Transcript of Animators React to KPop Demon Hunters - ft. THE DIRECTORS!
Corridor Crew
0:02We had a lot of nipple conversations.0:04>> I feel like they're a little too0:06>> Hey everybody, welcome back to another0:08episode of Animators React. Couch.0:10Couch. Couch. Couch.0:12>> I'm joined on the couch by the [music]0:13directors of K-pop Demon Hunters.0:17[screaming]0:17>> I'm Maggie Kang. I've been in the0:19industry for over [music] 20 years. I've0:21worked on Shrek Forever After, one of0:23the Kung Fu Panda movies, Lake Onjago,0:25so many sequels. [laughter]0:27I'm Chris Apple, the other director and0:29writer on K-pop Demon Hunters. Similar0:31to Maggie, we're so old. We've been0:32around forever. I worked on Monster0:34House, Coraline, Fantastic Mr. Fox.0:37[music]0:38My first film I wrote and directed was0:39called Wish Dragon. In this episode,0:41we're going to dive into some [music] of0:42the technical challenges behind K-pop0:44Demon Hunters, the inspirations.0:46>> Every pixel of the frame was touched by0:48hand. A million dollars a minute.0:51>> It's going to be a journey. [music] So,0:53sit back, relax, grab a bowl of some0:54ramen.0:55>> Yeah.1:01What got you into animation? Where are1:04movies that you watched like, "This is1:06awesome. I love this. I've watched it1:08100 times."1:08>> I grew up with a dad who's like a total1:10cinnaphile. He has a collection of like1:1230,000 titles.1:13>> Oh wow.1:14>> It drove my mom insane.1:16>> So I grew up watching like Corissal1:18films when I was like 10 years old. Yo1:20Jimbo is one of my ultimate favorites.1:25>> [screaming]1:25[groaning]1:26>> I was blown away watching this film that1:29is in black and white but then feels so1:31[music] modern and feels comedic and1:33almost like Looney Tunes. Characters are1:35[music] exaggerated but they're still1:37real. Maggie and I really bonded around1:39films like Kung Fu Hustle. I don't know1:41if you guys know the scene where he1:42tries to throw the knife at the lady.1:48[laughter]1:53>> [laughter]1:57>> Maggie and I really bonded around this1:59too, which is like having characters,2:00even if they're your protagonists, that2:02are just like very flawed and do [music]2:04stupid things. Every time I watch it,2:06I'm like, it's so stupid, which is the2:08highest praise.2:09>> I just saw examples of films juggling2:12all [music] these different tones that I2:14loved, that I felt like couldn't exist2:16in one thing. Chris and I bonded over2:17just our love of Pong Jinho and The2:20Host, which was another movie that my2:21dad was like, "We got to watch this.2:23It's like the number movie in Korea."2:24And so one Christmas we watched it and I2:26was like, "How is he able to like juggle2:28the grief of losing a child, but then it2:31goes into like physical comedy and2:34they're like they fall over and so we2:36were just really inspired by that."2:38>> Somebody like me, a kid from Idaho, so2:40much of my film making influences just2:43happened to be Korean filmmakers. and I2:45just liked it and connected. When I saw2:46the host, I'm like, I can't believe you2:48can do all these things.2:50>> So, what are some of you guys' favorite2:51animated films?2:52>> I mean, I feel like our influences,2:54Sailor Moon and Cowboy Bebop. There's a2:57movie that I want to shout out just cuz2:58I don't think too many people know about3:00it called The Tale of Princess Kaguya.3:02It has incredible animation, slice of3:04life, naturalism. If the aliens came to3:07Earth and they're like, "Can you explain3:09what's going on here? What are humans3:11all about?" I would just be like, "Just3:12watch this." I I'd also like to just3:15[music] shout out Shrek, TOO.3:17[screaming]3:19>> I mean, this movie is just taking risks3:21constantly.3:22>> I look any different. You still look3:23like an ass to me.3:24>> Probably the first like big animated3:26movie that just broke like the whole3:28like demographic thing.3:29>> Yes. There were no rules about who would3:31go see it.3:32>> Animation was like, "Yes, this is it."3:34And then we've now slowly like slipped3:37back from this. There there are things3:39in this movie that would not fly right3:41now. Captain,3:42>> that's no mind.3:44>> We used to go this far and we don't3:46anymore.3:47>> I think people have their heads wrapped3:48around how a liveaction movie is made3:50pretty well. I don't think people really3:52have their heads wrapped around how an3:53animated movie is made. Could you