Report

Pixar's Brave

For this report, I chose to write about the development of Pixar’s Brave. Not only because it suits the topic of ‘quest’ but also due to Pixar’s well-known development processes - often lasting a few years - preceding any of their films.

Interestingly, in ‘The Art of Brave’ it begins with something similar to a written treatment; the definition of the word Brave.

Brenda Chapman, the director, speaks of how the core idea of this story actually came from her relationship with her daughter. “… I was completely unprepared for the impact she had on my life.” She goes on to explain that her inspiration also came from her Scottish ancestry and her love of fairy tales.

Initially, many drawings and interpretations of the main character – Merida - were made. She was actually visualised by Brenda, to be a lot younger than she turned out to be. This important detail would have been one of many decisions to go through a great deal of contemplation and experimentation; to ultimately become finalised. Research and development helps an idea adapt and grow into something more successful than it ever could have been in its embryonic stage.

The focus was on the mother-daughter relationship and the characters’ visual scale. Paintings of these characters in potential scenes were made to create a majestic atmosphere of darkness and intrigue. Some of this imagery was undeniably translated into the final film.

An obvious aspect about Merida that had to always be considered throughout the film was her hair. The wild and fiery curls had to be contemplated for its colour; environmental palettes needed to harmonise with it but it still had to be the visual focal point. There was also a lot of attention and research required for creating the right movement and making it appear organic. They so wanted this enhanced and realistic appearance that they advanced their software. This made it possible to render the movement of foliage, clothing and hair to be more natural and spectacular than they had ever been able to create before.

My favourite discovery about the striking feature of Merida is that the hair is a metaphor about her character and her growth. It represents her unruliness – her mother is always trying to restrain it but she wants it to be free. “…as the story went on, she would find a way to pull it back herself… but it was still her.” This element was something I noticed on a subconscious level and it was great to have this realisation brought to the forefront. What a great, relatively subtle, way to transmit more of her character.

One of the most extraordinary and renowned lengths that those at Pixar go to for most of their films, is to visit specific locations as inspiration for the environments of the worlds that they create.

They travelled to Scotland to absorb everything that they encountered, from historic castles to quaint pubs. They found that every single detail seemed to have a story. At Eilean Donan castle they would conjure up ideas of what scenes could take place in the space of the castle, on the battlements and in the forest nearby. They described of how it suddenly made a ‘concrete sense of the stage’ and the artists would paint and draw everything they saw. “It would be great if Merdia were out here…”

They would draw the plants and textures of leaves they came across, the rock formation in a wall and any minute detail that they could take back with them. There was also of course, huge emphasis on the Standing Stones, since they are the focal point of the film. “…they represent the visual richness of the film. The stones also represent magic and mystery and a place for something transformative to happen."

I think this is fantastic. To have the opportunity to get this in-depth and personal reference allows an artist or animator to stay true and accurate to whatever it is they’re making. A piece of art can have a real sense of richness and life that otherwise would be absent, if it had not been experienced and witnessed first-hand.

Pilcher, the Production Designer, explained their appreciation for the unpredictable weather and the effect it had on the land. He spoke of this to the set designing team later on. “It was important to convey that elements of nature take over and reclaim everything.” And it makes perfect sense that a constant change of weather occurs in a film where people magically transform into bears and eventually grow into better, more enlightened people.

I also greatly admired their emphasis on experimenting with visual ideas. That being given the freedom to fail as well as succeed, allowed them to be as good as they strived to be.

“We’re storytellers, not artists.” This might be an odd thing for an artist to say, but Klocek explains that no matter how good their creative skills may be, if they don’t have solid ideas for the story then it’s all meaningless anyway. Substance over style. I believe this is how great stories remain with us.

The development of Brave is so extensive that I have barely begun to uncover everything the team did in order to create the beautiful and fearless film that ‘Brave’ is. I haven’t been able to mention the depth of the various characters; the bears, the witch and her hut and the magic of the wisps or the amazing colour script throughout the film along with the storyboard.

Although I cannot go through every detail, it is safe to say that what I’ve learned from Pixar and from this module is that research and development for a piece of animation is vital. Without it, an idea cannot grow. The fire of a story cannot be fed if there is an inability to expand and experiment. If one instead begins to create using only their pure and immature idea, they will undoubtedly miss out on crafting something so much more extraordinary. They choose to withdraw from an opportunity; from personal growth.

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