Unlike the first full-length Filipino animated film ?Urduja,? which used a mix of traditional drawings and computer technology, ?Dayo? totally employed computer technology in drawing all the movements of characters and the environment they inhabit.
A 90-minute movie, it is a production of Manila-based animation studio Cutting Edge in cooperation with Senco Link Technologies and Toon Boom Animation.
It is a story of friendship and adventure, between a boy named Buboy and a girl named Ana, a lovable manananggal, in the contemporary Pinoy setting and a fantasy world inhabited by characters of Philippine mythology and folklore.
Cutting Edge has tapped silver screen actors Johnny Delgado, Laurice Guillen, Michael V and Pokwang to give life to the characters that are largely drawn at the Camarines Sur Animation Center here.
?Dayo? is among the projects being done at this center through Camarines Sur Gov. Luis Raymund F. Villafuerte?s Gov. Lray 2-D Animation Program, which provides free training in animation work to local artists and employment once they learn the techniques and skills.
In the center, locally trained animators draw the action sequence of animation productions by providing the ?cleanup? and ?in between (IB)? of the characters and scenes.
Benedicto R. Bernardino, the supervising animator of the Gov. LRay 2-D Animation Program, said the cleanup involves the finalization of the features of characters as specified by the animator while the IB is the creation of logical movements of characters based on the story board provided by their clients.
Bernardino has been an animator since 1984 after he graduated from the University of the Philippines. He is one of the subcontract animators who supervised the traditionally drawn ?Urduja? animated film.
He said they also did the cleanup and IB of the television series ?Benjamin Bear? shown in Canada and Marvel Production?s ?Biker Mice from Mars? contracted through Philippine Animation Studio Inc.
They also did those of ?Mayabazar? and ?Lavakusa, The Twin Warrior,? two Indian animated films contracted through production house Dog n Bon, and the television series ?Pet Pals? negotiated through Dataquest.
Software
Bernardino said they are using Cintiq screen tablets and Toon Boom Digital Pro, software used by some of the world?s top animation studios, to make the cleanup and IB of ?Dayo? paperless.
The tablets and the software shorten the process and increase speed in creating the drawings because they function like drawing boards with electronic pens to draw images and touch commands, just like the principles used in Page Maker program in layouting, storing, retrieving, reviewing and editing the sequence of images drawn by animators.
The technology can also activate and deactivate the environment and characters that were drawn by the animator and assistant animators.
Bernardino delineated the role of the animator as the main artist who draws the basics and foundation of the scene and character of the animated film. The assistant animators are illustrators who do the details of the drawing of the animator, who does the storyboard.
He said he has 69 assistant animators whom he trained for at least 300 hours.
Since the Camarines Sur Animation Center opened, he has conducted free animation trainings for 30 batches composed of about 180 beneficiaries.
Bernardino said ?Dayo? would total 8,100 feet of film running at a speed of 24 frames per second, based on the standard of 2,000 ft of film per 22 minutes.
He said the production of animation work included the writing of the script, making of the story board, layouting, animation background creation, cleanup of rough sketches, IB, animation checking for errors and inconsistencies, application of digital ink and paint, and compositing to create the final look of the film and post-production.
Judging from unreleased rushes, ?Dayo? makes an impression with its smooth movements, vibrant colors and fast action comparable to foreign animated films ?Fern Gully? and ?Aladdin? and their humorous dialogues.
