Unit 06_ Evidence of Research
- seobin051013
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Original Research
Disney's < Mary Poppins (1964) > stands as a seminal example of combining animation and fantasy within a live-action film, showcasing production design and set direction that were highly experimental for the time. The film's art director and art direction team focused on creating spaces where a child's imagination could naturally permeate, based on a realistic Edwardian-era London.
Especially, Cherry Tree Lane and the interior of the Banks family home were designed not as entirely realistic recreations of London, but as tidy, simplified spaces reminiscent of fairy-tale book illustrations. This was a deliberate choice to ensure audiences felt no sense of dissonance when subsequently transitioning into animated worlds or surreal scenes. Indeed, the sets actively employed forced perspective to expand the space, with building proportions and distances adjusted to be more “narratively” appropriate than realistically accurate.
Furthermore, < Mary Poppins (1964) > is renowned for scenes where live-action actors and animated characters interact within the same space. In this process, the set design functioned not merely as a backdrop, but as a ‘directorial device’ premised on its integration with animation. Floor patterns, furniture placement, and actors' movements were all designed with the anticipated animation overlay in mind, demonstrating how the space itself became part of the performance.
_ < 60 Years of Mary Poppins : Creating London in the Lot > , Sophie Jo, 13th September 2024
Expansion Reference Researches
< Who Framed Roger Rabbit ( 1988 ) >
Following the release of < Mary Poppins > in 1964, films combining live-action and animation emerged from Disney, the most representative of which is < Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) >. Commonly, they enhance the world's credibility by naturally placing unrealistic characters alongside real-world characters within the physical confines of a single space.
In particular, by implementing the actual interaction between ground and shadow, it resolved the boundary and sense of disconnection between the live-action world and the animated world. It is regarded as a benchmark work that makes two entirely different worlds feel like one unified world.
It is said that separate directors were employed for the live-action scenes and the animation scenes, as Jessica Rabbit and other animated characters were composited into the live-action footage. According to interview footage, animation director Richard Williams initially held the preconception that combining “live-action and animation” would not work well together. However, Zemeckis and the production team persuaded him, enabling them to redefine the approach and rules.
_ < Who Framed Roger Rabbit : Bob Zemeckis / Richard Williams Interviews > , 30th June 2010
< Bedknobs and Broomsticks ( 1971 ) >
< Bedknobs and Broomstick > is a fantasy film set during the World War II, featuring an apprentice witch learning magic and three children who fly using bed knobs to seek spells in a magic book. It is regarded as another of Disney's signature works, combining live-action scenes with animated sequences, where characters and environments transform into animation during scenes depicting magical phenomena.
Concept Artists Research
Bob Cheshire
He is the passionate concept artist who is behind the Hollywood blockbuster like < Star Wars : Rise of StarWalker > and < Jurassic World : Dominion >.
When asked what a concept artist does for a film, he replied that concept art is visual storytelling. He stated that concept artists typically work alongside the production designer, who is the chief executive responsible for guiding the visual direction of the project. He explained that concept art is not merely about creating beautiful images, but rather it is work that serves the purpose of discovering the desired visual language.
Also, he had explained the process of working on a movie as the concept artist with the director and production designer.
In the early stages, many artists emerge with loose yet conceptual approaches to atmosphere, form, light, and color palettes. But, as “mood and form” only take us so far, discussions about concept design begin very quickly.
He said that the concept artists must start considering proportions and scale, space, the relationship between color and surface, and ultimately how this will be conveyed to the audience.
Once the visual language is established, this process becomes more akin to concept illustration or production illustration, exemplified by more “polished” artwork.
It is the effort of the team, comprising the concept artist/designer and art director, supporting the production designer and ultimately crafting the story. The director looks at the artwork and asks, ‘How does this help tell my story?’
Carlos Amaral
He is a Portuguese concept artist who depicts realistic and plausible monstrous creatures through meticulous line art. In the interview, he provided a detailed explanation of his fantasy concept art production process, covering silhouettes, textures, and composition.
Almost of his works begins with roughly exploring ideas, compositions and poses with thumbnail sketches according to the interview. Also, he said creating concepts for 3D miniatures requires sensibility that is certain of form, scale of space to imagine how the drawing can develop.
Text Research
Jane Bardwell - < Production Design for Screen : Visual Storytelling in Film and Television (2012) >
The core concept of this book is that production design is not merely about creating aesthetically pleasing spaces, but about simultaneously conveying story, era, and psychology through visual language. When receiving feedback that my character designs were slightly out of step with the period, reading this book made me realize that the colors, textures, and scale of characters and their surrounding environments must adhere to real-world rules.
Which social class does this space or costume belong to? Furthermore, the book prompted me to ask myself: Do the character's clothing and the spaces share the same worldview? Even when fantasy elements are introduced, are the changes grounded in the rules of reality? Through this book, I was able to pose these questions to myself and utilize paper crafts and paper boats as fantasy elements – that is, as fantasy expanded from a foundation in reality.
Peter Ettedgui - < Production Design and Art Direction (ScreenCraft Series) >
The main core concept of this book is that making audience believe the fantasy world while they don't recognize it. To be specific, in case of the period drama, the fundamental elements are material, a limitation of recurring forms and colors.
Applying this to my work, the inside of the umbrella can be used relatively freely to intuitively visualize Mary Poppins' emotions, whereas the outside of the umbrella—the Banks family home, the children's room, and the furnishings—is constrained by period limitations. This contrast corresponds to the aforementioned notion of “making the audience believe in the world without realizing it”.
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