From its founding in late 2012, the Primedia-owned Johannesburg-based animation
studio The Flying Circus aimed to generate new entertainment content rather than
acting solely as a service provider to other production companies and advertising
agencies. It also took a very particular approach to animation through the decision to
place motion capture at the heart of its work.
Using this technology they currently have one 26-episode series in production, and
one in development for both national and international markets.
Having been captivated by the potential of the motion capture work done on the likes
of Steven Spielberg’s The Adventures of Tintin, The Flying Circus got
started by installing the motion capture system only to find that as CEO Ronald Henry
describes it: “it’s basically this really powerful tool, and that’s all. It was up to us to
figure out exactly how we were going to build a production process around it.’
The Flying Circus team thus found themselves in a predicament, albeit a rather
luxurious one in an industry driven by tight production schedules: intrepidly and with
a strong sense of self-deprecating humour, they set about mastering the possibilities
of motion capture by: “just getting on with it. As a tool, it’s extremely complicated,’
Henry says. “We had to work out where everything fits in and what to do when. It has
been all about building this reliable production pipeline. When it comes to technology
we have this philosophy about failing as quickly as we can; we figure out why its not
working, and then move on quickly.’
One of the most significant actions that Henry, producer Andre van der Merwe and
the rest of The Flying Circus crew took in the course of this exploratory period, during
which their first series, Silly Seasons, began to take shape, was to
recruit theatrical actors for the motion capture work.
These experienced stage actors would act out entire scenes continuously, unfettered
by the shot-based approach that would be familiar to actors trained in screen
performance. The result of this was that a single, continuous scene, complete with
both physical and vocal performances, could be captured. Shots and angles could
then be worked out at a later stage. This is in contrast to the standard practice of
storyboarding and shot designing at an early point in production, which can tend to
impose limits on physical performance; this, in turn, restricts vocal performance as
well. “There is no handbook for doing it this way, but tapping into the very talented
local theatrical acting pool was probably one of the smartest things we did,’ van der
Merwe says. “Seeing the live performances breathe life into our characters has been a
vindicating experience.’
Mastering the technology is only half the battle, as Henry explains: “Just because you
have a good piece of motion capture data, that does not mean that you have a good
performance. It has to be a 50/50 hybrid of technology and creativity.’ Once The
Flying Circus team had the motion capture system in hand, they focused their
energies on conceptualising and scripting.
Finally, once the process got more streamlined and the ideas started to come
together, Silly Seasons was born. Aimed initially at an audience made
up of six-to nine-year-old girls, Silly Seasons is described by Henry as “a
sitcom for kids in CG’.
Since it was first created, it has undergone numerous visual and conceptual changes
both before and after Henry and Van der Merwe took the show to various
international markets such as MIPCOM and Kidscreen. This proved to be a steep
learning curve, especially since very few local studios have managed to make the leap
to international sales. However, the feedback at these markets was predominantly
positive, and despite some buyers feeling that the show needed more work others
expressed very keen interest.
Ultimately, all the feedback was incorporated into the final product, which is now in
production for an international broadcaster. A second series called Inside
Job is currently in development and is set to begin production in the third
quarter of 2015.
As the small team works on these two productions and with more waiting in the
wings, they continue to work towards streamlining their workflow towards their main
production goal – the ability to turn out one 24-minute episode in the space of two
weeks – a task that, with conventional techniques, requires the collective efforts of
around 200 personnel. With motion capture, however, Henry and Van der Merwe are
convinced that they can hit the mark with an expert, highly motivated team of around
70.
Henry concludes: “We really believe now more than ever that the local animation
industry has the chops to move into the big leagues; I mean, if other small southern
hemisphere countries with a strong tradition of farming can do this, why can’t we?’
Find out more at www.flyingcircus.tv.
