Ernest and Celestine @ernestandcelestine-blog - Tumblr Blog

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It's finally here! Oscar nominee Ernest & Celestine is now available on Blu-ray, DVD, On Demand, iTunes and other digital platforms!

#Ernest et Celestine #ernest & celestine #movie #cute #animation #kids #oscar #france #belgium #Luxembourg #art

gkidsfilms

SIGNED POSTER GIVEAWAY ALERT!

We’re giving away a super-rare official movie poster that director Benjamin Renner has signed (and doodled on) to celebrate Ernest & Celestine's expansion to new cities this weekend.

For a chance to win, follow the instructions on the movie’s Facebook page!

26 – Thanks!

#ernest and celestine #animation #film #filmmaker #cute #movie #thanks #gratitude #illustrator #producer #writer #blog #art #entertainment

25 – Gabrielle Vincent, or, Monique Martin

#ernest and celestine #movie #book #director #author #cute #film #filmmaker #bear #mouse #entertainment #illustrator #stroybooks #children's books #gabrielle vincent #belgium #art #artist #writer

24 – The First Screening

Just so you know, the screening went surprisingly well... Here is a little picture with a good number of the people who made the film. From left to the right: Daniel Pennac, Me, Stéphane Aubier, Vincent Patar, Pauline Brunner, Lambert Wilson, Vincent Courtois and, sitting, Mister Didier...

#ernest and celestine #animation #director #directing #screening #first screening #premiere #cute #cartoon #film #filmmakers #art #actors #entertainment #illustrators #stage fright #theaters

23 – The Music

Vincent is a musician who has had the opportunity to be in different bands (such as Napoli's Walls, What do you mean by silence, and recently Médiums). One of the reason we asked him to work on the film was that his musical world fit perfectly with Ernest and Célestine. Another reason was that he looks a little like Ernest and his studio is as messy as Ernest's house.

We started working together early. Vincent started working with the storyboard, creating the musical themes of the film. Little by little, melodies were born. At first we need to find a way of speaking together, because my musical knowledge was not really developed.

After these floating conversations, everything went well. We both wanted to give each character a specific intrument. Each time they would appear on screen, a specific instrument was used.

For Celestine it was the clarinet:

And for Ernest the violin:

When the two are together, piano was used to illustrate their friendship.

For one on the scenes we asked Vincent to create the music before we made the animation. Here is the scene as it was written in the script:

CELESTINE (CONT'D) (showing Ernest her painting) Ernest, this is winter. ERNEST

(taking up his violin)

It would sound something like this.

The musical phrase from the violin follows the blue curve of Celestine’s painting… It is winter indeed.

61.EXT. countryside - day The musical phrase develops and accompanies the metamorphosis of the landscape from winter to spring. The clouds disappear, the sun comes out, the snow melts, water drips from the branches, grass grows, leaves return to the trees, the flowers blossom and bloom, insects gather pollen and nectar, birds sing, in short, it is the coming of spring that Ernest celebrates with his violin until the front door of the cabin finally opens and Ernest and Celestine appear on the threshold.

This scene depicts a musical transition and was supposed to be a mix between sound and drawing. So we had to draw according to the music as Oskar Fischinger used to work (check out one of his most wonderful films, ”The Sorcerer's Apprentice”). We asked Vincent to create the melody, simply asking him to make something that would depict the transition between Winter and Spring.

Once the music was made, I went to see the animator so I could brief him.

#ernest and celestine #animation #director #directing #film #filmmakers #art #cute #music #musicians #entertainment #composer #vincent courtois #illustrators on tumblr #soundtrack #ost #storyboards #oskar fischinger

22 – Post Synchronization

At this stage, we can work on the supporting actors and the extras. For example, in the crowd scenes, we ask for many different actors to come and record different crowd noises of rats and bears.

I finally had the occasion to work with children in order to record young bears and young mice.

#ernest and celestine #animation #animators #voice acting #voice actors #synchronization #post #post sync #film #filmmakers #art #cute #actors #entertainment #illustrators #producers #animated film

21 – The Sound Design

Bertrand's work will give sound to everything we see in the film: the steps, the sound of the clothes, the objects moving... In order to do so, he uses a bunch of objects that will create the appropriate sounds.

To record the sounds, Bertrand stands in front of a screen with the film on it and creates the sounds depending on the actions he sees. If he sees a character walking on the screen, he synchronizes his steps with the animation.

For the steps, he watches the way each character walks, their rhythm, the shoes they're using etc... For example, for The Grey One, Bertrand used old shoes:

For the little mice, he patted the ground with latex gloves.