guys3:55take us on the journey from like the3:57beginning of K-pop Demon Hunters through3:59all the steps of [music] production all4:01the way up till now, you guys get to now4:03celebrate and enjoy the accolades of the4:05final product.4:06>> For me, it was 7 years and Chris,4:07[music] it was a little over six. The4:09analogy is, you know, in Children of4:10Men, there's that famous Warner where4:12they're trying to carry the baby through4:13the war zone up into safety. That's4:15making an animated. If you get your4:16little baby in the screenplay, and then4:18in storyboards, it can fall apart. It4:20can die. The animation is where you get4:22to lighting. You light the character4:24wrong, it can die.4:25>> And then you're like 7 years of building4:27this up and carrying this baby to the4:29finish line and then it could just die.4:32>> Sounds like a fun job, huh?4:33>> Animation.4:35>> Hey guys, Christian here. One thing you4:37might not know when watching one of our4:39React episodes is that the chaos doesn't4:40happen [music] on camera. That's the4:42easy part. It happens behind the scenes.4:44We're dealing with multiple edit4:45versions, exports, B-roll, movie clips,4:47behind the scenes, VFX [music]4:48breakdowns, and sometimes special guest4:50info all at the same time. Someone needs4:52the latest cut [music] or someone's4:54pulling references or someone's asking4:55if this is the final final file, and4:57suddenly we're not just editing, we're4:59searching. Most of the friction in our5:00workflow isn't creative. It's where is5:02that file? 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Now, let's get back to6:18the crazy process of animating K-pop6:20Demon Hunters.6:21>> So, what's the very first step?6:22>> The very first step is lying to a6:24producer, saying that you have an idea6:26when you don't. spent about a week6:28trying to come up with [music] a pitch6:29and just mashed weird ideas together6:32that I was just mulling over in my head6:33and came up with this weird K-pop demon6:36[music] hunters concept. Chris came on6:39about 8 months later.6:40>> We had just had one conversation over6:42coffee and I said, "Okay, I love this6:44idea so much we could just tell." We had6:46the same tastes6:47>> and then we started writing it and then6:48you go into development. Sometimes it6:51could be years or decades and you may6:53never come out of it. You basically just6:56keep working until you get a green6:57light.6:57>> So your crew is getting a little bigger6:59there. Maybe there are six people on the7:01show at that time.7:02>> I was doing storyboards cuz that's kind7:04of the only way you could convey tone. I7:06started to storyboard the very first7:08like airplane scene which was there from7:10very beginning. And as I was7:12storyboarding it, I was like [music] I7:14I'm trapped like I need to figure out so7:17much in order to execute this scene.7:19>> [music]7:19>> character, comedy, action, music,7:22choreography, fight choreography,7:24mythology. I [music] had like a panic7:27attack because I was like, "This is how7:28are we going to do this?" And this is7:30one scene and [music] every scene was7:32kind of like that. It had so many7:34different layers that you had to juggle.7:35The challenge I see with a film like7:37this is you guys have to deliver like7:39pop star level choreography, but you7:42have to animate it all. You have to7:43deliver, you know, a pop star level7:45music and [music] you have to direct it7:47visually in these music videos that7:48you're basically putting together here7:49without a background in choreography and7:51music that seems like it'd [music] be7:52incredibly challenging to do.7:54>> Yeah,7:54>> it was a really neat experience to bring7:56screenwriting and music construction7:59together. Neither of us are [music] huge8:01lovers of musicals. Sorry, we love some8:04of them. The Broadway musical was was8:07sort of the thing we didn't want to do.8:08We didn't want to be that sort of8:11literal and sort of break into song8:13thing.8:14>> We always pitched it as it's a musical8:15but not a musical until we realized like8:18now you're making a [laughter] musical.8:20The schedule was you had to figure out8:22the music because without music you8:25couldn't storyboard cuz you need the8:27final music to storyboard to and then8:28you couldn't animate so it slowed down8:30production. So we had to get the music8:32done and that was probably the most8:33challenging part of this whole [music]8:35movie. All the music we say is like it8:36works on three different levels. It has8:38to convey story but also like work on a8:41pop level and then there's always like8:43multiple meanings.8:44>> The thing it's supposed to be about and8:46the thing that it's really about like8:47Golden became this vessel for telling8:50the audience a little bit about Mirror8:52and Zoe and where they came from. And8:53then we found this concept of the song8:56being a little bit of their anthem of8:57like we started as nobody's and now8:59we're on top and we have one more level9:01to go which on the front of doing9:03multiple things. That's a plot point.9:05It's the golden honeymoon. That's the9:06goal of the characters in the first9:08twothirds of the movie. So the song9:10started to suddenly connect all of these9:12needs that the movie had. And then9:14obviously it becomes a vessel for Roomie9:16to reveal to the audience her secret. I9:19mean, in my opinion, I think one of the9:20reasons the songs are so successful9:22outside of the film is because you guys9:23managed to bring so much emotional9:26importance to them inside the movie so9:27that when you listen to the song, you're9:28not just listening to a song. You're9:30queuing up all this journey that the9:31movie has given you at that point. I9:33feel like on a functional level in a way9:35music scenes and action scenes kind of9:37share a lot of similarities in that like9:39it's easy to do noise and spectacle but9:42to advance the story through those9:44scenes and to advance characters through9:45those scenes is very challenging but9:47when done correctly like hits so hard.9:51>> So you have a green light on the movie.9:52You have the music mostly figured out.9:55What's the next step?9:56>> You crew up. You get about 10 to [music]9:5812 story artists and then you try to10:00create the movie and storyboards10:02>> and you have the entire movie laid out10:04and to end with you guys or whomever10:06doing voice acting and it's all temp10:08voice, all temp sound, all temp music.10:10>> But that is the movie. It really is like10:13>> you now have a living thing and it's one10:15cut of the movie.10:16>> Are these your drawings?10:17>> No, these are uh Bridget Underwood. It's10:20>> very animated.10:21>> Yes.10:21>> Are the storyboards this animated or is10:23it usually just stills?10:24>> It depends. I mean we10:25>> Bridget's a little crazy. Yeah, Brazil's10:26a little [laughter] little passionate,10:28which we love. It depends on the kind of10:30rhythm you want to go for, but it's um10:32one drawing every 12 frames is kind of10:34the pace.10:35>> I think it's the most underappreciated10:38skill in all of movie making is the10:40animation story artist. I think it's10:42like the the very best of the best.10:44There's there's less people who are that10:46good than there are NBA players. Like,10:48>> it's really incredibly rare10:49>> because you are a cinematographer,10:51you're an actor, you are action dance10:54coordinator. When you're presenting10:56this, you're like, "This is what the10:57movie should be."10:58>> Are you guys playing these storyboards11:00for people at this point?11:02>> Oh, yeah. We screened a full story board11:04to a massive public audience, which is11:07really scary cuz sometimes some people11:08were like, "This this this is not a11:11movie, guys." And so, they just walked11:12out.11:12>> If it's working like this, if you can11:14get a theater full of people to sit11:16there and feel something for 90 minutes11:18at this stage, it's only going to get11:19better from there. Unless you screw it11:21up and then the baby dies. [laughter]11:23Simultaneous to this, you're doing all11:26your character designs, all of your set11:29and location designs.11:30>> So there everything is designed and then11:32it is modeled in CG and then it is11:35surfaced or colored. They paint every11:38every single thing that you see on11:40screen with color and then texture.11:42>> I read that you had more costume changes11:44for your characters in this film than11:45any other animated film.11:46>> Yes, that is a fact.11:47>> That's pretty crazy.11:48>> I think for the record, we had 10811:50pieces of clothing built.11:52>> Wow. For Roomie, we have 26 variations.11:55And some of the variations are like same11:56costume, but then she has the patterns11:58or like half the patterns or like all of12:00those are variations, but that's all12:01things that we had to track.12:03>> One