‘Make Some Noise’ and ‘Dimension 20’ Have a Stable of Funny Little (Animated) Guys
As part of its rollout of new series and specials, Dropout began releasing “Dimension 20: Time Quangle,” a set of four international live shows recorded with the conceit that the cast would not know which character they’d be playing until they drew randomly via bingo balls — nor would dungeon master Brennan Lee Mulligan know what setting to put them in until he drew his.
The embrace of total on-stage improv was done in part, as Mulligan explained at the top of their Glasgow show, because of what the team of artisans, technicians, and editors do on regular episodes of “Dimension 20” to pull out the storytelling stops and create the series as it’s consumed online. Even when stranded in the vulture dimension (and/or the United Kingdom), art teams, editors, and animators deserve their due.
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It’s worth looking closely at the margins of “Dimension 20” and at other of Dropout’s straight improv or chat shows like “Make Some Noise,” because there is a lot of functionally invisible work that goes into creating the background for each shows’ comedians to shine. Sam Geer, who both directs and co-edits “Make Some Noise” and “Game Changer” with Eve Hinz, told IndieWire that while the editing is meant to feel effortless, it is never a simple matter of varying camera angles.
“The cast we work with is incredibly talented, and as an editor, there is a lot I can do to help those talents shine as brightly as possible; sometimes it’s as simple as cutting a half-second breath out at just the right moment, and sometimes it’s doing heavy-duty digital camerawork, split screens, and sound design in order to sell Jacob Wysocki going Super Saiyan,” Geer said.
Geer and “Make Some Noise” director of photography Kevin Stiller also do color work in order to emphasize the feeling of liveliness and fun from the sets production designer Charlie Northrop and their team have built — “There is so much energy and life to the design of the [‘Make Some Noise’] stage and boosting the saturation a bit just brings that out more,” Geer said.
Without drawing attention to the work, Geer can nudge the “Game Changer” look in a different direction, too. “Sam [Reich’s] aesthetic north star for ‘Game Changer’ is old 1970s game shows, so when I built the LUT for ‘Game Changer,’ I blew out the highlights slightly and pushed them a bit towards cyan in order to give the footage a bit of a vintage feel visually,” Geer said.
Sometimes, though, the technical touches that help cement the tone or feel of a series do get to be a little bit famous — or even a little bit infamous, as is the case of the interstitial, animated “Little Guys” who transition between segments on “Make Some Noise.” Those were designed by Bill Bergen, who was the art director for motion design back in Dropout’s CollegeHumor days and who’s worked with the streamer on creating the graphic identities for “Make Some Noise” and “Dirty Laundry,” as well as a fair amount of animation that’s deepened dramatic moments or expanded the fictional worlds on “Dimension 20”
Bergen was given some core assets — a step-and-repeat patterned background, a design inspired by the show’s stage, and the logo — in order to start creating the opening titles for the series and animated transitions. “During our kickoff meeting, I noticed that the geometric shapes in the background looked like little faces talking, shouting, or singing. That observation sparked the foundation for the whole animation package — mirroring the three contestants who are, well, often either talking, shouting, or singing, right? That was the core idea we built on,” Bergen told IndieWire.
Part of the success that led to Dropout fans’ fondness for all the animation’s jaunty faces was a willingness by the team to chase something more ambitious, explosive, design-heavy, and, importantly, fun. “We usually aim to keep things short and snappy, around three seconds. But as we developed the idea, I pitched pushing it to seven, then even to 11 seconds. Luckily, the team was on board with the extra time, and that allowed us to create something that set the tone for the series — exciting, unpredictable, and in line with the show’s chaotic energy,” Bergen said.
While the animation is built in After Effects, music stingers are the key to how the library of transitions and animations in “Make Some Noise” come together. Bergen usually gets given around 20 cues and narrows them down to 10 that can translate into fun transitions. “It’s tricky, but when we crack the code and the little faces come to life in surprising ways, it’s incredibly satisfying,” Bergen said.
Bergen’s favorite set of Little Guys is one created for Season 3, where the faces float across the screen in a wavy motion, leaving a smear trail behind them. However, the motion graphics he’s created for “Dimension 20” are the ones that not only reflect and amplify the tone of a show but help build the world. Those are the ones that both Bergen and animators Melina Caron and Sander Goldman have really pushed what’s possible for Dropout to do with animation. “Each season completely reinvents itself with a new setting, mythology, and, of course, an all-new graphics package to match,” Bergen said.
The comparison between the 2D horror vibes inspired by “American Horror Story” and “The Walking Dead” that Bergen utilized for “Neverafter” is completely different from the anarchic, pop fun of “Fantasy High” — Bergen said that the trailer required full 3D animation with a cel-shaded, almost “Borderlands”-like look. “Each season is like starting with a blank canvas, which can be intimidating but also creatively thrilling. I love how the show keeps pushing itself into new visual territories,” Bergen said.
Whether we notice it or not, as long as Dropout shows keep pushing themselves into new genres, formats, and, indeed, quangles, the streamer’s team of artisans in production and post will keep finding ways to amp up the fun of them.
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