18x01 - Patterned Glass Panels/Road Cases/Stop-Frame Animation

[bunniefuu]

Narrator: used for windows,
doors, and partitions,

Patterned glass panels
add beauty and light to a room.

But their purpose
is more than decorative.

The designs in the glass
also obscure the view,

Making patterned glass
an effective privacy screen.

They let light in
and keep prying eyes out.

With patterned glass,

Windows become something
to look atrather than through.

There are a variety of designs
and textures to choose from,

Offering different degrees
of privacy.

At the heart of the process
are engraved metal rollers

That transfer designs
onto glass.

Before production
can even begin,

This roller rotates through
a chamber

Where grit blasts off grease
and dirt.

If the designs on the roller
are damaged,

They shave off the outer skin,

Exposing a smooth surface
for re-engraving.

But that isn't always necessary.

Small problems can be fixed,
so they circle those for repair.

Some need
no refurbishment whatsoever,

So they move on
to the next step.

A worker brushes
a polishing compound

Onto the printing roller.

A buffing wheel rubs
the compound

Into the roller's
chrome surface,

Taking it from dull
to a high shine.

Meanwhile,
at another part of the factory,

Craftsmen repair trouble spots
on other rollers.

The work
has to blend in perfectly.

The craftsmen do their jobs
with a finesse

That comes from natural skill
and years of practice.

One false move, and the
entire pattern could be ruined.

But the touch-ups are perfect,

And these rollers are now ready
for the production line.

The raw ingredients
for the glass panels

Are stored in huge silos.

These ingredients all come
from the earth --

Sand, limestone, dolomite,
soda ash, and salt cake.

Here's a sampling in a jar.

Conveyor belts feed
a mixed batch of ingredients

To a roaring furnace.

They add waste glass
and recycle it into the process

To reduce the effect
on the environment.

Fired
at 2,900 degrees fahrenheit,

The ingredients melt quickly.

Now a molten mass, it circulates
in a looped pathway.

An inspector checks the melting
status of the glass ingredients,

As well as the flow of gas fuel
to fire the furnace.

This furnace is burning


And is monitored constantly.

The hot, liquid glass
now flows between two rollers,

One of them engraved.

The rollers imprint designs
onto the glass

And squeeze it
to its final thickness.

The glass rapidly solidifies,

Fixing the pattern
in the ribbon of glass.

It then travels through

A 65-foot-long
temperature-control zone.

The glass ribbon
is exposed to flames

To relieve stresses caused
by the manufacturing process.

This is called annealing.

The glass slowly cools
as it leaves the zone.

This seals in strength
and durability

So it can now be cut cleanly
without fracturing.

This cutter scores
the glass lengthwise

But doesn't cut it
all the way through.

The scored line maps out
the desired width of the glass.

Another cutter moves to and fro

To create
horizontal score lines.

These score lines establish
the length

Of the patterned glass panels.

Then a roller pops up

And breaks the glass along
the horizontal score lines.

The sides
of the glass now collide

With little wheels
known as bonkers,

Which snap the glass along
the lateral score lines.

The waste glass falls down
a chute

To rollers that bust it to bits.

These bits are called cullet,

And they'll be recycled
into new glass.

A worker
now backlights glass panels

And examines their finish
for flaws.

This solar glass panel
has a matte finish.

Compared to the small sample
of standard, clear glass,

It's less reflective,

Allowing more of
the sun's energy to be captured.

Minerals high in iron
produce greenish glass

That's light-absorbent.

For solar glass,
they go easy on the iron

To produce white glass
that transmits light.

A carrier with suction cups
stacks the glass for shipping.

Now all that's left
is the window shopping.

Narrator: road cases
are designed for the job

Of transporting
sensitive equipment,

Like musical instruments
and audio systems.

These wheeled trunks
are tough on the outside,

With cushy foam on the inside.

With road cases,

The gear arrives intact
and ready to rock 'n' roll.

Behind every superstar,

There is plenty
of this custom luggage.

