T H E! N E S T
P R E - P R O D U C T I O N! P A G E! 3
The audience's view of the beach in The Nest was generally restricted so that an atmosphere of claustrophobia and isolation could be slowly and methodically constructed. Most films usually set up an establishing shot at the beginning to 'set the scene' so that the audience can visually absorb the particular environment in question. The Nest denies its audience this luxury - instead it offers clues through the use of sound.
The storyboard sketch above was an early version of one of the widest camera set-ups on the baby buggy and radio.
hoteles FunchalBackground Layout Sc-14
This background layout for one of the many baby point-of-view shots indicates how the panning, and subtly animating, cloud formations should be composed at the start point of the scene. These clouds were then isolated and cleaned up by Dermot Elliott (Lighstream CGI) and used as the basis for the finished cloud artwork - an enormous task given the number of clouds in the film.
Background Layout Sc-34A1
Alojamiento en Hoteles TechirghiolA background layout for one of the baby shot set-ups. The 1:1.85 screen/shot ratio has been marked up and all of the shot elements composed within it. You can just about make out some of the seagull animation direction.
hoteles LilleBackground Layout Sc-56A
A landscape/cloud shot. A large, panning 'Battleship' cloud passes in front of a more distant formation. The seagull animation direction is clearer here.
Strictly speaking this is a production rendering! However, we thought we'd include a couple of background drawings that were used in the finished film. This production rendering was done using Pantone/Tria design markers and colour pencils. The dark cloud above the horizon and various other elements were lightened or darkened in tone and re-coloured or otherwise treated at Lightstream CGI for the final shot composite. The ugly dark area at top right was removed altogether. Sea surf FX, foreground beach grass and small moving/animating clouds were also added in at Lightstream CGI. All backgrounds were drawn on Lyndhurst 135 gsm (406mm x 305mm) cartridge paper.
One of the many un-used production backgrounds drawn for The Nest. Again, this is a Pantone/Tria design marker rendering. This particular shot is the baby's 'sunset point-of-view'. It was decided after several camera tests that the dark, backlit clouds might distract from what was intended to be a very simple (but not simplistic) shot of a setting sun - and so they were dropped in favour of more distant, red, orange and reddish brown cloud formations. Subtler, stretched out versions of The Nest's daytime 'battleship' style cloud fromations were worked into several of the sunset shots.
Sun, sea surf, sea reflections, sea shimmer and moving cloud elements were composited into the shot later at Lightstream CGI.
Another storyboard panel depicting the only 'bird's eye' view in The Nest, sunset along the Western Namibian coastline. To enhance the claustaphobic atmosphere in the film almost all of the landscape shot set-ups utilised low horizon lines, half-obscured views and dark foreground elements and screeching, off-screen bird sounds. However, at the storyboard stage it was decided to break with this approach, just once, to 'release' the audience with a massive vista.
Lightstream CGI, working from a 2D background by Owen Fitzpatrick, added an animating ocean, surf, ocean sparkles, setting sun, sun reflections, buggy/radio/dune shadows and tiny, slow moving clouds.
After two test previews during early October 2000, The Nest had its final TV mix at Lime Street Sound in late October 2000 and was subsequently on-lined at Windmill Lane Ltd. in time for the Motorola Irish Animation FestivalERROR MSG in Dublin's IFC2 cinema, November 19th 2000.
NEXT SCREENING for The Nest
The 3rd London Irish Film Festival at The Tricycle Cinema and Theatre, Kilburn, London (April 27- May 3rd, 2001).Wednesday 2nd May 5.00pm ANIMATION Angelic Organ, The Nest, How It All Began, The Goblin Market (All 35mm prints).Overseas Festival dates yet to be confirmed.
The Nest is represented by Rocket Animation and discount hotels in GdanskNetwork Ireland Television (www.network-irl-tv.com)
Production and Post-Production companies that worked on The Nest
We hope to have more material for these pre-production pages as it becomes available.
If you have any questions regarding The Nest, or the making of the film, please e-mail us at the contact link below.