other thing that we didn't talk12:04about is rigging, which is rigging.12:06>> It's the puppeteering. You have these12:08beautiful models, but you have to give12:09them bones. And then you have to plan12:11how all of that moves and collides12:13>> to be able to hit certain poses or12:15exaggerated faces or expressions.12:18>> For example, the eye. There's like rules12:20about the eye shapes that are always12:22followed no matter what to maintain a12:24stylistic statement across all12:26expressions.12:27>> So certain points are preserved because12:29those are structural. Other ones have12:31freedom to move around and be12:32expressive. And you break any of those12:34rules and that shot no longer looks like12:37Zoe and the whole illusion falls apart.12:40So, how are you guys giving these 3D12:42models anime style expressions? Because12:44when you're when you're drawing, you can12:45draw any shape you want. You draw any12:47perspect you can mash perspectives12:48together, but 3D animation kind of it12:50starts from a world of like 3D rules and12:53you have to somehow break those rules,12:55which can be kind of impossible12:56sometimes with how this stuff is12:58programmed.12:58>> It's completely two camera cheats.13:01>> When you say two camera cheats, what do13:02you mean by that?13:02>> If you rotate the camera around 90°,13:05it's terrifying.13:07>> Yeah. It's like a horror show. It's only13:09just created for this shot.13:10>> So you're really just stacking the face13:12shapes for the camera and the animators13:14often basically sculpting. Image Works13:16has some amazing tools for that and it13:18comes from Hotel Transylvania movies13:20with Gendi which are very pose to pose,13:22very drawings in 3D.13:24>> So they have really great tools for that13:26and some expertise.13:28>> Well, I'm glad you're finally ready to13:30talk. And this is a fun example of that13:32where Roomie kind of does like a a13:34double take and it's like pushed and13:36comedic. If you look at that like couple13:37of frames where she's like double13:39chinning in profile and doing the wide13:40eyes. [laughter]13:42>> Yeah. You got the double chin in there.13:43>> Yeah.13:44>> It's stylized. It's pushed and comedic.13:46But if you don't get it, it could just13:47suddenly feel like very uncanny. I guess13:50>> we were inspired by 2D art and like13:52anime, but we didn't want to go real 2D13:56route. We wanted to feel still CG one to13:59kind of separate it from Spiderverse.14:01>> They they do a lot of 2D elements14:03because it's comic. They're staying14:05loyal to what the medium was,14:06>> but also the way the girls ended up14:08using the more broad chibi stuff was for14:11comedic stuff, lighter stuff. And that14:13preserved real estate for the real14:15emotion of the real struggle and heart14:18and fear, could stay in a more grounded14:21place cuz the story just was kind of14:23calling for both. So, we needed a solve14:25for that stuff that didn't break the 3D14:27illusion and make you think about14:30surface treatment of the frame. It just14:32made you feel like it's the believable14:333D reality with all the girls. There's14:36this duality. These women are beautiful.14:39They're K-pop stars. They're glamorous.14:41They're they belong on Vogue covers, but14:42also we want them like ugly crying and14:45making weird faces cuz they're eating a14:47kimbup and expressing themselves. It was14:50awesome cuz a lot of the women animators14:51are like, "Okay, finally." [laughter]14:54>> The female gaze is really funny.14:57>> That shirt opening. [laughter]14:59This was the first sequence we animated.15:01So, everyone was the whole crew for like15:03>> trying to get to know each other.15:05>> Yeah. [laughter]15:05>> And they're like, "What are we what are15:07we making?"15:09>> I think the studio were was like, "Okay,15:12you could do that, but at least can we15:13just not have any nips?" And we're like,15:15"Okay." First review with Image Works,15:18the shirt just completely opens. And15:20we're like, "Good job." [laughter]15:22>> We had a lot of nipple conversations,15:24too. Like, do we have the little nub15:27thing or is it just a flat color?15:30[laughter] Just don't want too much15:31detail.15:32>> I think they're a little too [laughter]15:34>> east and west.15:35>> They're like walley. This was in every15:37department. We're like, um, you guys are15:39going to make these guys like real hot.15:41And then people would be