This article was first published on the public account "Animation Academic Booir", please do not reprint it without authorization.
Xiao Bao said: Today we want to talk to you about this female animator, not long ago Xiao Bo pushed the article: "Just now, he won the gold medal of the student Oscar with animation!" In the award, she presented awards to Xie Chenglin and others, and I believe that everyone has a deep impression on her. How did she get to where she is today? Here's her story.
Mention "Ah Bao", Chinese audiences must be familiar with it.
But how many people know that the "Kung Fu Panda" series of animations was actually written by an American-Korean director?
While we immerse ourselves in Kung Fu Panda's careful visual design and unconventional family atmosphere, little is known about the 1972-born Korean-American director.
Yu Renying
jennifer yuh nelson
Yu Renying is the director of Kung Fu Panda, to be precise, the general director of the second and third parts, and is also a scene designer and visual effects artist.
In the Hollywood animation circle for more than 20 years, Yu Renying has always had a love, calm, humble and pleasant heart for art.
time Screenshot of interview video
She is not only the first female independent director among Hollywood animated film directors, but also one of the few well-known female directors in Hollywood.
Before 2011, there was a strange phenomenon in Hollywood animated films: male directors had absolute say. And she was the first person to break the rules of Hollywood.
After "Kung Fu Panda 2" came out, the New York Times commented on her:
"Women change the world."
Some commentators even said, "Hollywood animated films dominated by male directors should be ashamed of this." ”
Her appearance was a surprise for the Hollywood industry.
Yu was born into an artistic family in South Korea, with parents and sister. At the age of four, he moved to California with his parents.
Her love of animation was formed from an early age. Recalling her life in South Korea, she says that even though she was very young, she clearly remembers all the TV shows she watched — Korean animation accounts for the vast majority, and there are also many imported Japanese animations.
She likes to watch "giant robots", and when she was a child, she liked action movies more than princesses.
It also explains the persistent side of her personality.
Although she speaks softly, her colleagues describe her as a "die-hard action fan." On weekends, Yu Renying enjoys playing sports car games and shooting games with her husband at home.
Growing up in an enlightened family, her parents not only did not interfere with her hobbies, but often encouraged the two sisters to do what they really liked.
It was under the encouragement of her parents that Yu Renying developed a strong interest in painting.
Stills from Kung Fu Panda 3
During college, she majored in illustration at the University of California, Long Beach. When she first graduated, she didn't know she was going to enter the animation industry.
All she knows is that she likes to draw storyboards. Although the concept of animated films had vaguely appeared in her mind at that time, she did not have a camera and chose to draw what she thought of first.
By chance, a producer saw her work.
He said to her: Paint.
She officially became a scenographer and entered the Hollywood animation industry.
"Kung Fu Panda" is a split shot
Her animation career spans several countries, including South Korea and Japan. Prior to joining DreamWorks, Yu worked at HBO Animation, developing various projects and series of short films.
Yu Renying directed and designed the characters for HBO's self-produced animated series Spawn, a dark adult-oriented TV animation that retained the original comic style and won the 1999 Emmy Award for other and technical awards (outstandinganimated program - for programming more than one hour).
The Shining Warrior
She also worked in Sydney, Australia, as an animator for Dark City.
Joining DreamWorks was the first turning point in Yu's career.
DreamWorks, which has always been known for its "multi-racial", is suitable for young people with ideals and dreams. Yu Renying is exactly such a person.
Moreover, Her Korean-American status, strong interest in animated films, and international vision are her strengths in creating films.
Prior to directing Kung Fu Panda 2 and Kung Fu Panda 3, Yu was involved in the production of four DreamWorks animated films: Kung Fu Panda 1 (2008), Madagascar (2005), Sinbad The Legend of the Seven Seas (2003) and Pony Spirit (2002).
Kung Fu Panda 1 poster
Poster of Madagascar
Sinbad poster
Pony Elf poster
These experiences provided a very good preparation for her next creations.
In the interview, Yu Renying recalled the process of participating in "Kung Fu Panda 1".
One day, she overheard an animated movie called Kung Fu Panda, which was still an embryo project.
"I don't know anything but the name. But I've loved watching martial arts movies since I was a kid, and I know I want to make movies and I have to try to do something..."
In this way, she joined the project and spent a long time working on Kung Fu Panda 1.
