The reluctant hero Takua holds the mysterious Mask of Light.

Once the characters were ready to go, the project expanded to a global scale. Creative Capers relied on Taipei-based studio CGCG to complete most of the animation, which was done in Maya. While overseas animation is very much part of the pipeline for cel-based animation, CG-based projects are still relatively new to the process. The project was also completed in a very fast timeframe.

“Most projects of this quality and scale require 18-24 months to produce,” explains Terry Shakespeare. “But we knew the fans were anxious to see something soon, so we pushed the envelope and created Mask of Light in an amazing 13 months. We were able to do this in part because we had teams working in different time zones, allowing for a virtually seamless, round-the-clock production schedule.”

As CGCG was modeling and setting up their pipeline, the story team back in LA was tasked with visualizing the film in storyboard form. The story team created storyboards for the film in only three months. “And, while we were designing and storyboarding one sequence,” adds Molina, “CGCG was creating 3D computer models of the characters.”

Creative Capers took the creative lead on the project managed by the overseas studio. On the visual side, Creative Capers provided conceptual art, color paintings, schematics, storyboards and color keys. For the 68 overseas animators, Creative Capers provided animatics.

The Taipei team produced the actual 70-minutes of CG animation, with direction coming from Creative Capers as well as LEGO. CGCG’s physical production included: 3D computer character modeling in Maya, coloring and texturing, character set-ups, layouts, lighting, special effects and final rendering. Most of the overseas 3D animation was done in Maya because of its superiority in character and environmental animation as well as fluid dynamics. Compositing and effects were done in discreet’s combustion.

As with any overseas project, Creative Capers needed strong communication with their overseas partners. They relied on electronic communication to transfer files and data as well as good old-fashioned face-to-face time with the overseas staff. The Los Angeles team logged over a quarter of a million miles to Taipei and back.

While overseas production was in process, Creative Capers also took on some CG production of it’s own. They created the opening and closing sequences of the film in CG using 3ds max software. They also did editing of the final film as well as color correction using discreet’s edit, combustion, smoke and flame.

The final film looks terrific, by the way, and is set for DVD/VHS release on Sept. 16. Meanwhile, production is already in progress on the next two features, one of which is intended for theatrical release.

George Maestri is a writer, director and producer living in Los Angeles. He is currently president of Rubberbug, an animation studio specializing in character animation for broadcast and film.