We all jump to the animated movies. It is true that they are a delight to watch without age discrimination. You might have heard that the movie “Cars” took almost 6 years to complete the 116 minute movie. And recent hit 103 minute Toy Story 3 took 4 years to complete from story to release. Does any of you know why it takes this long for these computer generated animation to get completed and why their budgets are so high? Have you ever wondered what is the process of making an animated movie?
Let me give you a brief idea of the process steps followed by Pixar Animation studios: (Know these steps in detail here)
1. Story idea is pitched
2. Text treatment is written
3. Storyboards are drawn
4. Voice talent starts recording
5. Editorial begins making reels
6. Art Department creates look and feel
7. Models are sculpted and articulated
8. Sets are dressed
9. Shots are layed out
10. Shots are animated
11. Sets and characters are shaded
12. Lighting completes the look
13. Computer data is rendered
14. Final touches are added
“The example is from Pixar’s movie Monsters Inc. (hilarious movie).”
FYI: Dreamworks Animations studios also has discussed their process on their website. It is in their company info link. Click here.
Every single detail of the movie should be designed including the hair of a dog (try to count the hair on your dog’s body if you have a pet). So, it takes time even for a big load of designers. Different departments, 1000s of people work on the film one department after other. They all are salaried employees. So, {no of yrs X 12months X no. of employees X average salary of the employees} + Infrastructure cost (heavily configured workstations for rendering, etc) + Production cost (includes voice over actors costs, print making costs for different formats, etc) = Huge budget.
“No wonder it took James Cameron 12 years to make Avatar.”
