INFO@MINNOWMOUNTAIN.COM

04 Animation Pipeline

Now, let’s talk about the Animation Department specifically. This is an outline breaking down the steps of Rotoscoping Live-Action Reference.

1917 Rotoscope Patent | Koko The Clown Rotoscope Animation, 1921

Assume you have shot and edited the film in its entirety. This live-action cut of your movie is called the Reference Edit. The reference edit is how the director communicates to the animation team what he wants the film to be.

There are 14 steps to rotoscoping a live-action film.

Rotoscoping Live-Action Reference

  1. Reference Edit Delivery
  2. Intake
  3. Shot Design
  4. Character Animation Workshop
  5. Specialty Vehicles/Objects Animation
  6. Background Studio
  7. SFX
  8. Composite
  9. Quality Check
  10. Review and Revise: Animation Director
  11. Shot Delivery: Animation Team to Animation Department
  12. Weekly Delivery: Animation Department to Production
  13. Review and Revise: Director
  14. Update Animation Edit

Take a look at these steps in more detail.

  • Reference Edit Delivery
  • Intake
    • Analysis 
    • Break Edit into Reels
    • Break Reels into Scenes
    • Break Scenes into Shots
    • Scheduling and Traffic of Shots
  • Shot Design
    • Color Key Art
    • Character Style Frame
    • Background Layout Drawing 
  • Character Animation Workshop (including props touched by actors)
    • Line
      • Keyframing
      • Digital Performance Tracking
      • Digital Performance Tracking Clean-up
      • Breakdowns
      • Inbetweens
    • Color
      • Flat Color
      • Keyframing: Light and Shadow
      • Light and Shadow Digital Performance Tracking
      • Light and Shadow Digital Performance Tracking Clean-up
      • Detail Color
  • Specialty Vehicles/Objects Animation
    • 3D
      • Model
      • Line/Skin/Texture
      • Keyframe Animation
      • Lighting
      • Additional Animation
      • 3D Clean-up
    • 2D
      • Line
        • Keyframing
        • Digital Performance Tracking
        • Digital Performance Tracking Clean-up
        • Breakdowns
        • Inbetweens
      • Color
        • Flat Color
        • Keyframing: Light and Shadow
        • Light and Shadow Digital Performance Tracking
        • Light and Shadow Digital Performance Tracking Clean-up
        • Detail Color
  • Background Studio
    • Background Painting
      • Color Wash
      • Textures
      • Shadows
      • Highlights
      • Detail
    • Animated Background Elements
      • Line
        • Keyframing
        • Digital Performance Tracking
        • Digital Performance Tracking Clean-up
        • Breakdowns
        • Inbetweens
      • Color
        • Flat Color
        • Keyframing: Light and Shadow
        • Light and Shadow Digital Performance Tracking
        • Light and Shadow Digital Performance Tracking Clean-up
        • Detail Color
  • SFX
    • Line
    • Color
    • Effects
    • Clean-up
  • Composite
    • 2D, 3D, and Multi-pane
    • Character Animation
    • Specialty Vehicles/Objects Animation
    • Backgrounds
    • SFX
  • Quality Check
  • Review and Revise: Animation Director
  • Shot Delivery: Animation Team to Animation Department
  • Weekly Delivery: Animation Department to Production
  • Review and Revise: Director
  • Update Animation Edit

This outline was taken from an in-person talk entitled Minnow Mountain: Pipelines by studio President Steph Swope and CEO Craig Staggs.

Table of Contents