Production Notes & Screen Credits - SYE Publicity

Edith, Agnes and Margo play a game while a Carnival Barker (JACK MCBRAYER) and Gru watch.
represented on our
crew, and in Paris we
have people from the
U.K. Our philosophy
was based on the
notion that if you’re
going to make a movie
for a global audience,
the complexion of
your crew should be a
global one.”
The trans-Atlantic
process also extended
to the vocal talent, as
work at every stage was the key difference between some sessions were recorded in Paris while actors
how we were used to working and how European were in Los Angeles. Explains Renaud: “We did
studios have usually worked in the past.”
our first few sessions with each actor in person, so
When it came to the process discussions—such that we could work out who the character is.” Once
as translating artwork to modeling in CG, how Renaud and Coffin were in Paris, the filmmakers
rough layouts would get in stereo, or how animation
would be approved—the team had similar one another and try different takes of the dialogue
and actors iChatted or Skyped so they could see
expectations and a mutual understanding of the reads. “It was very important to us to read the
workflow. There were about 14 departments that actors’ body language,” Renaud notes.
worked in CG, and the artists had unique specialties. The production crew connected Renaud and
As well, the many dependencies between departments
made management of the duties complex. they could hear each of the actor’s performances.
Coffin to a high-quality ISDN audio line so that
Initially, workflow conversations took some time, The actors recorded the audio in Los Angeles,
but the crew members approached the CG manufacturing
work similarly and found that their ways With the nine-hour time difference, production
which was then delivered to the studio in Paris.
of problem solving and past experiences shared ran on a 24-hour cycle, as teams worked
much in common.
constantly on two sides of the ocean.
With the American team taking French lessons Working with a director via Skype was a new
and French crew members taking English lessons, it experience for some of the talent. “It was pretty
was an education for crew on both sides of the crazy having the director all the way in
Atlantic. Whenever Meledandri addressed the team Paris…strange to work with somebody but not be
as a whole, an interpreter was used. Of the global in the same room with them physically,” recalls
company, the producer adds: “We’ve got an McBrayer. He laughs: “I think they were nine hours
American director and a French director. We’ve had ahead, so they could tell the future.”
crew working in Canada, New Jersey, Los Angeles
and the Midwest. We had numerous nationalities
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