Sometimes Bertrand combines different objects together to make a sound. So, to make fire sounds he used a straw broom, and he made crackling noise by touching the bristles.

Then he shook a cloth.

And finally he blew on the mic to make a rumbling noise.

And that's how he obtained the noise of a fire.

Sometimes some sounds are made by two very different objects used together. They can create really unexpected sounds.

Usually, the last recording day is used to make breaking noises. It is the happiest day of the sound design sessions.

You should have a look to a scene of the film with only the sound design. You will be able to consider the amount of work in the sound design. After these sounds were made, we still needed to add atmospheric sounds and sounds Bertrand couldn't make with objects. The final step was the mixing part where the sounds were placed in space.

#ernest and celestine #animation #sound #sound design #sound effects #film #art

20 – The Editing 2

#ernest and celestine #animation #animators #editing #deleted #scene

19 – The Editing 1

The editing lasted approximately 3 weeks. For Ernest and Celestine, the editor was working on the film, cutting scenes, removing them, replacing them... I was coming regularly to see her proposals so we could talk about it. The editing is a moment when a director has to rethink things, which is not always easy.

These kind of arguments happen sometimes. The director can use two different kinds of weapons to struggle against the editor:

Pity…

And Blackmail.

#ernest and celestine #ernest #celestine #editing #animation #pity #blackmail #editor

18 – The Compositing

If you want to see the difference before and after compositing here are some examples. Slide the mouse over the picture to compare.

#ernest and celestine #compositing #animation #watercolors #art #film #cute #technology

17 – Making the Animation

At this stage, we will take the scene where Ernest is waking up, the scene that you saw earlier at the storyboard entry. As a reminder, here is the scene as it was in the layout:

First, I explain the lead animator what I want for this scene.

He then gives the information to the animator who will work on the scene.

I sometimes pass by so I can give more information about the scene.

The animator will make a rough version of his or her scene, and that rough version will give us an idea of what the scene will look like.

Patrick can see the scene as a work in progress and give corrections as necessary.

Finally we have the clean animation, ready to be colored.

This is how the color team starts working. Greg was the lead colorist.

They start coloring each moving character and object. You will notice that the lines of the drawings are not closed so the volume of the characters is not always defined. The lead colorist has to complete this volume.

The colors will complete the volume.

After that the shadows will be added.

So here is the final result:

This is how we worked on animation. We were lucky to make all those things in only one studio in Paris. Our biggest advantage to working among the animators was that we could work precisely on the acting of the characters. Even if I was not really clear all the time...

#ernest and celestine #animation #color #coloring #layout #lead animator #flash

16 – Making the Backgrounds

Before we start putting colors in the background, Zazyk - the background designers - make a Color Script. The Color Script is composed of rough colored backgrounds that give us an idea of what the main colors of the film will be.

Those rough paintings are quite close the final backgrounds. Here are some examples: click on the pictures below if you want to see the differences between the color script and the final background.

The Color Script will help the background artists in their work. Let's look back on the Layout right here:

First we have to do the inking. For this we used walnut stain and a pen.

Once that is done we paint in watercolor.

Then it is scanned and the inking and watercolor are put together so we can have the final background:

That’s it! To resume this chapter, here you can see the different steps if you click on the arrows

#ernest and celestine #animation #backgrounds #watercolor #walnut stain #color script

15 – The Layout

Let's see how we can do the Layout of this scene. It is a scene that takes place early in the film. After she meets Ernest, Celestine returns to her city, which lies underground. She waits for her turn to get on the mechanical elevator. Here is the rough version of the film in the storyboard:

This scene takes place in the City of Mice. The first thing we had to do was gather the background references for this City. Here are some of them.

Once we gathered them, the layout was made.

On the layout we put information such as what part of the background must be cut so a character can pass behind it. Once we finish this work, we have the Layout for the Background.

We can then start working on the Layout Posing. At this stage, we take the Layout background and draw the characters on it. First we must have a model sheet of the characters who appear on the scene.

So we can draw them and modify their attitudes as they are in the storyboard. Some poses are drawn so the animators who will work on the scene can see what, precisely, the characters must look like.

There, it's done. This is how the Layout is completed. Here you can see the storyboard and, below, the Layout.

#ernest and celestine #layout #design #characters #character sheets #poses

14 – The Studio

The team finally got into the studio and we started living with the mice. Of course they were quiet but sometimes they were a little bit invasive.

The Studio was called ”La Maison des Canaux”. If ever you come to Paris and you wander North East of the city, you will have the chance to see it next to the Canal near Place Stalingrad. For those who are suspicious of the fact that our owners were mice, here is a video I took when I was working there in timelapse so you can see that the story is true.

See, I was not lying…