If the animation is done first, do the actors have to remain strictly to script leaving no room for improv and also have to nail their timing?
And if the acting is done first, how do they time it? Do they have to do it blindly, only by imagination?
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Animator here for 2D at least, Lets get basics down here first:
“Preproduction” or “Preprod” is where concept art/Script/Storyboarding is done
“Production” as the name suggests is well the actual production, besides animating, anything related in making the story come to life.
Now obviously all studios have diff methods but they all follow similar workflows.
Script writing/Storyboarding are usually semi-finalized in Preprod ASMAP (changes can be made up until its released)
**Now to answer your question**
Once a script/storyboard is semi finalized, studios usually develop something we call an **Animatic**
An animatic is basically the rough outline of the whole film. Its basically the storyboard stitched together as a film with timing just based on the intuition of the people making it(if you imagined the dialogue; you can easily re enact it)
The animatic is essentially a blueprint of the whole film
**This is usually the first iteration of the Animatic**, which is what VA s work with. Once the VAing is done, the animatic is once again reworked for polishing (especially if there are improvs)
then the animatic is reworked till its ready for the “production” for keyframing/inbetweening/etc.
**Another common practice** is that they have the VAs act it out first (just with the script) then the animatic is based of those recordings(under the supervision of the core preprod team) and again reworked continuously until the studio deems it to be fit for production
3D process is similar, and more flexibile since the animatic can be done in software with stiff animations (see clone wars lost episodes)
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