That's unfortunately kinda common in Animation, where the damn director isn't even there himself personally to direct the animators. Yet at the end of it all gets to slap his name on the film.

I just hope for the animator's sake this system they created works as well as it is shown. Hopefully this system allowed them to contact Wes as often as they wanted, and not have to wait a few days just to ask him if they can go ahead with a certain pose.

Love these behind-the-scenes footage. All the work that went into the film!

Wes wrote it, had the actors act it out for real, and sent over notes and occasionally visited the set. That sounds pretty hands on considering it takes like a whole day to do 30 seconds of footage.

LOL @ George Clooney's method acting...was it really necessary to roll around on the grass in order to perform the voice-over?

I'd say yes. They wanted to record the sounds of the effort and the grass and everything, so I'd definitely say that was a good idea.

But what about the poor foley artists? How will they feed their children?

loudly.








[my other answer was gonna be with broken celery {thats the broken bone noise} ]

Im an animator, and i will say that this is just the way it works in the business. Being "on-set" and directing an animator would be like directing paint to dry. Animation takes a lot of planning and concentration, having a director there the entire time would hurt the process more than it helped.

In animation directors are never "on set." Direction is given at various critical stages: an initial handout, viewing tests as they progress, approvals, etc. A director can't physically stand around and watch the animator while he works. No animator would even want that! However, it's worth noting that being there in person to discuss and give notes is ALWAYS vastly superior to sending written ones.

"I think Wes doesn’t understand what you can do, and he often wants us to do what you can’t do, and the length of time the process takes … I don’t think he quite comprehends that, and how difficult it is to change something once you’ve started."

That is pretty damning.

It's hardly a surprise to learn that the cinematographer is as candid as he was,really. There are alot of misconceptions where filmmaking is concerned; in the movie business. I think alot of people forget the careful time and planning that goes into this process and the people who make everything happen behind the scenes are the true unsung heroes who come award season will fail to receive a mention.It has been long known fact the director cannot fuction without a D.O.P (Director of Photography).However, there are exceptions.
Directors such as;Paul Thomas Anderson, Michael Mann, David Lynch and Steven Soderburgh have long known to do a great deal of their own camera work, art direction and still photography.While these directors and many others try to keep the art of filmaking alive;the fight for survival is now lost because of special effects and editing.

What? I don't think you meant that in the way that you typed it. Special effects and editing are killing the art of film making? ...it would be tricky to make a film without editing anything. Special effects have always been an important part of film making ever since the silent era.

It's true that Wes doesn't need to sit around and watch the animators work. But a real animation director would have at least some hands on during the process, if not animate an entire section himself. These types of animations would be better if the "directors" were the producers and let the real artists do their job. Wes' process is just fine, I just prefer when directors fully understand the craft and medium they are working in.

I suppose I should comment, since my post contributed to starting this one off. I'm aware that a director need not stand around waiting for the animators to go about their business, but I just found it curious the way the Empire interview characterised Anderson as being out of touch with the process of stop-motion. Maybe my objection would be the lack of credit given to the animators (not even the most senior animation directors or designers are mentioned on the poster I saw in the lobby of my local cinema that I saw yesterday). The task of animating an entire feature film is a huge workload that goes beyond following a director's instructions and needs special recognition in its own right.