Disclaimer: : I was not compensated for this post. All expenses to travel to LA were paid for by Disney in order for me to interview and cover films and shows.
FEAST is a Disney short that is featured right before Big Hero 6. This is Disney’s short that plays right before Big Hero 6. Patrick Osborne came up with the idea when he filmed little short clips of what he ate each day for a personal video. As he was doing this personal project he noticed that what he ate every day told a story. He said, “..and there’s something really cool about the context you get in your life of seeing these kind of, these meals kind of pass…” He incorporated a cute little dog, a man, and a little bit of LOVE to make this amazing short. I am going to probably be the first to call it…OSCAR WINNER! I loved this short so much! I have the poster I was given during press day hanging on my fridge waiting to be matted and framed! While in LA I had the amazing opportunity to meet with the Director, Patrick Osborne, and the Producer, Kristina Reed.
How the idea of FEAST started? When Osborne was going through the process of watching his one second of video a day, he noticed that it isn’t just the videos that were neat. As he was going through this process he realized that his food told a story and the story was about him. How he felt and what was happening in his life changed the types of foods that he consumed.
Why use a Boston Terrier? They already knew that they wanted the animation to be flat and graphic. He wanted simplicity in the art that you don’t see in CGI movies. So he wanted a dog that had spots on it so that as he had the dog moving in the film they could use the spots to get the look they needed in the movement of the dog, Winston. Patrick also explained to us that he went back and looked at all the other Disney movies and wanted to find a breed of dog that wasn’t in any other movie and was also a small dog so that he can create the dimensions and camera angle looks of the dog eating.
The food. Kristina Reed shared with us that while choosing types of food to put in the movie that they knew they had to choose iconic types of food that everyone recognized right away. During the 16 weeks of creating the film they would hold “FEAST Fridays” at the office. This is where they would all show off their work that they have done for the week and serve the types of food that was in the short.
The steps in creating a short according to Patrick Osborne!
1. The pitch in front of a bunch of directors!
2. Create a poster to hang in your office!
3. Start designing the characters: “You start designing the, characters, you give them names and jobs like James and Kirby. Uh, James is a photographer and Kirby went to culinary school and is working her way up in that business.” They also brought dogs in to the office to play with, “I didn’t want him to be a dog that acted like a human, I wanted him to have real dog characteristics.”
4. Start drawing in 2-D, knowing that eventually it is going to be on the computer. They start with character costume designs. “I wanted this to feel like it’s taking place over time.” One of the artists went to Patrick’s facebook and even looked up what his wife’s wedding dress looked like and added that in the short.
5. Start designing the food, the plates, and the details!
6. Working on storyboards. They would even act out scenes.
7. More details…lighting, lines, color paths and more!
8. The last month was a month of sound.
Check out my other adventures while at Disney Animation Studios!
Visit your local theater and go and experience this movie in 3D! You will love it!
From Walt Disney Animation Studios, the team behind “Frozen” and “Wreck-It Ralph,” comes “Big Hero 6,” an action-packed comedy-adventure about the special bond that develops between Baymax (voice of Scott Adsit), a plus-sized inflatable robot, and prodigy Hiro Hamada (voice of Ryan Potter). When a devastating event befalls the city of San Fransokyo and catapults Hiro into the midst of danger, he turns to Baymax and his close friends adrenaline junkie Go Go Tomago (voice of Jamie Chung), neatnik Wasabi (voice of Damon Wayans Jr.), chemistry whiz Honey Lemon (voice of Genesis Rodriguez) and fanboy Fred (voice of T.J. Miller). Determined to uncover the mystery, Hiro transforms his friends into a band of high-tech heroes called “Big Hero 6.” Inspired by the Marvel comics of the same name, and featuring breathtaking action with all the heart and humor audiences expect from Walt Disney Animation Studios, “Big Hero 6” is directed by Don Hall (“Winnie the Pooh”) and Chris Williams (“Bolt”), and produced by Roy Conli (“Tangled”). The film hits theaters in 3D on Nov. 7, 2014. For more information, check out www.Disney.com/BigHero6, like us on Facebook www.facebook.com/DisneyBigHero6, and follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/DisneyAnimation.