Division of labor in professional animation film production.

In professional film production, the team of filmmakers is divided into sub-teams that strictly deal with specific activities. Thanks to such a division of tasks, the entire process of project implementation becomes more systematized, and each division knows exactly what its responsibilities are – this makes work very easy.

The standard division into departments shown below is only a model, although this one worked well, for example, in the production of Pixar’s Toy Story film, but it is not the only possible option for dividing work.

Story section

The first of the departments that get involved in production right from the beginning is the Story Department. This Department deals with the transformation of the verbal description of the story into a visual description. The script of the selected film is developed by the employees of this division, resulting in the creation of a pictorial script – storyboard and story reel.

Story department – storyboard

Art department

The second department, on the other hand, deals with project work. On the basis of a pictorial script previously developed by the story department, a detailed description of the project is created – which includes, among other things, a color study for the film, lighting scenarios and concepts for the appearance of models. On the basis of the results of the art department’s work, they can later base their work: Modeling, Layout and Shading departments.

art department

Modeling department

This is another division involved in production. It deals with the creation of character models and the world in which they will be depicted. Every element, even the smallest, must be carefully designed. Often, for characters that move, more complex parameterized models are created – the parameters that control the standard movements of the character are specified. The results of the work of this department in the form of finished models are passed on to the Deployment and Shading departments.

Shading Department

The competence of this department is to change the visual properties of the surfaces of animated objects. This is because the appearance largely depends on the degree of its shading. The task of the Shading Department is precisely to translate the attributes of objects that affect their appearance, whether it is the texture of color, deformation, or the choice of light reflection models.

A department of equivalent importance is the Placement Department. Among its tasks is the development of scenery, that is, the design of the place where the action takes place.

The second important task this division performs is grouping, which involves designing an overall plan for the movement of objects and the camera. This creates the framework of action for another of the divisions, which is.

Animation Department

The department is responsible for bringing characters to life based on a number of factors: music, scenery, grouping and storyline. The Animation Department uses the materials prepared by the departments described above as if bringing the characters to life – by adding more subtle movements, grimaces and gestures.

Another division involved in production is the Lighting Department. It deals with the final execution of the Art Department’s plan for the lighting concept. At this point, the animation and camera placement are fixed, so this Department is already handling the resulting lighting in the animation.

lighting

The last of the sections is the Photo section. Its task is to generate frames of animation, the commonly known render.

It is thanks to the cooperation and proper synchronization of work that large animated productions are successfully completed. The diagram described above is not only a division into groups of creators. It also shows the method of operation and schedule of work in the realization of a film. No verticals are superfluous in this scheme – however, it is worth noting that they are needed in stages – in large film production specialization is the most important thing, and this is best seen when you carefully analyze the included scheme.