While I attended an expense paid trip by Disney to the Monsters University Premiere and other events, all opinions are 100% my own.
Well if you’ve visited this blog in the lately, I’m sure you know by now that last week I had the privilege to head out to California to attend the Monsters University Premiere in Hollywood. However, that wasn’t the only awesome event I experienced while out there. Disney gave me a preview of their upcoming film PLANES!
The day after the Monsters University Premiere, we headed out to spend the day at Disney Toon Studios to experience all things PLANES! It was such an amazing experience I’ll never forget. We were able to meet with so many individuals who worked hard on this film, and discuss their line of work and the process.
I luckily had the privilege to meet with Ethan Hurd, the Assistant Animation Supervisor at the Disney Toons Studio. Now Ethan has over 15 years of experience in animation as well as a degree from California Institute of the Arts. He previously worked on animated films such as Toy Story 2 and Bolt. It was so much fun to hear about his role in bringing the film to life, and personalities to the characters.
An aspect of animation we learned about is how to bring emotions out in the characters. Since PLANES features, well, actual airplanes as the characters, they are quite stiff in their movements. Therefore emotions must be shown in the faces of the planes. Ethan explained how the artists create drawings of the characters, but then it is up to him to bring the to “life” in their movements. He showed us how to create expressions in their eyes and mouths to bring the drawings to life. It was so cool to see how animators can control every little detail of the characters.
Ethan uses the Maya 3D software system and gave us a demonstration. Did you know that just one scene can take several weeks to animate? The details that go into each character is amazing! Ethan was then nice enough to give us each a chance to use the system ourselves. Forget blogging! There may have been some future animators in our group.
Be sure to follow the hashtag #DisneyPlanesEvent to learn more about all the fun my fellow bloggers and I had while out in California learning more about this film. Don’t forget to connect with PLANES on Facebook and Twitter! In all the excitement of the release, be sure to also follow the #DisneyPlanes hashtag for the latest information and news on the film.
Don’t want to wait till August 9th to see PLANES in action? Watch the teaser trailer below to catch a glimpse on how Ethan brought these characters to life!
Regina Malloy says
wow that had to be a blast!! how cool.. I cant wait to see the movie too:)
Mallery says
That is so awesome that you were able to try the software out! It must have been a blast!
Rena (An Ordinary Housewife) says
So neat that you got to experience all that! My kids love the Cars movies, so I’m sure they’ll like this one.
Angela Addington says
I am so looking forward to this movie. Love it when I can hear from anyone at Disney and how they achieve the amazing things that they do!
Adelina Priddis says
What a fun trip I bet you had! I’ve never really thought about how they give something like a plane emotions, but that is talent. Can’t wait for Planes to come out!
Jessica Blankenship says
My kids are going to LOVE this movie, I know they will. Especially my son. Cars was his favorite movie for at least 2-3 years! This one looks even cooler! Thanks for the post!
Kristyn says
i cant wait to see these movie with the family, so cute!
Christie says
FUN! My son cannot wait for this movie!
Suzi Satterfield says
Wow, that sounds like an AMAZING experience. I know my littles will love it when it’s out!
Melissa Vera says
This is so cool. Thanks for sharing
LaVonne says
Ethan did a great job with Planes. I can’t wait to take my daughter to see this one in August! Thanks for sharing. It looks like you have a great time :)
Megan says
Wow!! How lucky were you! :) Thanks for sharing.