like, "Okay."15:42And then they do like a design or an15:44animated shot and it'd be like, we're15:46like, "Oh, it's cute."15:47>> Yeah.15:48>> But no, it's got to be hot.15:50>> Yeah. [laughter] Not cute. We said hot.15:52>> Yeah. And you could see everybody awaken15:55to that possibility.15:56>> Yeah. For me, it was just important15:57because we don't see Asian men15:59represented this way in Hollywood. And16:02so I was like, Asian men are hot and16:04let's show people how hot they can be.16:06But then you can't just do that. You16:08subvert the hotness with the silly,16:11relatable, human part of them.16:14>> I love when GU goes choo choo.16:17>> Yeah.16:18>> Teddy bears and choo choo trains.16:20Really?16:23you.16:24>> Also, when he slips.16:25>> Oh, yeah. That's one of my favorite16:26moments.16:27>> Have fun. [laughter]16:31>> There's so many other stupid jokes that16:33didn't make it into the movie.16:34>> Yeah. Yeah. It's littered with failed16:36attempt. I mean, I love that in the16:37middle of the climax at the end of the16:39movie, Mirror's getting popcorn eyes16:41again and having to kill Abby. And so,16:43like keeping that stupid stuff alive.16:45The jokes we love the most are the ones16:47that make you laugh while also saying so16:49stupid.16:50>> Yeah. [laughter] They have little bits16:51of absurdity16:54>> trying to lift a cylindrical object with16:56your paw to like flip it back. I guess a16:58perfect example like you guys are16:59spending screen time on this, you know,17:02[laughter]17:02>> and like you have the confidence to sit17:04in it and be like, "This is worth it."17:06>> Obviously, this is also inspired by the17:08rake joke from the Simpsons.17:11[laughter]17:12>> Do you think it's important to include17:14animal characters in animated films?17:16>> No.17:16>> No.17:17>> No.17:17>> I think it was organic and culturally17:19specific. The tiger is the national17:22animal of Korea.17:23>> There's this thing called choku which is17:25folk art of tigers and they're always17:27paired with a magpie17:29>> and they're always like17:30>> they're pretty ugly.17:32>> They're like [laughter] walied and weird17:34and so we designed this derpy little17:37character. But we didn't want to just17:38put in a tiger and and have it be like17:40an animal sidekick. But we needed a way17:42for Room and Chinu to communicate. So we17:45used him as like a mailbox.17:46>> People love Derpy. Yeah.17:48>> So, a lot of times there's like pressure17:49like put more derpy in the movie and17:51it's like mm- it's like saying I love17:53ketchup on my hamburger. But if you just17:54cover the hamburger in ketchup, it's17:56like now you don't like [laughter] now17:57you're sick of ketchup.17:59>> So, you were saying that as the18:00storyboards are being finished all the18:023D elements and assets are being18:04designed and then from here are you guys18:05jumping into animation or are you18:08>> layout layout18:09>> which is where we work with the digital18:10camera?18:11>> It's like you're converting the ideas of18:13the storyboards into a 3D space.18:15>> So, layout's almost like a 3D18:16storyboard. Yeah.18:17>> Yeah.18:18>> Have you guys done voice acting yet or18:20is that still off in the distance?18:22>> Probably still us at this point.18:24>> You guys have to be a little bit decent18:25at voice acting.18:26>> Oh, yeah. Very good.18:27>> Oh, we are in the movie.18:28>> Yeah. Oh, you are?18:29>> Yes. I have about I have three roles. I18:31am the flight attendant.18:32>> Yes, Miss Hunter.18:35>> I am a crying demon.18:38>> And then there's like a newscaster18:40announcer.18:41>> Today's International Idol Awards have18:43been cancelled.18:44>> My mom was like, "Oh my gosh, that's18:45you." And I said, "Yes." She's like,18:47"That doesn't sound like you at all."18:48And I said, "Because it's such a it's18:49such good acting." [laughter]18:52>> Okay, so you have your story board18:54that's moved into layout. You haven't18:56had the actual voice actors in yet. Then18:58what happens after that?18:59>> We start to animate.19:02>> You guys are nailing a lot of19:04traditional animation essentials. You19:06really feel every single frame Yep. is19:10like posed and composed and set up. We19:13live in an age where we can do whatever19:14frame rate we want, right? Yeah. Yeah.19:15Yeah.19:15>> Is there a reason why you guys are still19:17sticking with 12?19:19>> Yeah, we went with 12 because there's a19:21lot of like brisk action and it's