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Interview with Ben Hibon |
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 IA: Is the creative process different for such a project knowing it will be promoted on the web?
BH: For me the appeal of the Internet as a distribution platform opens the possibility of reaching the audience that it’s intended for. In some indirect way, being able to deliver the animation directly to the viewers, allows the content of the films to be how they should be. It’s a very creative way of approaching the marketing of the game. It extends its universe and ultimately gives more content to the fans. IA: The series is produced in HD, will it be available with the game? BH: Yes, the series will be on the game disc in HD as extra content. IA: Can you tell us about the tools used to create this series (software/hardware)? BH: The production line of the animation is fairly straight forward using a combination of software such as Flash and Aftereffect. I would start by creating the reference frames in Photoshop and pass them on to the animators. The shots were then animated in Flash using different techniques of frame-by-frame and tweening. Each scene is exported in different layers into Aftereffect where the compositors build a 3D stage with multiple foreground, middle ground and background elements. This allowed us to then use 3D lighting and cameras to give depth and movement to the shots. The effects such as smoke, shine, particles, etc. are animated in the same compositions. |
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Heavenly Sword. Ep3 : The Rise Of Evil |
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Although the animation is made out of flat 2D plates, I always try to keep the notion of distance and scale in the environments. For me the camera-work and the framing tell as much of the story as the action within the shot. By adding depth of field, parallaxes, tracking, etc. you can give a great cinematic feel to the 2D image. IA: How many people worked on the team that created this series? BH: We had a small team made up of three animators and three compositors. It’s interesting how the work ended up being streamlined. This forced us to look twice at what was the most important and relevant aspect in each shot and only to concentrate on the main elements, everything else would be a bonus. |
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