How to Train Your Dragon
a) Genre
How to Train Your Dragon is a CGI animation film produced by Dreamworks Animation, released in 2010. Its genre is fantasy action/adventure. The fantasy genre is prominent in the fact that dragons are a main feature of the film. The adventure element of this film involves the large setting of a fictional island in the Arctic sea, and the ocean and nearby islands surrounding it. The action genre is denoted in many sequences which involve flying, as well as fighting, dragons.
b) Individual Animators
Simon Otto is the head of character animation for How to Train Your Dragon. He has worked on other animated films such as Kung Fu Panda, The Road to El Dorado and Flushed Away. He began his career carving commercial snow sculptures and drawing news cartoons for his local newspaper.
He trained at Walt Disney Feature Animation before starting to work at Dreamworks Animation in 1997. Ever since, he has been working with the studio as an important part of the character design and animation team.
During pre-production for How to Train Your Dragon, he was in charge of taking each character from a 2D concept to a 3D character in the digital world. He worked closely with other animators from the rigging, modelling and surfacing departments to bring the characters to life.
As production started, he was in charge of the entire character animation team, making sure that the style and quality of the animation was the best it could be. He went on to work on the sequel, How to Train Your Dragon 2, which was released in 2014.
He trained at Walt Disney Feature Animation before starting to work at Dreamworks Animation in 1997. Ever since, he has been working with the studio as an important part of the character design and animation team.
During pre-production for How to Train Your Dragon, he was in charge of taking each character from a 2D concept to a 3D character in the digital world. He worked closely with other animators from the rigging, modelling and surfacing departments to bring the characters to life.
As production started, he was in charge of the entire character animation team, making sure that the style and quality of the animation was the best it could be. He went on to work on the sequel, How to Train Your Dragon 2, which was released in 2014.
Jason Meyer is the Lead Fx Artist for How to Train Your Dragon. He was in charge of simulation animation. This is the animation of anything that moves that is not attached to a character, for example rain, water, fire and smoke. In this interview he states that destruction is his speciality - for example explosions.
Mountain destruction, animated by Jason Meyer
In his showreel below, the video begins with some of his work on How to Train Your Dragon 2. You can see his work on How to Train Your Dragon at marks 0:30 and 0:55. He has also worked on creating effects such as fire, smoke and missile trails in live action films.
c) Production Process
Pre-production for How to Train Your Dragon began after producer Bonnie Arnold took interest in the original How to Train Your Dragon novels by Cressida Cowell. The original idea for the film followed the story of the novel very closely. Concept art and storyboards were created following the original narrative of the books.
Initial Toothless concept - very different to the character that made it into the film
Two storyboards from the original narrative of the film, which was described as "heavily loyal to the book".
As production continued, the writer-directors of Disney's Lilo & Stitch Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois took over as co-directors and the narrative was altered. New storyboards and concepts were created.
The main part of production recommenced and the characters were modelled and rigged, backgrounds and environments were simulated, visual effects were rendered and the right lighting was applied to everything. Roger Deakins, a cinematographer, was hired to assist with lighting, the overall look of the film and to make sure it had a "live-action feel".
The first step of post-production for a CGI film like How to Train Your Dragon is compositing - i.e. putting different elements together into a single image, for example putting characters in their setting. Any 2D visual effects and motion graphics that are needed such as graphics during the credits, are added. Colour correction/grading is applied where needed to create depth and atmosphere. The sounds are added, and after the finishing touches are applied the film is finished.
This frame of the end credits was generated using 2D visual effects in post-production.
This frame is part of a sequence that has a pink hue applied.
This connotes a romantic atmosphere.
d) Narrative/Storyline
The narrative follows the story of scrawny Viking underdog Hiccup, who is the chief's son. He lives in a society which has had a relentless enmity with dragons for centuries. Against all odds, he manages to shoot down and find an elusive night fury dragon when no one is looking. However, when the moment comes to kill the dragon, he cannot bring himself to do it. Instead, he frees the dragon, names him Toothless, and befriends him in secrecy.
Without the knowledge of any of the other Vikings, Hiccup learns to fly with Toothless, eventually uncovering the nest of the "Queen Bee" dragon: a huge dragon which controls the rest to do its bidding.
His experience with Toothless leads him to excel in his training, which leads to him earning the right to kill a dragon in front of an arena full of people. Instead, he tries to prove that dragons don't have to be fought with.
His plan flops when the dragon is spooked into attacking him. He is rescued by Toothless who is in turn captured.
Upon realisation that the night fury can take them to the nest, Hiccup's father leads an attack on the nest only to find that the Red Death - the huge alpha dragon - is a force NOT to be reckoned with. Hiccup gathers the other young Vikings and shows them that they can make peace with the dragons, and they fly into the battle together.
The giant alpha dragon is defeated, and although Hiccup has lost his left foot in the process, everything turns out well for the Vikings and the film ends with peace between them and dragons.
e) Target Audience
This film's main target audience is families. They are stereotypically families from the ABC1 social demographic, as these are the types of people who would normally be able to afford to see the film in cinema or buy the DVD.
f) Characters/Stars
The main character in this film is Hiccup. He is overlooked in the Viking society, where it is brawn over brains traditionally. Another main character is Toothless, the dragon. He is the main motivation for Hiccup to see that the tradition of fighting dragons is wrong.
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