Thursday, September 16, 2010

The challenges of a story artist in film


I draw with a digital tablet at work. Hours and hours of time have I spent capturing the written story into image after image after image. We story artists are the ones, along with the editors and director, that oftentimes you will find in the studio on weekends.  I used to feel that Animators were the kings of the Animated movie when I animated, but as I moved into story I began to see how the story artist is the one who must be many things;  Director, Actor, Cinematographer, Choreographer, Key Grip, etc. Not only do we stage each and every shot ( cut to cut) but we act out the emotions and dramatics called for during the time that the film gate opens till it closes in the 'Take'.

The above shot called for my character, 'Eddie,' to be testing a new racing engine and moving through the gears.  It wasn't about speed, but about precision. Here he is taking a curve and is completely lost in the moment - eyes fast on the road, ears on the RPM's of the engine and mind switching from sound to sight and beyond. Click on the image to get a full frame view of it.
And it starts with a blank page.

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