Aug. 20, 2013
Milling About visits Blue Sky studio, the creators behind Ice Age, for a behind the scenes tour of the making of Epic, now available on Blu-Ray and DVD. Starring the voice talent of Colin Farrell, Amanda Seyfried and directed by Chris Wedge, Producer John Donkin takes host Robin Milling on a guided tour to the departments that are responsible for making Epic. John says it takes about three years from inception to screen overseeing the creative team for theatrical and home video release. He tells Robin there's nothing more rewarding than when the movie appeals emotionally to parents as well as to kids. They are wary of off-color jokes so Denis Leary, the voice of Diego, had to be wrangled in so his kids could watch. Senior Character Technical Director Sabine Heller's job is to put anatomy into the characters about nine months before the animator puts them in motion. With a click of the mouse she makes Nim Galuu smile or move one of his many arms and legs. Sabine says she does her homework learning everything about caterpillar anatomy to see how they actually move. She also takes nature walks around the property and nearby Audubon Center looking for real life inspiration. Story artist Warren Leonhardt gets a script, a handful of characters, some of the set and literally acts out a dress rehearsal for the director. Part actor, Warren pitches the scene from the storyboard complete with verbal sound effects. The final step is animation led by Senior Animator David Sloss which he describes as puppetry designing each facial or body movement. Video references are shot by the animators acting out the scene for the director to give his
