Animation Guild | We are 839 Digital Magazine
Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1538315
IN THE NEW SERIES HAUNTED HOTEL, TAG MEMBERS TAKE UP THE CHALLENGE OF CREATING AN ENDEARING HORROR SHOW. Ghosts on the side The series' artistic team wanted a Gothic mansion that wasn't too creepy but also wasn't too Scooby-Doo. Horror crosses over into many genres, but rarely—if ever—does it find its home in a sitcom. The forthcoming, adult animated series Haunted Hotel sets out to change that. The Netflix show's basic premise hits a traditional note. Middle-aged Nathan dies and leaves his hotel to his younger sister, Katherine, a single mom with two kids just trying to make ends meet. Where it veers out of classic sitcom territory is that while Nathan is dead, he's not gone. Nor are any of the many other dead people who once stayed at the Undervale Hotel. But this abundance of ghost guests is an entertaining side menu. The main course is family dynamics. "I was on Rick and Morty a decade ago," says the show's creator Matt Roller, noting how that series uses sci-fi as a jumping-off point for interesting stories. "I wanted to build my own family show that could live a little more in the horror space." "Matt provided us with a few documents up front," says Supervising Director Erica Hayes. "This included lists of his favorite horror films, beginning with his top three: The Conjuring, The Orphanage, and The Shining. "Visually those were my inspirations," says Roller. As he set out to create a show with emotion and empathy that viewers could enjoy without caring about horror, he also sought familiar elements that would appeal to horror lovers, like the Gothic mansion with its creaking floorboards and peeling wallpaper. It's the kind of place that isn't completely off-putting, but it's rundown enough that you only check in because every other hotel in town is full. Another way to appeal to horror fans was to play with tropes, like slasher, cult-themed, and supernatural. "That's what's fun about the show," Hayes says. "No episode feels exactly the same." Art Director Robbie Erwin explains that lighting was a crucial part of making every episode feel different. "[It's about] finding those moments where we can push lighting and texture in a place that concentrates our focus on the comedy or the horror," he says. "Finding ways where we can convey endearing moments, contrasted by a horror moment, and have those beats shine on their own and still work cohesively together." Storyboarding was another area that required exploration to find the right balance. Hayes and Erwin had also worked on Rick and Morty, and Hayes says that when she started boarding, it was in the style of that show. "For dialogue scenes— S T O R Y & V I S I O N 16 KEYFRAME