Brian: Since you’re not actually “animating” on a production, how do you start, as the director?
Robin: I begin with the script, preparing it for the storyboard artist. Being a bit of a control freak, I'm already looking for where the scene has a natural start and stop before the board artist begins by thumbnailing on the script wide, med. & close ups. Identifying the close ups for the maximum emotional impact and being sure we've established where we are in wide shots so the audience isn't wasting precious seconds in confusion are two basic goals in this process. Shaping the sequence to be a story within a story, meaning giving it a beginning, middle and end.

I feel that an animator should view her or his scene with this in mind. It's very tempting to get caught up in movement for movements sake, and thus missing the comedic or emotional accent of the sequence as a whole. Identifying where the climax or accent of a sequence is, and having all other acting serve that moment. A scene also has that 'climax', but needs to fit within the surrounding accents of the sequence.

So I try and identify the most dramatic or comedic scene, and visually support it with all the tricks I can muster. Some scenes need to be quite low key. Others, more over the top. Secondary scenes support these main ones.

Brian: As the director then, how do you approach the individual scenes in a show?
Robin: I 'key' out poses on tiny little post-it notes, storyboard size, then insert those poses in the story reels timed to dialogue. From a directors perspective, I focus on creating a blueprint where the animator can best tell the story.

Brian: As you’re going over the storyboards, do you listen to the soundtrack at all?
Robin: Absolutely. Often there is one main accent within a dialogue line, and perhaps a secondary or lesser accent or two. Identifying that main accent, and giving it the most punch is the key. Most times, that means giving the the accent most violent movement, but in certain cases it can mean less. It all depends on the story.

Brian: As you’re going through, doing the ‘keys’ for the storyboard, do you act the scene out physically?
Robin: Sometimes. It certainly helps when figuring out an unusual twist or attitude. The advantage to acting it out is it can lead to an original movement, whereas taking it from your head means you might be re-doing something you've done or seen before.

Brian: Do you do it in your head, or in front of a mirror or video camera?
Robin: Mirror, although I imagine, a video would be great.

Brian: How rough are your initial sketches?
Robin: Usually, the rougher the better, although it's so tempting to make that pretty drawing first. The problem with that is the pretty drawing can be so misleading. We're doing motion, and the overworked drawing slips by in a nanosecond. Since it's laying down the key pose, it better be great. Rough keys give a clear, vibrant line of action. Clean drawings are stiff and boring.

Brian: Do you block out all the key poses or do you just do the main ones first, then come back and put in any secondary keys?
Robin: Main keys first, then secondary, reworking everything once in order, if necessary. I'm talking storyboarding, but the same is true for animating....it's the same thing in my mind.

Brian: In your case, as the director, what’s the average amount of time you spend planning out a show?
Robin: I prep a 22 minute script in about 4 days (thumbnails... rough). I’ll then rework a 22 minute storyboard/lieca reel in about 10 days, essentially focusing on timing, as well as adding or subtracting the appropriate poses and re-working the blocking for best impact. That's the most I get to squeeze out of these tight television deadlines. At Disney, we re-worked the 75 minute feature for three and a half years! It all depends on the budget, but I must say that a longer time frame does not guarantee a better result. A story (and a single scene) can be over-thought to the point where it loses it's spontaneity. I actually prefer working on low budget. The craft is not great, but the storytelling is fresher.

Brian: So, for those of you reading this who are mathematically challenged, a 22 minute show is 1320 seconds, so at one drawing per second, that's 1320 drawings in 10 days or 132 drawings per day. In an 8 hour day, that's 16 1/2 drawings per hour - or roughly 1 drawing every 4 minutes. Whew!

Do you fill out any exposure sheets with notations for the animators to follow?
Robin: I believe strongly in the leica, or story reel process. Exposure sheets just don't happen at my end, and in fact because the exposure sheet is used so little these days, I put all the key poses I can into the leica. I guess it averages out to approximately a new pose each second, but it really varies. Sometimes I'll pose out complex action with a load of very loose, rough, expressive poses. Animators are under tight deadlines and this sort of planning can save them a lot of time. Other situations call for the 'Less-is-more' theory. A long hold with just a minimal bit of secondary action to keep the character alive can be very powerful! Either way, when the animator is playing the timed out lieca with soundtrack, a precise sense of timing is conveyed. Now the animator has a groundwork to begin with.

Lieca or exposure sheets simply mean pre-plan the scene. Without that, the animator may waste a lot of time.

Brian: So, because you’re dealing with Flash, you’re skipping the exposure sheet because it’s already in the program with your timed out keys as the leica reel.

It sounds very similar to the way I’ve heard Chuck Jones explain his process of posing out the entire cartoon with a drawing every second. That way he has total control over the film.

Robin: Well, now you’re buttering me up! Chuck Jones is one of my heroes.

Brian: Do you go over the scene with the animators before they start working?
Robin: The animators never talk to me, as they are often in a different city. Thus the need for clear pre-planning is imperative.

Brian: So then, would they ever show you their rough animation before it’s cleaned up?
Robin: They do not. I respond to the final scene and call reshoots. In the TV world, that's sometimes the reality. It sucks, but it keeps things rolling.

Brian: Is the amount of time you have to animate a scene in television different from working on a feature film or a commercial? (you can still keep the answer you have here, just comment on the amount of time you have in television)
Robin: Yes. Feature films do give the animator more time to nail the shot, but usually the two mediums are so different.

Television series have pretty tight deadlines, yet require a high level of entertaining, product promoting animation. They can be a lot of fun and a nightmare at the same time.

Commercials require a lot of high quality, visual pizzazz, executed in a short period of time. Demanding in volume of work, not a lot of time, and yet it needs to be spectacular!

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