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300 to 400 computers with a combined power of 1,000 processors still took three to three HUNDRED hours to render ONE frame in Shrek 2. Danish animation company, AFilm looked to find ways around that to cut down the budget and man-hours for their first full-length animation, Terkel In Trouble

Matching the visual style to the budget available is a must. Not everything can be photorealistic. It takes millions of dollars in any currency to produce /images like Final Fantasy, Van Helsing or even Shrek. With a small team of workers, be sure that everyone knows that there are some things that are too expensive to do.

Some effects call for expensive plug-ins or lots and lots of rendering time. Avoiding complications like this is something that A.Flms worked hard to do. Head of 3D CG, Michael Hegner explains that spaghetti arms and five facial morph targets adds to the style and character, not the budget...

"Just think about Kermit in The Muppet Show. He doesn't blink, all he can really do is open and close his mouth, and yet this glove [sic] puppet is able to convey and inspire emotion.*" Along with simplifying the characters 'physically,' Michael made sure to give the animators the whole story so they knew where they were headed.

Keeping everyone informed and not having in-house surprises means also listening to every voice in the animating shop. Every idea before production is a good and valid idea - it's an idea more than a truism. But it's worth remembering. Lastly, don't expect your budget animation to appeal to every single demographic out there because it can't! You'll be sticking to ideas that are more unusual and interesting.

AFilms is also working on The Ugly Duckling And Me which is due out this year. Teasers are available of Terkel In Trouble and The Ugly Duckling And Me at the film company's website.

To download this animation, please Click Here


*Quote comes from 3DWorldMag #54

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