1. The Pitch
Team members will pitch their ideas which will generally include a story with a beginning, middle, end, as well as some hook. A "Hook" is something that makes the story compelling to the audience (unique, exciting twist, and/or interesting characters, etc.). The purpose of the pitch is to get the team to believe in the idea. A good idea is easy to spot as it will open many creative doors and take on a life of its own.
2. The Script
Our writer(s) will develop the script. This will include any vital character details, special blocking/lighting, scene detail and layout, etc.
3. Storyboards
A collection of still “frames” that bring the script to life. The entire creative team is involved here and will flush out most of the details while keeping the scope of the project within budget.
Sample Storyboard >>
4. Record Voice Talent
Any (non-narrative) voice talent required for the film is video taped and recorded. Voice actors are encouraged to make animated gestures and facial expressions as this will be used later by our character animators as a reference.
5. Animatic
We will make an animatic for longer or more complex scenes. An animatic is a more detailed storyboard in a video format. The key purpose here to entirely flush out the timing and validate the sequences, flow, and overall story. When viewing the animatic, no context is needed because it tells (and validates) the entire story..
6. Model, Layout, Render Test
All models are created and rigged. The scenes are laid out, textured, lighted, and rendered. This is an iterative process and the final test renders will be very similar to the finished film stills.
7. Animation
The storyboards are brought to life; all scenes are animated. The movie is made.
8. Rendering
Think of rendering as a digital paint job. Each frame represents 1/30th of a second (depending on format) and can take as many as six hours to render. Therefore, a single second of animation can take over 1 week to render on a single computer (double that for 3D). Hollow 4D Studios has its own render farm (cluster of dedicated high-powered computers) but if the customer has a compressed deadline, this is the one piece of production pipeline that could be outsourced.
9. Post Production
All of the final touches are added, the score, sound design (sound effects + 5-1 mix), special effects, voice narration, editing, and finally encoding.
10. Final Film
Cut! ...That's a wrap! The film is ready for delivery or distribution.
