paranorman booklet

7/27/2019 ParaNorman Booklet

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ENTER THE WORLD OF THE YEARS MOST HO

A C A D E M Y A W A R D

N O M I N ETo experience an enhanced look at the extraordinary artistry behind ParaNormango to www.focusguilds2012.com/pnbooklet


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IN AN ANIMATED FEATUREMOTION PICTURE

ves AWARDNOMINATIONS

Including5

WINNER

SAN DIEGO FILMCRITICS SOCIETY

WINNER

LAS VEGAS FILM CRITICSSOCIETY

WINNER

DALLAS-FT.WORTH FILMCRITICS ASSOCIATION

WINNER

WASHINGTON DC AREA FILMCRITICS ASSOCIATION

WINNER

CHICAGO FILM CRITICSASSOCIATION

WINNER

TORONTO FILM CRITICSASSOCIATION

WINNER

UTAH FILM CRITICSASSOCIATION

WINNER

SOUTHEASTERN FILM CRITICSASSOCIATION

WINNER

CENTRAL OHIO FILM CRITICSASSOCIATION

WINNER

ONLINE FILM CRITICSSOCIETY

WINNER

SAN FRANCISCO FILMCRITICS CIRCLE

A C A D E M Y A W A R D

N O M I N E E ANNIE AWARD NOMINATIONSIncluding

PRODUCERS GUILD OF AMERICANOMINEE

THE YEARS MOST HONORED ACHIEVEMENT IN ANIMA


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Animation is a medium, not a genre.

Genre is a limiting term,hamstringing creative possibilities,

but animation is a powerful visual medium

restrained only by the imaginations

of its practitioners.

We take it further, by incorporating all forms

of animation into our methodology.

LAIKA has roots in stop-motion.

So it is this art form that we are trying to redefine.

Travis Knight,

Producer/Lead Animator

CREATING AHANDMADE WORLD

Every single production department, every member o the crew, pushed themselves to take the

medium to places its never been; to innovate, to create, and to press beyond the inherent limitations

o stop-motion to orm a rich and unique world with complex characters that are ully alive.

TRAVIS KNIGHT PRODUCER/LEAD ANIMATOR

Meet the Artists


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Wh h

h k, b x

ParaNorman Represents UnInnovation in Handmade St

A New Future or a 100-Year-OC R, WIRED MAGAZINE


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The town of Blithe Hollow is like

with peeling paint and w

broken edges yet its beau

photographer William E

Ch

THE YEAR S MOST HONORED ACHIEVEMENT IN ANIMATED ARTISTRYTHE YEAR S MOST HONORED ACHIEVEMENT IN ANIMATED ARTISTRY


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Amblin-produced movies

and they didnt condescend to

be what kids contend wi

facing bullying as well as so

C

I wrote the screenplay without allowing existing limitations o the medium to aect our vision.We entered into this thing intent on pushing boundaries, both micro and macro. We wanted to create aworld much bigger than wed seen beore in stop-motion. We had such a wealth o technical innovationsat our fngertips that we were able to accomplish a grand-scale adventure with a huge cast o complexcharacters, something that would never have been possible in stop-motion just a handul o years ago.

CHRIS BUTLER WRITER/DIRECTOR

Meet the Artists


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ParaNorman speaks to everybody who

grew up feeling that they didnt quite fit in.

People like Norman who have a

special gift are sometimes ostracized,

but what may push them to the fringes

is what makes them uniqueand gives their l ives real value.

Travis Knight,

Producer/Lead Animator


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Ive been told so many times by people that they are surprised the flm moved them so much. Thats the

best thing about PNor me; people care about the characters and the world. All the hard work,

crat and technology combined to make something that spoke to peoples hearts.

SAM FELL DIRECTOR

Meet the Artists


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NORMAN

I k , N.

I k b .

NEIL

S I. L h!

Y h h

.

Th f

k h .


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We

Soso

its

pla

o

th

wh

THE YEAR S MOST HONORED ACHIEVEMENT IN ANIMATED ARTISTRY


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I loved PNrom the moment I read the frst drat o Chris script. I thought, ...now this

is a movie I want to see. And it is! A great story on many levels and a true challenge to make in

stop-motion animation - all the elements I could ask or in a passion project.

ARIANNE SUTNER PRODUCER

Meet the Artists


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INT. BABCOCKS HOUSE, NORMANS BEDR

GRANDMA BABCOCK

Th h h b

c N,

ch h .


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The team doesnt shoot on location.

They create the location.

The artists dont shop for

the perfect props to decorate the set.

They make them from scratch.

Rob DeSue,

Assistant Art Director/Head of Set Dressing



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Travis graveyard sequence is amazing.

Ive never seen anything like this nothing as intricate,

detailed, and beautifully realized as that.

Brad Schiff,

Animation Supervisor


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The great thing about stop-motion is that youre

shooting real things in real light with real lenses.

Every frame can be unique.

Its close to live-action in that way.

