Paperman

[Atlantica]

Just caught this before Ralph; what a beautiful short. Doesn't quite catch the emotional depth of Little Match Girl, but was lovely none the less.

Held the children's attention in the cinema as well, which was quite something.

[Jules]

Held the children's attention in the cinema as well, which was quite something.

That's interesting, since the short feels more adult-centric than usual Disney fare. By "adult-centric" I don't mean that there's anything inappropriate for children in it, but that the love story of George and Meg is likely to resonate more with young adults and older adults than with kids. Even minor characters like the mean-looking boss will be more recognisable to adults (who may have once had an asshole superior).

Did you by any chance catch any comments regarding the fact that it's black and white?

And PatrickvD, thanks for the article! It divulges some more of the secrets of the making of the film.

[TsWade2]

I hope it wins an Oscar.

[Jules]

I'm torn. Like Sotiris, I feel that both Adam and Dog and Head Over Heels are superior films, but the WDAS fan in me really really really really really (I mean, really ) wants the studio to win its first Oscar in a really long time.

Perhaps I feel that way because while, as before stated, I do agree with Sotty (ooh, new nickname!) on the ranking of the films, I am by no means unenthusiastic about Paperman. I liked it very much.

[disneyboy20022]

If The Longest Daycare wins I will be quite shocked and depressed.

[Jules]

If The Longest Daycare wins I will be quite shocked and depressed.

The Longest Daycare was sweet and made me smile, but it hardly seems Oscar-worthy. I don't think it will win.

[Sotiris]

Like Sotiris, I feel that both Adam and Dog and Head Over Heels are superior films.

I can't believe someone agrees with me on this!

The WDAS fan in me really wants the studio to win its first Oscar in a really long time.

I want that too but only when they truly deserve it. Personally, I find that their '00s shorts such as John Henry, Destino, One by One, The Little Matchgirl deserved an Oscar much more than Paperman does.

[SWillie!]

I do agree that thematically Adam and Dog and Head Over Heels are better "films". But I feel they should also take into consideration other aspects of filmmaking: appeal, technical skill, innovation... I think Paperman takes the prize in every category except story.

[Atlantica]

Held the children's attention in the cinema as well, which was quite something.

That's interesting, since the short feels more adult-centric than usual Disney fare. By "adult-centric" I don't mean that there's anything inappropriate for children in it, but that the love story of George and Meg is likely to resonate more with young adults and older adults than with kids. Even minor characters like the mean-looking boss will be more recognisable to adults (who may have once had an asshole superior).

Did you by any chance catch any comments regarding the fact that it's black and white?

And PatrickvD, thanks for the article! It divulges some more of the secrets of the making of the film.

There was just complete captivation all around; I think maybe the fact it was black and white at once caught the children's attention. There was a total hush over the entire cinema of evenly split children and adults. The only sound was a collective 'awwww' at the end. Was such a joy to see.

[PatrickvD]

And PatrickvD, thanks for the article! It divulges some more of the secrets of the making of the film.

You're welcome. I thought it was the best explanation of the technique I've seen thus far.

[ajmrowland]

That's interesting, since the short feels more adult-centric than usual Disney fare. By "adult-centric" I don't mean that there's anything inappropriate for children in it, but that the love story of George and Meg is likely to resonate more with young adults and older adults than with kids. Even minor characters like the mean-looking boss will be more recognisable to adults (who may have once had an asshole superior).

Did you by any chance catch any comments regarding the fact that it's black and white?

And PatrickvD, thanks for the article! It divulges some more of the secrets of the making of the film.

Not to mention it was animated.

It seems with this, the frankenstein segments of OUAT, Frankenweenie and others, B&W is making a bit of a comeback. I think to some extent people are more interested in B&W than the crazy colors we always get in animation.

There was just complete captivation all around; I think maybe the fact it was black and white at once caught the children's attention. There was a total hush over the entire cinema of evenly split children and adults. The only sound was a collective 'awwww' at the end. Was such a joy to see.

[RyGuy]

In case anyone is interested, Paperman is now available for download on Amazon Instant Video

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/ ... eimprovemz

I know it's currently available for free on YouTube but who knows how long Disney will keep it up.

[SWillie!]

Thanks RyGuy! I wonder if they'll put it up on iTunes. I would totally buy it there, just to support it.

Edit: Also, it's being featured right now on Hulu's home page! Go Paperman!

[RyGuy]

Thanks RyGuy! I wonder if they'll put it up on iTunes. I would totally buy it there, just to support it.

I'm not sure. I just acquired an iPad (my first Apple product ever) last week, so I need to start reorienting myself to iTunes and away from Amazon. Old habits die hard

[Sotiris]

New interview with the director of Paperman.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwN79t3_QR8

[SWillie!]

Thanks for posting! The interviewer is a little weird lol. It's kind of an awkward interview, but some good bits in there.

[Sotiris]

Paperman was scored by Canadian Christophe Beck, except for the end sequence, which John sought in depth to express in just the right way. For this he went to Disney’s music editor Earl Ghaffari, who in turn recommended A&E, a piece by British duo Goldfrapp. An upbeat, modern sound building up to a sense of urgency, it nonetheless fits in beautifully with Paperman’s black and white retro look.

John also took the opportunity to explain a bit more about the film’s visuals. None of the sets or props were modeled, although one might at first assume so from the picture’s seamless look. All flat geometry, plus semi-transparent brushes were used to paint right over the frames, allowing him to push and pull the values, arriving at the most realistic look for the piece. The paper airplanes utilized a vector program on top of hand drawn backgrounds.

Source: http://www.awn.com/blogs/oscar-tour-tra ... s-at-pixar

[SWillie!]

At first I took that as them actually using the existing song as the last part of the soundtrack. After listening to the song, I see it was inspired by it. I'm not really sure why it says "except for the end sequence" though. Am I being stupid?

[Sotiris]

John Kahrs said that he's already working on his next project which is going to be another short film. It's currently in the storyboarding phase. He didn't comment on what medium the short will be in or when it will come out.

Do you think it's going to be the short attached to Frozen?

[SWillie!]

I'd like to think so! Isn't the short that's supposed to be in front of Frozen the one that Hullett mentioned is "hand drawn, but not in the traditional sense" or something like that? It certainly sounds like it could be the same one that Kahrs is discussing.