Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/426320
n o v e m b e r . d e c e m b e r 2 0 1 4 c g w 3 7 tion in that shot," Staub says. "We had people on the simu- lation side and on the hand- drawn animation side working together on shots to achieve the final look." The steam rising from the pizza, for example, was a hand-animated effect added during compositing. "We wanted the steam to have a beautiful handmade swirl," Osborne says. L A Y O U T With attention focused on giving the audience a quick read with simple shapes, the sketches created by Osborne, Turley, and Staub showing color values and light shapes helped drive layout design. "There was a rule that when Winston was in the light and the food was in the light, things were good for Winston," Staub says. "When they were in the dark, or when light was on the humans, things were not good for Winston. We could tell what story was being told because of these simple light shapes." In fact, when they first showed the short in its early stages, they showed it in layout, rather than storyboard form. For camera staging, the lay- out team focused on the center of the frame. "We made sure the meals were right in the middle of every shot, right in the center, because in the dog's life, food is in the center," Osborne says, but adds, "until we see Kirby's parsley off to the side. Then, Winston decides to get [James and Kirby] back together." To help draw attention to Winston and the food, the lay- out team designed shots with shallow depth of field. "Anything behind or in front of Winston and the food was much less important," Staub says. "Sometimes we even put shapes out of focus close to the camera." Because Osborne drew on the "one second a day" idea for the film, the film has fast cuts and one-off shots. Keeping the focus on Winston helps make it possible for the audience to easily follow the story. "We never change where Winston is on the screen," Os- borne says. "You don't have to look around to find him." L O O K Again, the word is, "simple." "We had to unlearn what we normally do to achieve the look," Staub says. "We wanted almost flat color for everything. We didn't have much detail in the textures. We wanted everything flood-filled and simple. But once you strip out everything, when something is in complete shadow, you don't know what it is at all. So, we had to find a balance." Sometimes that meant using color or value to define shapes. Staub gives the example of an empty, brown bookcase in a dark area. With no shading or shadows, it looked like a brown square, but by darkening the in- side or sides, it took shape again. "The whole idea of color and shape is the reason Winston is a black-and-white Boston ter- rier," Staub says. "It was a good way to read him in the environ- ment without adding detail. We used his black-and-white pattern to define the contours of his body. If he puts a paw in front of a leg or his head turns, you can see his pose because of the black-and-white shapes, even in flat lighting." Winston's black-and-white pattern didn't change, but his colors varied subtly as artists, working in [The Foundry's] Nuke, used value and color tints to help define his shape. "We might make his black fur not quite so black, or tint his white fur," Staub says. "Other- wise, when the white on his chin goes over his chest in flat lighting, if they are the same white, you can't define where his chin ends." And if that weren't enough to distinguish the internal shapes or expressions, the artists would sometimes draw lines between them. "When you render stuff flat, you need to add certain de- tails to get expressions to read," Osborne says. "We drew the lips for the entire show because in the 3D version, they would thin out to camera. We'd want a consistent line." FOOD COLORING During the film, Winston, a little black-and-white dog adopted by a single guy named James, transitions from eating kibble, to kibble with human food on top, to just human food. He likes reds and warm, meaty colors, but goes through a period without any of that. "He's at his highest point when Kirby enters the story and all of a sudden, she introduces healthy food," says Josh Staub, visual effects supervisor. "There's no green in the movie at all until she shows up. She wears a green dress, has green fingernail polish, and green shoes." Kirby puts parsley and vegetables on Winston's kibble. "He still gets human food," Staub says, "but only a lot of vegetables or kibble with vegetables, which he hates." When James and Kirby break up, Winston goes back to human food, but it's not healthy food. "It is not good for James or Winston," Staub says. "When James is at his lowest, Winston takes the parsley and finds Kirby. He sacrifices his food happiness for the happiness of James." But fear not. Ultimately, Winston will eat happily ever aer. – Barbara Robertson " WHEN YOU HAVE FOOD, YOU HAVE EFFECTS." SIMS AND HAND-DRAWN EFFECTS COMBINED FOR A STYLIZED LOOK.