better19:24for landing contrast like the slow and19:26then quick like reactions and stuff and19:28also for the dancing and action scenes.19:30It just gives it a more snappy feeling.19:32I mean, we have amazing action scenes in19:34the film and I was very worried that19:36those are going to be too difficult to19:38execute and they actually became like19:40the easier things to execute and the19:42really dramatic scenes. These ones we19:44would try to get every single frame19:47working and it's all like eyebrows and19:50bottom lids and how much the brows are19:53furoughed.19:54>> This area it's a whole world of stuff19:56going on there.19:57>> It could be like two pixels19:59>> but it makes yeah it makes the biggest20:01difference because all of that as a20:03viewer you take all that in. There's a20:05scene in The Dark Knight of the Soul20:07when Roomie goes to her surrogate mom,20:09Seline, and they're talking and Room is20:11basically saying like, "I am this part20:13demon. I'm never going to change. Can20:15you just love me like this complete20:17thing that I am?" And Seline is20:18basically trying to make her feel better20:20and talk to her and she reaches up to20:22touch her cheek, but she has all her20:23patterns out and they're glowing. And20:25Seline just she can't actually do it.20:28>> Yeah. It's like a mother who loves her20:29child but a little repulsed by them or,20:32you know, unable to really be20:33affectionate. And we we fiddled with20:35that shot for a week or two to get that20:38nuance into the performance and and try20:40to tell who these characters are without20:42them necessarily just using dialogue.20:44>> What's the best tool for an animator if20:46they want to capture that nuance of20:48emotion?20:49>> Animators, the directors, we shoot20:51reference in order to give like a20:53realtime performance. So the entire20:55movie exists also in these [screaming]20:58things which we want [laughter] to put a21:00super cut together so we can watch it21:01with our crew. It'd be amazing.21:02>> It's crazy how much of the performance21:04is actually just the physical21:06>> performance. Yeah.21:07>> There's something about animation and21:08and even drawing out poses. You have to21:11like become the character. You have to21:14act it out. You have to feel it in order21:16to be able to translate that.21:18>> As you get into the animation process,21:20when do you guys actually record voices?21:22We were animating to temp dialogue that21:24we put in to work on the storyboard. It21:26it was just very difficult to cast21:28because we were looking for an all21:30Korean cast and we needed everybody to21:33have some fluency if not be completely21:36fluent in the Korean English.21:37>> Initially, we started with like we're21:38going to find three amazing21:40Korean-American women who can act at the21:43highest level and sing at a pop star21:44level. And then after a couple years,21:46we're like, okay.21:48>> And so it took us a really long time to21:50cast and we cast really late. So then,21:52you know, we thought, okay, we're going21:53to break it into two. We found these21:55really wonderful singers and also great21:57actors. Usually you do like a 3, four21:59hour session, and it would always take22:01like the end of the first session where22:03we'd be like, "Okay, I know we've been22:04asking you to be weird and you're being22:05kind of weird, but like we mean like22:07weird." [laughter]22:09This is just you with like your22:11roommates. May Hong who does the voice22:13of Meera, she had a line that she had to22:15do with her mouth full and Maggie had22:16done the scratch and it was like22:19[laughter]22:20and then May was like okay22:22and we're like May and she's like you22:24want me to Yeah. So she like got she's22:27like bring in the snacks and she like I22:29forget she ate like 48 strawberries and22:31she's22:33we're like yes me [laughter]22:35they did a lovely job of connecting to22:37that character and bringing something22:38personal to it. We had worked on Roomie22:40and Meera and Zoe for years, but we knew22:43them so well. By the time those two22:45performances line up to each other,22:47there's the continuity of really knowing22:49who the fictional character is. What was22:51so nice was you would see Zoe, which was22:53Gang doing her scene and then the song22:56would break out and it would be Ry22:58rapping, but there would be some23:00emotional connection through all that23:01and it made it