Independently directing "Kung Fu Panda 2" was the second turning point in Yu Renying's career.
Stills from Kung Fu Panda 2
In the first part, Yu Renying mainly served as the chief planner of the story. In the second part, she directly became the independent director of "Kung Fu Panda".
At that time, John Stephenson and Mark Osborne, directors of "Kung Fu Panda 1", said that they wanted to rest for a while after filming, and it didn't take long for this responsibility to fall on Yu Renying.
Why can it pick up the girder?
It seems lucky, but it is inevitable.
Hollywood producer Melissa Cooper once described Yu's work status this way: At the discussion of "Kung Fu Panda 1", other directors always have their own opinions, so they can't argue.
But Yu Renying is just the opposite.
She was quiet and would listen to the directors say their opinions without a word, and then raise her index finger to express her opinion.
Often at this time, the room would fall silent, and they would, unexpectedly, all respect her opinion.
It can be said that Yu Renying can become the director of "Kung Fu Panda 2" and "Kung Fu Panda 3" by strength.
But with the identity of "Hollywood's first female independent director", she is not without pressure - she must use her strength to respond to the curiosity and questions of the outside world.
Before her, Hollywood animation lacked racial and gender diversity, especially in the creative positions of the elite, and animation often reflected one-sided life experiences and perspectives.
Happily, Yu Renying broke the routine of traditional Hollywood animation directors.
She insists that Kung Fu Panda 2 should strive to maintain a realistic style and maintain "Asian sensitivity" - animation creation cannot be separated from its soil.
She turned out to be right. Chinese audiences love Ah Bao very much, and the mainland box office of the first two series reached nearly 800 million yuan.
Love is also her theme. Angelina Jolie confesses that she feels empathy for the role of "Petite Tiger": "I like her, I have had her weaknesses, she is very strong, but sometimes she does not know how to become gentle. At this point, my children have helped me a lot, and they have made me a little softer, because sometimes I live with a hard shell. ”
Julie
With Kung Fu Panda 2, Yu won best animated film director at the 39th Annie Awards (2012). The film was also nominated for Best Animated Feature at the 84th Academy Awards (2012).
Yu Renying did not stop. She and her team produced Kung Fu Panda 3.
The third part is called "China Custom Edition" - "it's made in China, for China." If the first two films are the result of fieldwork conducted by the American team in China, the third part chooses to cooperate directly with The Oriental DreamWorks in Shanghai.
The addition of the Chinese team has made "Kung Fu Panda 3" more authentic and more authentic.
"Kung Fu Panda 3" features a "Panda Village" scene inspired by Mount Qingcheng , where the team found fog when they visited Mount Qingcheng and decided to move the place to the anime.
Another surprise in the animation is that Ah Bao finally found his long-lost father. From the first to the third, we seem to really understand the theme of the trilogy —exploring the eternal proposition of "who I am."
In her trilogy, we see her continued thinking and effort. She said that there is no perfect person, modesty can go further, can continue to expand their boundaries.
What is more valuable is that Yu Renying, who was burned by the "Kung Fu Panda" series, maintained a good balance between work and family. "It's important for me to enjoy the comforts of home."
On the one hand, it is a career that is in the sky, and on the other hand, it is a simple and happy family life, and neither side has fallen.
She did.
From a little girl who simply loves cartoons to a respected female independent animation director in Hollywood, she has put in a lot of effort.
Thanks to this Korean-American director, he brought us an authentic Chinese style and brought us a super cute Ah Bao.
Asked if he knew he would become an animation director, Yu said: "I didn't have any grand initial plans, I just always liked to draw. ”
For her, animation is drawn in one stroke, it is painstaking effort, it is persistence.
Just like her life, countless moments of love make up the present.
ref：
https://www.traileraddict.com/kung-fu-panda-2/interview-jennifer-yuh-nelson;
http://caamedia.org/blog/2016/01/25/qa-with-jennifer-yuh-nelson-director-of-kung-fu-panda-3/;
http://www.cgmeetup.net/home/creative-process-in-exploration-of-ideas/;
http://www.cartoonbrew.com/feature-film/jennifer-yuh-nelson-and-angelina-jolie-in-conversation-54056.html;
http://news.mtime.com/2011/05/25/1460121.html;
http://news.mtime.com/2008/10/21/1398089.html;
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