VOLTRON EP 24 STORYBOARD

      The first panel of scene 100 establishes that the action starts in Castle Doom control room near one of the large screens. There are four regular cast characters and an "alternate" Lance. Five motion captured characters on stage at the same time, unwieldy but manageable.

     Now the board dumps four more characters into the sequence for a total of NINE! Nine motion captured characters on stage in 1998 is not the same as nine in 2004. Nine characters with motion capture data and a set might not load. He or she would want to limit the number of characters to only those required for the shot. (102 vs 102A)

     Also, where exactly do we place the new characters? I can tell because I'm familiar with the sets AND I've read the entire script and storyboard. It's likely that the animator has only read that which he or she is working on.

     If we allow the motion capture stage and the animator to come to their own conclusions, we take our chances.

     Note that Hunk and Pidge, and the alternate Hunk and alternate Pidge, are drawn the same way. The reason for this is that the designs of the two "new" characters are almost certainly not done when the storyboard artist is working.

     The possibility that the artist, the motion capture stage, and the animator will confuse the characters is very real. The artist can get confused because of the speed he works at. The motion capture stage can get confused for the same reason, plus the need to "interpret" the artist's work. Can you say continuity error? You can and will.

     By the time the animator makes his own interpretation there may be incompatible differences between his and the stage's. The animator may end up guessing and grabbing any motion that seems to work. This will result in a poor performance.

     Skipped a page of the storyboard.

     Re-rendering fixes may take time and money you do not have. If the artist's work is interpreted, fixed, and diagramed at the beginning of this process these errors need not occur.

     Skipped another page here.

     Remember when you watch the Quicktime movie of this segment, that it was all assembled from single captures synchronized in time by the animatic, and in position by the character-blocking diagram.