Fringe - 4/15 *Open Spoilers*

[Saltire]

A couple of good Nimoy-imitative moments: When Anna said “Aye, aye, Captain.” and when she did the right-eyebrow lift. I wonder if Anna Torv can actually do that, or if the used CGI.

[TBG]

@HenryGale

What this show does have the ability to do, which strikes me as a lot more fun, is kill off a character without having to fire the actor.

Just to point it out, Fringe did this in the first season when they killed off Mark Valley’s character in the first episode, but Olivia kept seeing him (sometimes in her head via the sensory deprivation tank, sometimes not) and Massive Dynamic had his body in the freezer or something too.

Anyway, a week late, but yeah, did not like the animation at all. I understand why they did it, but I hate that rotoscoping stuff like they did. Despite that, it was still a great episode.

[GuanoLad]

Just watched this episode, and would like to point out it wasn’t rotoscoping (drawing over the top of the actor) but pure animation, done by hand, using CG modelling.

[Mahaloth]

@GuanoLad

Just watched this episode, and would like to point out it wasn’t rotoscoping (drawing over the top of the actor) but pure animation, done by hand, using CG modelling.

That’s cool. Where did you learn this?

[GuanoLad]

@Mahaloth

That’s cool. Where did you learn this?

I didn’t learn it, I just know what rotoscoping looks like, and this wasn’t it.

[TBG]

Regardless, it had the same creepy vibe as rotoscoping.

[Mahaloth]

nm

[Mahaloth]

You might be right, then. Zoic says:

Inspired by graphic novels, Max Fleischer and Hanna-Barbera classics, Zoic began the process with extensive character designs for each of the actors who would appear in the animated dream-state. Storyboards were drawn for every scene in the show and were cut together with footage from stunt coordinator fight scene choreography and live-action performances to retain the integrity of the actor performances and ensure that that these unique character personalities translate on screen.

Using a unique blend of 3-D and hand-drawn bush strokes, Zoic created animated characters that strike a balance between stylized and authentic, allowing the subtleties of the actors’ emotions and mannerisms to shine through. The materials and footage from various formats were extensively tracked in Zoic’s project-management pipeline, to effectively organize plates, actor and voiceover performances and feed shot and version notes to the artists from the supervisors and client.

In addition to the character animation, the Zoic team recreated some Fringe sets and designed and animated new environments key to the narrative. These environments, often hand-painted backgrounds projected onto 3-D plates, have incredible depth of field and subtle hand-held float, providing an immersive experience for the viewer.

Found here.

[GuanoLad]

@TBG

Regardless, it had the same creepy vibe as rotoscoping.

True. There was an uncanny valley element.

It’s a rendering technique called cel-shading, which makes 3D models look somewhat like traditional cartoons by limiting the colour palette. It’s a technique that needs to be perfected and used more often, but so far has mostly been seen only in various Anime projects, or small independent short films. I think it has the potential to make a movie or a video game uniquely stylistically interesting, but it’s rarely adopted.