Raising Dragons in Hollywood

Chapter 7: Attack on clay animation

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Ellie didn't leave in the end.

Because she suddenly saw Mickey, who was silently following behind Sammy, who was arguably the most handsome man she had ever seen in her life.

This is not to say that she was so excited that she immediately wanted to abandon her boyfriend Rosie and let go of her love.

Instead, she thought logically that if Sammy was looking for a boyfriend, with such a handsome man, her boyfriend Rosie would be quite safe.

But Sammy didn't know what she was thinking, and after finding that the girl finally stopped arguing, she was simply glad that the terrible misunderstanding was resolved smoothly.

Then, he thought stupidly: 'Although this lady Ellie is a bit overreacting on the issue of love, she is still very reasonable. '

only…

What's even more amazing is that Ellie (when she realizes that Sammy and her boyfriend can't develop anything) starts to take the initiative!

She gave Sammy a lipstick that cost about fifty dollars; she held his hand intimately and took him out for a walk; she asked questions from time to time about whether he and Mickey were getting along well ; also discussed with him about hairstyles, clothing matching and other topics.

Not good! Is she interested in me

Sammy was stunned by this wave of manipulation, self-motivated and worried, afraid that he would accidentally give his brother to the green.

He hurried to Rosie in private and tried to explain sincerely, "Dude, you know what? I really don't mean anything to your girlfriend. She's pretty, no, no, I mean, she's pretty and I It's okay! Really, I don't know what happened to her recently. But you must, don't get me wrong, we are absolutely innocent."

Rosie was smoking a cigarette, and laughed when she heard it.

He pushed on his glasses and waved his hand indifferently: "You think too much, Sammy! Ellie is taking you as a little sister."

"What!" Sammy was in a trance.

He thought to himself, "Too blind! Don't I look more manly than Rosie?"

Although he was very angry, he couldn't do anything to other people's little girls. He had to puff up a steamed bun face that was even more angry, turned grief and anger into motivation to move forward, and put all his energy into work!

Before that, Rossi had reliably submitted a convincing report to the director of the animation department in order to apply for funds for the production of animation.

After all, big companies have nothing to say about resources.

Although you have to rely on yourself to chase your dreams, there is no need to pretend to reject the help that you might get with a little care.

Therefore, in order to be successful in the application, Rossi exaggeratedly used all kinds of praise in the report, which is probably to say that Sammy's creativity is very personal, pioneering, avant-garde, distinctive, and a project worth investing in.

Disney's management is well-informed, and naturally knows that when people are pulling investment, they can say anything nonsense. So, they didn't really believe the exaggerated sales pitches in the Rossi report.

However, under the premise of giving priority to profits, maintaining a sufficiently happy innovation ability is also the purpose of the company that has always been adhered to.

And only if creativity doesn't die, companies can truly survive and prosper in the ever-changing entertainment market.

Therefore, they believe that some support should be given to Sammy's initiative to innovate.

Even as early as when the annual animation was launched, they had already rejected the idea of "Slaying the Dragon" that did not meet the selling point of the market.

But when Sammy decided that it was up to him to make the idea come true, they still agreed to set aside a small sum of money to conduct this experiment (of course, if the experiment didn't work, then it's better to shut up and do it honestly). live, or just get out).

Just support to support...

The amount they set aside is still very, very small.

In addition, since it is a job that has passed the bright road, it is natural to form a small team according to the process, and you can't do everything yourself.

But most people in the company don’t want to join such a small team with no future (experimental animations may not be able to be released, and the money is still so little).

But there are always some fish that slip through the net.

Therefore, after careful search, Rossi successfully brought in two helpers, namely senior photographer Gavin and rookie animator Jack, together with him and Sammy, the four jointly formed this temporary animation production team.

This is their full starting lineup.

Yes, there are two non-staff members - Ellie and Mickey. But these two people can't do anything at the moment, they can only be responsible for logistics and chaos.

By the way, Mickey, the underage fire dragon, is still very sensible.

In order to avoid burning down the house again, he sneaks several ice cubes or a large pot of water back to the room every day, and puts ice cubes and a large pot of water beside him before going to bed. Put ice cubes in your mouth, or stick your head directly into the basin.

This did successfully prevent fires from occurring.

But it also brought another problem, that is-his bed was often wet.

Others were quick to notice this.

Rosie, the owner of the house, couldn't help but ask quietly, "What's the matter with your friend? The sheets are wet every day."

"Uh… "

Sammy hesitated for a moment before telling him deliberately: "Mickey has been domestically abused for a long time before."

