Details: Making a Movie Called Minushi

For many, how Minushi - a feature length motion picture entirely drawn and animated by one person - was achieved is as of much interest as the film itself.

Installment 1: What is Minushi?
Nearly 4 years, over 7,000 hours and thousands of drawings went into creating a movie called Minushi. In this installment we take a look at the background of the project as well as a preview of what's to come in this series chronicling the making of the movie.

Installment 2: Stories and Script
It all begins with the writer and the script. In this installment we take a look at what kind of development went into writing Minushi. From the importance of screenplay formatting to developing themes to guide your writing as well as some random thoughts and trivia about Minushi.

Installment 3: Storyboard to Drawing Board
Making a feature film takes planning. See the very first sketches of Minushi that later became the blueprints to its storyboard. Also in this installment we take a look at choosing an aspect ratio for the movie as well as where the approximately 3,000 drawings that went into the film were illustrated by hand.

Installment 4: Action and Animation
If you're animating a feature length film all by yourself you need all the short-cuts you can find. See Tyler's process from drawing table to Flash animation software and learn how to keep things interesting for yourself and your audience with tips and techniques. And as always, see some previously unreleased footage from Minushi!

Installment 5: Designing a World
The role of a production designer is to create the world in which a film's characters inhabit. This can range from creating a single set design to imagining the ins and outs of an entire world. In the animated world of Minushi production design was integral and demanding. In this installment check out the nuances of designing everything from wardrobe to the giant robots of Minushi.

Installment 6: Crafting Characters
Story can't exist without a cast of characters. In this installment we look at turning two dimensional drawings into three dimensional characters. Everything from early sketches of Minushi's primary cast through to recording voice actors in a homemade recording booth. Also a look a archetypes as well as finding a character's own voice through collaboration.

Installment 7: The Sound of Bones Breaking
Rich and clear sound can carry how the audience sees a movie a long way. Most of Minushi's sound effects were homemade recordings from unlikely sources. In this installment Tyler tells you about how he went about modifying the sound of pebbles to create the sound of boulders as well as mixing sounds together to create new ones.

Installment 8: The Drums of War
The final step in producing Minushi was writing the score. And the trick to writing the score was to judge when it needed to be noticed and when it needed to fade into the scenery. Using an ensemble of digital tools and organic instruments great care was taken to craft Minushi's musical themes and to write music that would suit each character.

Additional Behind the Scenes Material:

Evolution of a Fight Scene - A breakdown of the process of animating a fight scene in Minushi, narrated by producer Tyler Gibb.

Early Sketches - Preliminary and early character sketches presented in an interactive format.





















































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