feel like it's just Zoe.23:03But because it's animation, you can't23:05talk about acting without the animators23:07because they are also the actors. We23:09have all these like great moments where23:11Zoe will say something, but then her eye23:13darts from side to side like just to get23:16that approval from her like older23:18sisters. And so there's a little nuance23:21acting that the animators have added in23:23that add to that character. Everything23:25stacked on top of each other helps this23:27character become a real person.23:29>> So you've animated the shots and you're23:31recording the voice actors. Now what do23:33you just render them out? Is there23:34anything else that needs to happen?23:35>> The animation goes to CFX,23:37>> character effects,23:38>> which is hair, clothing, secondary23:41movements, which in our movie often23:43times were really important.23:44>> We had a lot of hair, a lot of colon. We23:47think that we did the first French tuck23:49in animation, which is GU, just a little23:51shirt tuck in the front, party in the23:53back. [laughter]23:55>> Then it goes to lighting. So much of23:57this movie has heightened color, so you23:58have a lot of things that would be24:00impossible in live action. And then24:02effects happen there like the smoke, the24:04whole moon,24:05>> the entire character of Ka.24:08>> There's lots of comp work.24:10>> Interesting. Yeah, because I always24:11assume that oh, just you hit render once24:13everything's done. Of course, you hit24:14render and this pops out of the24:15computer, but in reality, it's there's24:17still visual effects happening.24:18>> So, a shot like this, every frame is24:21essentially adjusted. I remember one of24:23the hard things in the sequence was to24:25actually get this pervasive green24:27stylish fog and have like the local24:29color of their costumes and the girls24:31hair popping out. It just was borderline24:33impossible. Literally, you just sit24:34there and you go frame by frame and24:36paint back in Mera's red hair cutting24:38through the green. Any finished frame of24:41animation that's heightened in terms of24:43color and light means basically every24:45pixel of the frame was touched by hand.24:48It becomes essentially a moving24:50painting.24:52How do you work on the [music] same24:54story for six years without it like just24:56losing sense and meaning in your head?24:58>> You have to really be kind of crazy.25:00>> Yeah. [laughter] All right.25:02>> I think the beginning times were kind of25:04hard and then I was like in the middle25:06like this is I'm am I still alive?25:09>> And then [music]25:10the last like I don't know a couple two25:12three months and then even the last week25:14I was like oh my gosh25:16>> still trying to kill the baby. joke that25:18this was like this movie was a haunted25:20house that wouldn't let us out25:21[laughter]25:23cuz it just kept getting scarier and25:25scarier [music] and you're like I think25:26I'm just going to die here. [laughter]25:28>> We had a few moments over the course of25:306 years where whether it was our own25:33storytelling or studio notes where25:35things that we believed in got a little25:37lost. Probably the hardest thing for us25:39was there were a few times where we felt25:41like you know what this version of this25:43moment we we actually don't believe in25:44it.25:45>> Yeah. We had a screening where [music] I25:47was like, "Do you like this movie?" And25:49he was like, "No, like I [snorts] don't25:50like this either." And the [music]25:51audience was like, "Eh, it's fine." And25:54so I think that's the screening where we25:55both felt like, you know what, if people25:57don't like it, at least we should25:58[music] like it. Like we should be proud26:00of what we're putting up, whether people26:02like it or not.26:03>> Well, people clearly love this film. I26:05mean, you guys won two Golden Globes,26:07one for best animated [music] picture.26:08It's one of the biggest movies of the26:10past 10 years. You guys must be in the26:12craziest whirlwinds of your lives26:13[music] right now. And that's got to be26:15amazing. And I hope you guys are26:16savoring it and enjoying it. Thank you.26:18It's amazing that you guys took the time26:20to join me on [music] this couch. It's26:22not too often we get guests in here that26:23my kids are jazzed about. [laughter]26:25And uh to all of you guys, [music] see26:26you next Saturday.
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