Animation came under accelerated attention as a replacement option for live-action in early 2020 thanks to Covid19 measures. While many film productions came to a standstill, several animation productions continued to work solidly 'just at home' on series, short and longer films.
In the industry, we obviously very much encourage the idea of using animation more, but how simple is it really to just switch to the realm of unprecedented possibilities? I want to take a closer look at the collaboration between live-action and animation. I do this in conversation with none other than director and great film lover Martin Koolhoven. He made such films as War Winter (2008) and Brimstone (2016). Recently, he presented his own programme Koolhoven's Look.
The programme's intro was a beautifully animated leader and the episodes were peppered with beautiful visuals (provided by Reinier van Brummelen). Unfortunately, in 2 seasons, we still had to miss our own topic, 'the animated film'.
"It fell off at the last minute. I was afraid I didn't know enough about it."
Let's reserve that as an item for the future, perhaps a subject for a whole new series? What Watch Koolhoven makes clear to me is that your love for film is all-encompassing, animation included. I am curious to see if and how the animated film can inspire the live-action filmmaker in particular.
"I find it quite remarkable and often infuriating how animated feature films seem to be able to tell much more in a shorter time than live-action. Look how short the old Disneys are all. 74.75 minutes. Dumbo (1941) even 64. It has something to do with the level of abstraction and condensed time, but you can still learn from it as a filmmaker. Specifically, I can remember how I studied the beginning of Treasure Planet (2002) when I was making War Winter. You don't always know exactly what affects you all, but from this film I can safely say: this was absolutely deliberate."
Several animators have made the move to live-action. Has it ever happened to you the other way around ? Has animation ever been a starting point of a feature production or can it become one ?
"I was asked three times to direct an animated film. The closest I came was with Agent 327; the contracts were negotiated, everything. I had already spent quite some time in it when the question 'why animation?' started to gnaw more and more. Maybe someone who makes animated films all the time doesn't wonder this (because it's so baked into their DNA) but I kept thinking: I can just film it too. It followed that I became insecure. I have been immersed in filmmaking for decades and (live-action) filmmaking is in my blood. With animation, I kept thinking: what don't I know? That made me insecure. It's quite a shame in itself, because I found the way of script development in particular very interesting."
I have sometimes heard it said that animation is a film genre in its own right, but I see it as a tool of form. On our platform, we present 'animation and motion design' as a set of techniques performed by a host of diverse talent. When do you like to use these tools and how do you see them developing ?
"Animation is definitely not a genre, after all, you can make an animation film in any film genre that exists. I always have to think when people call something I use in a film animation as well. At least, then I mean that with the visual effects (VFX) which indeed sometimes involves animation (and not, for example, the animated credits I did have; there I think it makes sense to call it that). Every film is different, but the computer is becoming increasingly important. Where you used to see visual effects being just a replacement for older special or visual effects, you see more and more that things you used to actually do can now be done more easily (or better) with digital help. When to deploy it? It can be for a variety of reasons. If something becomes easier, if something becomes prettier, if it can be done cheaper, if I can have more influence on the end result, if I want to improve something from what happened on set; it can all be a reason. That you can direct down to the frame I find very interesting, but also a bit frightening. Like there is no safety net."
Shyness about using animation is something we would like to help overcome. Thoughts on budget, form, technique, the endless possibilities ... how do you dive in and avoid drowning ? How do you proceed when you need animation for a production ?
"It depends on what it is. When it comes to VFX, so far it has always been something I discuss with my editor, VFX supervisor and post-production coordinator, where artistry plays a role, but certainly also the fact that the end result has to be photorealistic. With the title sequences I commissioned, it was different, there I also sparred with animation producers Il Luster who I happened to know and they helped me. With my title sequences, I felt I had to discuss the central concept well with the animators, but there would be nothing for them if I started telling them exactly what to do. Teach me those animation types. We didn't have a lot of money and then dictate to them what to make? That doesn't work. With visual effects, it's different, but it's still a good idea to make use of people's creativity. This is especially possible if you go there on time. Some of those folks are sort of directors themselves and talking freely can give you ideas. The closer you get to actually animating yourself the more specific your requirements become."
Examples:
The Koolhoven Look
Episode about water and boats with lots of visual effects.
Golden Age of Insect Aviation: The Great Grasshoppers
Very short but successful 'animation in live-action' experiment by Wayne Unten.
Who Framed Roger Rabbit, classic collaboration between animation and live-action.
Good to know
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