Each case is designed for
a particular piece of equipment,

Like an audio-mixing console.

The case
is being made to measure.

They load the dimensions
of the audio console

Into a computer

And then design
a virtual case around it

Using
three-dimensional software.

Once a customer approves
the computer blueprint,

They're ready to build.

Workers roll adhesive
onto thick birch plywood.

They coat the entire sheet.

The plywood is now ready

To receive
a thermoplastic outer skin.

They align the thermoplastic
with the adhesive-coated plywood

And lower it into place.

They feed the thermoplastic
and plywood layers

To rollers
that squeeze out any bubbles

For an airtight bond.

Then the heat from this hot
press activates the adhesive,

And it cures for an even better
bond to the plywood.

The result is a laminated
thermoplastic plywood sheet.

Next, a computer-guided router

Carves through
the laminated sheet,

Following the design drawn up
in cyberspace.

This produces
the exterior panels,

Each one precisely sized
for the audio-console case.

The router also cuts out holes
for latches and other fittings.

A worker pieces together
the panels

To form the basic carcass
of the case.

He tacks them together
temporarily

With a staple g*n.

He'll join them permanently
with extruded aluminum trim.

He preps the aluminum edging
by punching rivet holes in it

At strategic locations.

He also cuts notches
for bending it around corners.

He's now ready
to install the aluminum trim.

He can actually bend the corners
by hand for a perfect fit.

The edging gives the case
a tailored look,

And once riveted to the panels,
it will hold it together.

He drills through the holes
in the trim

To make corresponding holes
in the laminated plywood.

He inserts rivets
into the holes.

These rivets
have mandrels attached to them.

He drives those mandrels
through the rivets,

Causing them to expand
around the drilled holes

And secure the trim
to the trunk.

With the job done,

The mandrel breaks off
and is disposed of.

With the case now held together
by the metal trim,

He rivets the latch to it,

And then it's on
to the inner framework.

The plywood parts
have also been cut

With computerized precision

Designed to hold
the audio console.

He reinforces a piece
called a cheek

With a thick block of wood.

This cheek is one of the two

That will cradle
the audio console.

He bulks up the wide end

With plywood copies of
the cheek's contoured profile,

Gluing them and nailing them
to the main part

So this reinforcement job holds.

He spray-paints
the cheek substructure black,

Giving it a durable,
textured finish.

He fits the cheeks in the case,
one on each side,

And bolts them into position.

Another worker hot-glues blocks
of foam,

Each specifically cut

To fit together like pieces
of a puzzle

As he installs them in the case.

All this padding
will cushion the impact

Of any bumps on the road
or backstage jostling.

He even covers
the top of a plywood drawer

Made for a keyboard.

They slide
the audio-mixing console

Into the case
to try it for size.

From start to finish,

It's taken about three hours
to make this road case.

It should last for as long
as the audio equipment does,

But it all depends on how rough
it gets on the road.

Narrator:
many animated films and tv shows

Use stop-frame animation.

The characters
are three-dimensional puppets

With movable facial
and body parts.

The animator moves
the puppet ever so slightly

For each frame of film or video.

When you view
the frames at regular speed,

The puppet appears to be moving.

♪ Timmy ♪

♪ It's timmy ♪

♪ He's the little lamb... ♪

Narrator: bringing
a make-believe world to life

Through stop-frame animation

Takes a large and talented team,

Which includes writers,
directors, animators,

Set and prop makers,
camera crews,

And, of course, puppet makers,

Who create, maintain,
and repair the puppets.

To see
how stop-frame animation works,

Let's rewind this scene,

Which stars timmy
and features a red balloon.

The director takes
the writer's script

And breaks down each scene
of the episode

Into a series of shots.

This sh**ting script then goes
to the storyboard artist,

Who draws each shot of the scene
on a digital storyboard tablet.

For each scene,
the director prepares

A set plan detailing
the background elements,

The puppet placement,
and the camera angles.

The storyboard artist sends
his drawings to the editor,

Who works with the director
to edit them into an animatic,

A still-drawing version
of the episode.