Sam Fell, Director


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Chris Butler digital

Chris Butler a

Heidi Smith pencil

Chris Butler digital

Chris Butler pencil

Im basically Norman.

When I was eleven I had big soulful eyes,

was painfully shy, got picked on at school,

and had an unfeasibly large head.

Theres still some debate in my family as to

whether or not I can actually talk to ghosts.

Chris Bu tler, Writer/Director

I went through port

you come across one

doesnt follow the tren

their own thing becau

Chr

When I draw and I think about design, it becomes a disaster. Once I start trying to be careul,

I might as well throw away the drawing. It has to be emotional, it has to be raw. It has to be rough.

Thats where the character is.

HEIDI SMITH CHARACTER DESIGNER

Meet the Artists


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On ParaNorman we wanted to try a new, fresh approach to stop-motion

animation with less of a theatrical feel and more of a movie one.

There is so much going on that you shouldnt do in stop-motion; big crowd

scenes with extras, chases, overlapping dialogue, close-ups and

reaction shots...with two-thirds of this taking place in outdoor settings.

Sam Fell, Director


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We want the viewer to be ully immersed in our stories and never be reminded

o the medium. I can confdently say the animation in PNis the best,

most consistent stop-motion created to date.

BRAD SCHIFF ANIMATION SUPERVISOR

Meet the Artists


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LAIKA wanted to continue to push the level

of performance that a stop-motion puppet

could give and to modernize the process.

With ParaNorman, we have made the first

stop-motion movie that uses a 3D ColorPrinter,

which allows us to build color into the model.

Its a big move forward.

The beautiful skin tone comes from the color

being baked in by way of the printers.

It was something that we saw as a way to make

our characters feel that much more alive.

Brian McLean,

Creative Supervisor of Replacement Animation

& Engineering

MAKING FACES


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For the replacement animation, we model in

the computer based on drawings created by

a 2D animator, and then print them out in

Rapid Prototyping on 3D Printers so you get the actual tangible upper or lower

portion of the face. The result is beautiful

and expressive facial animation.

Travis Knight, Producer/Lead Animator

The Rapid Prototyping process LAIKA pioneered on Cwas perected on PN with the advent

o color 3D printing . From the minute our hero, Norman, walks in ront o the camera, and you can see reallight radiating through his 3D color-printed ears, you know you are witnessing something that has never beenseen beore and is unique to the screen.

BRIAN MCLEAN CREATIVE SUPERVISOR OF REPLACEMENT ANIMATION & ENGINEERING

Meet the Artists


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T

The 3D coloSo



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Unlike a lot o stop-motion animation, which is known or its very obvious hand-crated look,LAIKA is dedicated to perecting the perormance and design using highly skilled engineers,animators and artists. The subtlety o perormance in our puppets is equal i not more believablethan most animated characters in the history o flm.

GEORGINA HAYNS CREATIVE SUPERVISOR OF CHARACTER FABRICATION

Meet the Artists


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Neils hair may look quite simple but his wigs

each had 20 different types of fibers in them,

including synthetic hair, plant fibers,

mohair, human hair, as well as glues and dyes.

Georgina Hayns,

Creative Supervisor of Character Fabrication



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ParaNorman Puppet Room Oregon, U.S.A.


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Brian Addison Elli

making toilet paper w

toilet paper apand then eventual

You need someo

int

Animating organic materials like cloth, water, fre, steam, and earth is among the Holy Grails o

stop-motion animation. So having the opportunity to work with miniature toilet paper to create

a method to control it was a great thrill.

BRIAN ADDISON ELLIOT LEAD ANIMATION RIGGER

Meet the Artists


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Theres this love and care thats gone into

every single little prop or piece of lighting,

and it all adds up to this fantastic whole.

Jason Stalman, Animator



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You d

to

on a s


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You can look deeper and deeper into the backgrounds o the sets. Weve made everything and detailed

everything, right down to the piles o newspaper in the town hall and Normans bedspread.

NELSON LOWRY PRODUCTION DESIGNER

Meet the Artists


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On ParaNorman , one of the main visual effects challenges

the creation of CG elements that had a handmade aesthe

LAIKAs stop-motion lms have an incredibly tactile look

and it was fundamental that we incorporate practical desiand rigging techniques into our digital effects. The combinat

techniques used on the visual effects in ParaNorman highli

the marriage of tradition and technology that exists at LA

Andrew Nawrot, CG & Look Development Supervisor



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On ParaNorman , there is not a

single fabric that is a straight-away

store-bought fabric; we treat and

hand-dye every costume. Deborah Cook,

Creative Supervisor of Costume Design

Im passionate about, and proud oPNbecause not only is it a groundbreaking stop-motion

movie, but it also transcends our medium to become a pertinent story o bravery and bonding or

a group o kids who love their riends, amily and community and fght or it.

DEBORAH COOK CREATIVE SUPERVISOR OF COSTUME DESIGN

Meet the Artists


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EXT. NEW FOREST CLEARING - BRIGHT SUNNY DAY

NORMAN

I hk j k h c

h h.

S h f .


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paranorman booklet

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