"Ah? Sorry. Does that have anything to do with the sheets being wet?" Rosie asked inexplicably.

Sammy told him: "I have checked the information, and it is said that domestic violence is serious, and it is likely to leave a lifetime of psychological shadows and some bad sequelae."

"Wait, I don't understand."

Rossi was confused: "What shadow? What sequelae?"

"It's… uh, I guess, bedwetting or something," Sammy said awkwardly.

Then, he quickly added another sentence: "Don't mention this, it hurts one's self-esteem."

Rossi shut up.

It's just that since then, he and his girlfriend Ellie have often looked at the 'poor' Mickey, who has a shadow of domestic violence, probably has nightmares every night, and scares himself into bed-wetting, with a sympathetic and forgiving look. Take the initiative to give some care and help.

Two meters tall and as powerful as an ox, Mai Qilong, who did not know Feng Ping was tragically killed, remained unconscious and unconscious every night, lying comfortably on the bed with a large basin of water beside him.

He threw the frozen ice cubes into his mouth one by one, chewed them naturally like eating jelly beans, and once again sighed happily in his heart: "Humans are so friendly to dragons. Round faces. The dwarf is so good, I didn't expect his friends to be so good!"

During this period, Sammy, who was busy with his work, also reintegrated his ideas due to limited funds and some changes in his ideas over time.

"I don't have the money, time or energy to make a gorgeous, good-looking dragon that really fits my imagination and looks like a decent dragon."

He thought to himself: "But I can do my best to make this story a little more interesting, and at the same time convey something to the audience, whether it's good or bad, it's just something that people can feel when they see it."

Having set the tone, Sammy opted to make a short clay animation that was kept to under ten minutes as long as possible.

He then went all out to script, design characters, and draw storyboards, etc.

Animator Jack was very helpful with props and scene creation.

This young man with a pair of attractive ears has a lively and cheerful personality, and worships Sammy in a subtle way. He always thinks that Sammy is very powerful in both creativity and technology. Mi Xianbao.

As for why he was transferred to this small team with no future, it was because he was still a rookie in the workplace.

Not long after graduation, the professional talents taught in Disney's assembly line training and processing factory are very skilled, but they have great defects in design and lack imagination and creativity.

To put it simply, it is a screw in mechanical production that can only be installed in a fixed position. It is a skilled craftsman only suitable for Disney's operation mode, not an artist who has his own ideas and can control the overall situation.

But it was his presence that freed Sammy from too tedious and unskilled work, thus saving a lot of time.

Photographer Gavin is another story.

He is an old employee who has worked for many years, with rich experience and deep qualifications.

But his problem is that he has difficulty communicating, is reticent, and actually stutters slightly. When shooting, I like to make my own decisions. As a result, no matter how strong his technology is, no one is willing to cooperate with him.

But in reality, aside from physical flaws and struggles to communicate, self-assertion is just because he's used to doing things the best he can. The team leaders who think he doesn't listen are mostly idiots who don't have enough real stuff in their stomachs.

Sammy didn't care much about it.

He himself does not like to talk much, and his attitude towards works is also a typical representative of excellence: "As long as the final effect is good and the work is perfect, then all problems are not problems."

Such an attitude was silently recognized by photographer Gavin.

The two hit it off on the spot, and when they officially partnered, they had a surprisingly tacit understanding, and even felt like a duck to water.

When they shot this short animation, they imitated the same shooting techniques as the famous monster movie "King Kong" at the time.

The super-large orangutan with a height of forty or fifty centimeters on the screen was photographed with a simple orangutan model.

The specific method is, when you want to take a picture, first place the gorilla model in advance, then slowly move the gorilla model forward a little, take a picture, move, take another picture, and then move... so Cycle over and over again. Finally, a series of consecutive shots are released, and the gorilla seems to be able to run freely on the screen.

This method of filming is extremely time-consuming, tedious, and laborious.

The lighting, camera angles, and the arrangement of props, you have to start over if you are not careful.

But the good thing is that this shooting method does not cost much, is simple and easy to operate, and does not require high external conditions. Just have a camera, a table, pre-made props, and…

Of all the necessary preparations, the most important thing is to be patient!

So, everything is going on in an orderly manner, scripting, characters, props, photography…

Everything is ready, only the voice actors are missing.

At this time, considering that this temporary team has no money to hire any super-powerful voice actors.

After a few seconds of contemplation, Sammy solemnly entrusted this important job to Mickey, who had been eating and drinking for free and had nothing to do: "Starting today, my friend! You are the protagonist of my animation— Dragon Slayer!"

Mickey is embarrassed: You, you are embarrassing me...