Paperman

[SWillie!]

Yeah, pretty big - although maybe not as big as Rapunzel's.

Their names aren't mentioned, although they did tell us their names - I wrote them down but my notes are at home. I'll post later.

And yes, it is mostly silent... the score is the only thing we hear once it kicks in about a quarter of the way into the film, and my god is it a fantastic score. I'm not sure who did it. It isn't Giachinno, I don't think. Before the music starts there are some small sound effects.

[Sotiris]

Their names aren't mentioned, although they did tell us their names - I wrote them down but my notes are at home. I'll post later.

OK. Just don't forget.

And yes, it is mostly silent... the score is the only thing we hear once it kicks in about a quarter of the way into the film, and my god is it a fantastic score.

It sounds like The Artist of animation. And I say that as a good thing, of course.

I'm not sure who did it. It isn't Giachinno.

It's Christophe Beck.

[Jules]

God I'm going to have an orgasm!!!! I can't stand it! Squeal!

*goes to relieve himself*

Back! Oh God. OMG. OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG I'm going to have a SECOND orgasm!

Hahahaha! Puhahaha! Wheeeee! Choooookha!

Oh God, this means we are looking at possibly a NEW medium of animation. It's not CG. It's not hand-drawn. It's both, and completely new!

If this year is really the end of the world, then it's really, really unfair. 'Cos I won't get to see Paperman. Gah. Poo. Damn.



OH YEAH!!!!

[SWillie!]

The characters names are Meg and George.

[Sotiris]

The characters names' are Meg and George.

So we have two Megs now. Well, this one must be short for Megan and not Megara.

[TheSequelOfDisney]

I'm really looking forward to seeing Paperman; from just the description it sounds like it's going to be amazing. Thanks for telling all of us, SWillie!

[LySs]

Found this and thought y'all would find this interesting

I painted this after seeing “Paperman” at Disney Inspire Day yesterday. The short film was one of the most beautiful films I have ever seen! I was so touched by it that I teared up. It was an incredible experience.

The drawing itself has nothing to do with the film, tho. I just wanted to paint something black and white with a strong lighting like how the film had beautifully executed.

Source: http://ambipoo.tumblr.com/post/20133698 ... -at-disney

[Wonderlicious]

SWillie, thanks for the insight into Paperman! From your description, I started to wonder - by any chance does the style of the short look similar to these? They're a set of new commercials for Twinings Tea airing in the UK, and have quite a painterly look to them:

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/LdkcsDueSMM" frameborder="0"></iframe>

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/rZq-jWGLkoM" frameborder="0"></iframe>

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/lvQp4G_x7ig" frameborder="0"></iframe>

[Sotiris]

They're a set of new commercials for Twinings Tea airing in the UK, and have quite a painterly look to them

Yes, these are really good. Very beautiful and emotive. The first one won multiple awards including this year's Annie for Best Animated Commercial. You can still tell though that it's CG animation with added 'painterly' textures and effects because the character's movements are a bit stiff.

You can do so many different things with CG animation but Hollywood just keeps producing generic-looking CG films. It's a shame. I'd love to see a full-length feature looking like these commercials.

[SWillie!]

Those are indeed really really nice. I wouldn't really compare it to Paperman though. Paperman feels much flatter, like a drawing rather than a painting.

[Jules]

Those commercials are gorgeous. That's probably what Glen Keane wanted his version of Rapunzel to look like.

[Wonderlicious]

They're a set of new commercials for Twinings Tea airing in the UK, and have quite a painterly look to them

Yes, these are really good. Very beautiful and emotive. The first one won multiple awards including this year's Annie for Best Animated Commercial. You can still tell though that it's CG animation with added 'painterly' textures and effects because the character's movements are a bit stiff.

Of course I knew that it was in no means hand-drawn. I just used it as it did have a painterly quality to it, and it would be a good starting point for comparisons and visualisations.

You can do so many different things with CG animation but Hollywood just keeps producing generic-looking CG films. It's a shame. I'd love to see a full-length feature looking like these commercials.

