation used for this piece, and to access our growing collection of many other conversations with audio artists ... subscribe to The Hollywood Sound Museum! Visit Patreon.com/ HollywoodSoundMuseum "Zenimation is a tribute to the visual and sound artists of Walt Disney Animation Studios." I hope it creates that spark for people, to pick up those wonderful fi lms and take a look at them. –Amy Astley