The Good Dinosaur is almost here and every time I see a preview for the film, I get more and more excited about watching it with the family! While I was in San Francisco, I had the opportunity to learn so much about the making of the film. I am always amazed by how many teams come together to put the film together. Here are some fun facts for 3 of the creative teams behind The Good Dinosaur.
Creating the visual design with Sharon Calahan (Director of Photography – Lighting)
- Started off by talking about the kind of film they wanted to make. They wanted a film that had a lot of heart.
- Pete wanted the setting to inform and be a key part, almost like a character.
- To make the film, they had to think differently on how to create the sets and how they created their sky’s
- 3rd research trip focused on Art and the Yellowstone National Park area to believably influence the story.
They also referenced various movies for inspiration…
- The Black Stallion especially the 1st half of it.
- Never Cry Wolf: An important reference for the vast feeling of landscape that helped characters feel vulnerable
- Seven years in Tibet: For Scope and Scale
- Dance with Wolves: For the bison crowd scenes
View from above with Sets Supervisor David Munier
- Pete challenged them to be able to capture a very cinematography type of style where they see the landscape while they follow the characters.
- They referenced The Grand Tetons National Park and looked at photos of Jackson Valley and snake river for their landscaping look.
- They utilized the USGS (United States Geological Survey) to figure out how to capture it. They then downloaded the data and incorporated it into their computer software to create their landscape base.
- Gave Pete a lot of different choices for landscaping so they wouldn’t have to go back and draw from scratch.
- Claw Tooth Mountain is based off The Grand Tetons.
- The clouds were painted into the background by a clouds team. Some of them were based on the lighting done by the lighting team. Effects were also done to the clouds based on the look they were going for. Clouds even cast shadows on the ground for a more natural look.
- With the USGS data they could then do some location scouting.
- They also used Google Earth and “flew around” as a reference as well.
Effective storytelling with Effects Supervisor Jon Reisch
- The river was a really big challenge for them.
- with effects, they try to provide the connection between CG world and the CG characters to make the characters tangible.
- They also use effects to help set the mood of the characters and create visual tension. They want to reflect what’s going on internally for the characters with visual effects.
- Their effects team relies heavily on simulation software and they need to have a lot of patience because it is done 1 frame at a time and each frame relies heavily on the one before it.
The Good Dinosaur will be in theaters on Thanksgiving!
