Animation and VFX-based movies offer a wide spectrum of job opportunities. Specialising in one area may just help you focus your talent and be more productive. One such department is layout in computer-animated films. Though in a nascent stage, it does offer one a niche zone of work. A layout artist works closely with an animation film’s director to decide the choreography of the characters in the scenes. “It is much like traditional cinematography, but in this case I will have to look into the set, the time span for which a character will hold a pose, and make sure the sequence plays out well,” explains Patrick Lin, director of photography (camera) at Pixar Animation Studios, USA.
Layout in animation
Layout comprises the camera and staging elements of the movie. “Staging is basically the choreography between the camera and the characters, how the characters move with respect to the camera. In computer-animation, the production pipeline is a little different from traditional filmmaking. Here we do camera first and then lighting, so in layout, it is cinematography minus the lighting,” says Lin. According to Chetan Jain, academy director and chief mentor, MAAC (Anna Nagar) in Chennai, “The term layout artist was first coined by Pixar. It is part of the pre-production pipeline. In the industry this job profile is not clearly attributed, as even Pixar calls its layout artist the director of photography.” The layout artist does not just work on layout, he also makes important decisions in story development and the format of storytelling.
Your toolkit
Since the job involves a lot of filmmaking, an in-depth understanding of fundamentals of storytelling will help you. Lin himself has been a student of traditional filmmaking and was introduced to animation after he worked on a stop-motion film. He says that one of the most important skills one needs to have to be in animation is that of analog art.
“The other thing you should understand is editing. Without that you may compose an array of great shots, but when they play together, they should not stand out like a sore thumb. The sequence should make sense and for that editing is key,” he adds. Jain chips in saying, “You should have keen interest in visual storytelling and know what is possible and what is not with the medium. It gives you a lot of freedom but you know what risks you can take.” There is also a need to be abreast of the developments in all stages of production, composition of shots and other details like shading, lighting and even acting. “A grounding in animation with filmmaking can be the perfect combination for one who wants to be a layout artist,” says Jain.
Opportunities
There is a very thin line between storyboarding and layout design in animation, but the industry will soon evolve and create a separate department to perform these duties, believe experts. Lin, who heads a team of 30, says, “One of our good layout artists is an Indian. This is the golden age for animation movies. If you are equipped with the right tools and skills, you can make the best use of it now.” He adds that international studios are heading to India — Dreamworks has already set foot in the country and there will be no dearth of opportunities. Jain, though, has a warning: “It is easy to find comfort in something that is tried and tested, but the challenge is in creating something new. By this, I mean that one should look towards developing his forte and improve the tools he works with.” Aware of the industry in India, he says, “No matter where you have done your training from, you will have to start at the bottom and grow from there. But the growth will be fast-paced,” he assures.
— susmita@newindian-express.com