Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
disrupt what they usually do? If the location is generally familiar, what has changed or what
is out of place that creates implication or questions in your audience's mind? What is the
atmosphere of the place and what does that mean? In
The Triplets
of
Belleville
, three great
cities, New York, Montreal, and Paris, were combined to create a place that felt familiar
and communicated a sense of prosperity. The entire city creates the feeling of accumulation
by contrasting the poverty of Mme. Souza and her dog to the wealth, materialism, and scale
of the city and its people.
Evgeni Tomov, Art Director on
Belleville
, describes it like this, “The direction Chomet Sylvain gave
me, he told me it should be a very interesting city, where there is an abundance cult for consumer-
ism and food is a typical thing. And that's why you see so many obese people, and the characters
in Belleville—you can see it for yourself—represent this over-consumerism.” [3]
The Triplets of Belleville,
directed by Sylvain Chomet
Sometimes, the location can tell the whole story. Ray Bradbury wrote the short story, “There
Will Come Soft Rains,” which follow the functions of a “smart house” long after the residents
have died. Through the house itself, the lives of the people who lived there are revealed
and the purpose of the house to take care of them and protect them is put in jeopardy. [4]
There are a lot of mechanical devices and effects to watch that could make this good for
animation. One of the hardest things about telling a story through a location is determining
what is going to move.
When starting with a situation, you have to create confl ict. Two people at a table having a
conversation is a situation. Two people at a table fi ghting over the check is a confl ict. To
make this stronger, there has to be something at stake. What does it mean to each of these
characters if he or she does not pay the bill for the other? What could make this better for
animation than live action? What are the extremes that the characters go to win the confl ict?
What other situations are similar that could tell the story better?
