Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1538125
P H OT O : F O X COOK IT UP: Editing animation like "Bob's Burgers" calls for a different skill set. 35 F A L L Q 3 I S S U E F E A T U R E in at 150 frames and we need it to be 180 because we're adding a dramatic pause, we have to choose which frames to hold on in order to make the shot the length that we need." Earley added that "if we need action to continue and we have an animation cycle, we can reuse that if it works for the shot." In live action, there are many techniques for pacing up a scene: changing coverage, cutting to reaction shots, using speed ramps [a video editing technique that cre- ates a gradual change in playback speed] a n d f l u i d m o r p h s [ u s u a l ly a j u m p - c u t solution that analyzes the end of one shot and the beginning of the next, then creates morphing frames that turn the jarring cut into a smooth natural-looking transi- tion]. For animation, different techniques are required. Given his previous work in live-action, Reuben appreciates the differences be- tween the forms. "While we can't change an angle because we don't have coverage, we do have an unlimited ability to do anything. If we decide a crane shot would make the scene work, and they're willing to spend the time to do it, we can bring in a crane shot. It'd be like, 'What would really kill is if we had this long pull-out,' and they could make it happen, which is something that we've done before. Just conceive of a shot that would nail the scene and then we can make it at the end of the process." This step is one of Earley's favorite parts. "I like building stuff from scratch in general. Whether I'm building a frame with all the elements that I like, or if we get new words for something in the content lock and we're building a scene of multiple shots from scratch, we're just like, we gotta do this. We're moving this here and redirecting this entire section. I love that part." CONTENT LOCK "The content lock is where the words are locked," Earley said. "These are the words that are going to play. We have an in-depth all-day edit session with the supervising directors, and sometimes we need a part two. This is where we dig in to make sure the picture works with the new dialogue. Sometimes we want to rearrange a section, or we notice something is hard to follow or would be difficult to make work with pic- ture, so we figure out a way to fix it. Maybe a line has been added from a character who's currently off-screen, so we have to figure out where they are in the scene and how we want to treat that line. Do we move to a wide? Do we need a new single? Can we cover with a cutaway reuse? Do we have a setup that could be used as a base to build a new shot?" At this point, the showrunners come in for the final stretch. "We pitch any changes or adjustments and get final sign-off on our content-lock cut," Earley said. "Once we lock, they'll break down the script and what lines they need to re-record, then they'll kick all that back to us," Reuben said. "Often there's anywhere between 60 and 280 lines of dialogue that we'll cut in, so it can be like watching a whole new episode. Sometimes, based on a major re- write, the timing could change from a swing of 15 to 20 seconds in either direction." LOCKING As we near the lock phase in live action, we often delight in the fine-tuning of edits in our show. What are the hand positions on either side of the cut? When does a charac- ter blink, if they blink at all? How much of a door close do we see? At "Bob's Burgers," as an episode gets close to locking, the finer points of the craft of animation editing also come to the fore. One unique aspect of storytelling in animation is eye acting. "We'll get notes on eye acting and shifting the eyes a little bit during a certain part of the line, or the eyebrows go up and down, which is some- thing that I don't even know if I noticed before working in animation," Reuben said. "Eyes to center is being deep in thought or talking to oneself, as opposed to lying eyes, which is a subtle little eye move and pause. Thinking eyes would look away from the person they're talking to and then back quickly. I feel like we have to play with it. Is it one pixel? Is it an all-the-way-to-the- edge-of-the-eye kind of thing? We have to play with it a lot to see which one looks right. I enjoy how very subtle things make a big difference." "As long as I can get a clean line, I can build it," Earley said. "Is it a thinking eye dart or is it a lying eye dart? Or do they go eyes to center and then eye dart back? These things are so subtle, but they boost the acting. Jeremy and I make those c h o i ce s. S o m e t i m e s we' re w ro n g, a n d they 'll say, 'Remove that eye dar t,' or 'Change this.' And I'll say, 'Oh, that was an animatte [Google it], I'll just mute that, no big deal.' But it allows for minute pauses SEE PAGE 49 Jeremy Reuben.