Yeah. I could imagine an independent animated film looking like that, and we can hope that Disney does perhaps commit to this new hybrid medium used in Paperman from early buzz. I don't think it also helps that a lot of the generic-looking films are equally generic in the story department. I went to see The Pirates! in An Adventure With Scientists the other day (it's already out in the UK - worth watching!) and most of the films in the trailers looked awful (Hotel Transylvania, Ice Age 5,367, Top Cat 3D). If anything, though, they're just poorly mimicking the formula of a surer studio (Pixar with a healthy mix of Dreamworks, or vice versa), just as many animated films pre-2001 took the Disney formula and made terrible use of it in traditional animation. And of course, there are many alternatives to hand-drawn animation rather than the oft-used Disney/Hollywood style, as this collection of Richard Williams commercials demonstrates. I suppose you could say film history is repeating itself.

Those are indeed really really nice. I wouldn't really compare it to Paperman though. Paperman feels much flatter, like a drawing rather than a painting.

Ah okay. Well, in any case, I'm just looking forward to this short hopefully coming out into wider release after all the buzz! Sigh, I really wish I worked at Disney animation sometimes.

[SWillie!]

The more I watch it, the more I'm guessing the process is very similar to what they did in Paperman, although I can't really tell if they're getting that painterly feel through CG textures or through painting over the models.

[Sotiris]

And of course, there are many alternatives to hand-drawn animation rather than the oft-used Disney/Hollywood style, as this collection of Richard Williams commercials demonstrates.

Thanks for the link. I didn't even know about those commercials. They're really good.

[SWillie!]

Disney has created a facebook page for Paperman. I hope they start uploading artwork soon. The page confirms that Paperman will play in front of Wreck-It Ralph.

https://www.facebook.com/paperman

Here is the official synopsis:

Introducing a groundbreaking technique that seamlessly merges computer-generated and hand-drawn animation techniques, first-time director John Kahrs takes the art of animation in a bold new direction with “Paperman.” Using a minimalist black-and-white style, the short follows the story of a lonely young man in mid-century New York City, whose destiny takes an unexpected turn after a chance meeting with a beautiful woman on his morning commute. Convinced the girl of his dreams is gone forever, he gets a second chance when he spots her in a skyscraper window across the avenue from his office. With only his heart, imagination and a stack of papers to get her attention, his efforts are no match for what the fates have in store for him. Created by a small, innovative team working at Walt Disney Animation Studios, “Paperman” pushes the animation medium in an exciting new direction.

[Elladorine]

The page confirms that Paperman will play in front of Wreck-It Ralph.

:pink::pink:

[SWillie!]

I seriously can't wait for all of you to see this.

I'm interested to see what people who aren't as art-oriented have to say about it. I assume they will be able to see what all the fuss is about, but I do wonder... my parents can't tell if something is hand drawn or CG unless I point it out, for God's sake.

[SWillie!]

disneyanimation.com has put up a section for Paperman under "Projects": http://www.disneyanimation.com/projects ... index.html

It says "Sneak peek coming soon"!! And has an image of one of the many posters I saw in the hat building:

[BelleGirl]

Thanks for all the information, looks like a great short. Cannot wait for the sneak peek!

[Rumpelstiltskin]

So, a little about the short itself... Without giving too much away, the short is about a 1940s (50s?) romance in New York City. It's mostly in black and white, and feels like a B&W photograph from that time period. The character designs are fantastic (Glen Keane worked on them along with others), and the art direction reminded several people of 101 Dalmatians. Having already seen sketches and screenshots before watching the short, I said "wow, this looks really great - looks straight up hand-drawn to me." And then when they screened it, and things started moving... my jaw hit the floor and I went "OH MY GOD WHAT AM I WATCHING."

Could this be what Glen Keane was referring to a while back? I'll just re-post a quote from him that I have posted earlier:

"And we used the computer to paint it, but keeping the charcoal lines in. I thought, that’s how I want to use the computer. I want to find a way to really celebrate drawing. To really value the energy of a line. A line to me is like a seismograph of an earthquake, that measures emotion. And when you clean it up, you take so much out. That’s another direction that we can go because of the computer. What I’ve spent my time doing is taking what I like about hand-drawn, and putting it into the computer. I’d like to take some time and take what the computer can do, and put that into hand-drawn. That’d be another whole look for a movie. I don’t know what it’d look like, but that’s what I’d like to pursue."

If so, I'm glad he was around at Disney long enough to make a final impact. And if this is as promising as it sounds like, perhaps it will make Andreas Deja to return as well.