Second part of my Zootopia Layout Reel, from an early story version in which Nick Wilde was the one being chased around Little Rodentia.

Though this sequence was cut and entirely reworked, this early layout work helped inform the camera style for the final version of the film.

In layout we do a lot of explorations of ideas at an early stage, some stick, some don't, but they all help develop the film to its final form. You can see a lot of ideas that were on this reel that made it to the final, even with the story being completely different.

The process of layout involves a bit of animation, lighting, editing, modeling, and a lot of composition and good use of camera for a clear narrative. Sometimes we follow what is indicated in the storyboards, sometimes we break away from it entirely and come up with our own beats and ideas.

The process works somewhat like this: We layout artists receive a movie with the storyboards cut by the editor. We need to build up the first 3D representation of that storyboard, in a full cinematic form, by using the characters, sets and props created by the modeling department. We animate the characters (roughly, not very cleanly, it's all about efficiency and iteration), we sometimes model our own sets and props when they don't exist yet, we place some temp effects and lights, and most importantly, we make the choices of camera and composition.

What lens frames this shot better? What fstop? What type of camera move expresses the right feeling and emotion? How do the shots combine together? What angle showcases the right attitude? We have all of this in consideration, and apply a ton of cinematic tricks to make the action clear, the emotions specific, the framing and composition well crafted, and the timing precise. It's a bit of a generalist job, with a strong focus on visual storytelling.