[ Sheep bleating ]

Actors, meanwhile, have recorded
the dialogue in a sound studio.

Now the editor cuts
that dialogue into the animatic.

The visuals in this soundtrack
must be perfectly synchronized,

Because the animators
will use the animatic

As a frame-by-frame guide

For moving
the puppets' bodies and lips.

Baa!

Ooh!

[ Squealing]

Baa!

Baa!

The show's animators refer
to a large schedule board

To see which scenes they've
been assigned to animate.

A printout of the animatic
shows all the episode shots

At a glance.

In the art department,

Construction of
the episode's costumes and props

Is well underway.

To make a few red balloons,
for example,

The prop makers sculpt one
out of molding material

And use it to produce a hard,
silicone mold.

Then they pour a thick-setting
resin into the mold cavity.

After the resin
has hardened overnight,

They open up the mold
and extract the casting.

They drill a hole
in the bottom...

...dab some glue inside...

...then insert a small,
triangular peg,

Also made
of quick-setting resin.

This forms the tied balloon end
of the balloon.

Now a coat of gray primer.

Then, once it dries, red paint.

When the paint dries,

They drill another tiny hole
at the base of the balloon

And insert a strand

Of flexible copper wire wrapped
in cotton thread.

This is the balloon string.

The team of animators sh**t
several scenes concurrently.

Therefore,
in the puppet department,

Model makers produce multiple
puppets for each character,

Plus lots of extra body parts.

Certain puppet body parts,
such as hands and wings,

Are made of silicone
with a wire skeleton within.

After forming the wire
to shape

And applying
a base coat of silicone,

The puppet maker lays it
in a two-part mold,

Then fills both cavities
with silicone.

She closes the mold...

Clamps it tightly shut,

And leaves the silicone
to set overnight.

The flexible,
wire skeleton at the core

Enables the animator to position
a hand or wing various ways.

Narrator:
in stop-frame animation,

The more movable the puppet
and its facial features,

The more lifelike
the animated character appears.

The animator moves
the puppet incrementally

For each frame they sh**t,

And 25 such frames produce
just one second of animation.

Timmy's torso

Is a polyurethane-foam core
dressed in a wool coat.

It has channels
for interchangeable wires

That support his head and arms.

His head is made of resin,

His arm silicone over
a wire skeleton.

Timmy and his friends' faces

Can express a wide range
of emotions

Thanks
to interchangeable mouths,

Flexible ears and blinks,

An assortment
of exchangeable eyelids

Conveying expressions
from wide-eyed to c*ck.

These facial features attach
either magnetically

Or with tacky wax --
a flexible, quick-release glue.

The puppet-maintenance team
packs each character

And its parts in a travel box,

Then sends it to the animator
on the studio floor.

During sh**ting,

The animator changes the
facial expressions as required.

While their work does indeed
require great technical skill,

The animators are actors who,
under the director's guidance,

Perform through
the puppets they bring to life.

The puppet's legs must
be sturdy enough

To support the weight
of the upper body

When the puppet is standing,

So the leg skeleton

Is made of metal rods connected
with ball-and-socket joints.

The feet are metal plates
hinged to allow movement.

Just like the flexible,
wire skeletons,

This metal skeleton
also goes into a mold

To be encased in silicone.

The arms attach
with square-section brass tubes

So they
can be easily interchanged

With a few turns
of an allen key.

Certain puppet movements
require rigging.

A rig is a device
that enables animators

To raise the puppet
off the floor of the set

To perform jumping and skipping.

The animator
can incrementally lift

Or lower the rig to any height
and lock it there.

There are many preparations
before sh**ting begins,

Such as lighting,

Puppet positioning...

And set dressing.

Using the animatic playing
on a monitor as a reference,

The director and camera operator
frame the shot.

Meanwhile, the set dressers
prepare the next set,

Gathering whatever
scenic objects they need

From the set-dressing kit.

To create these objects,

Artists first sculpt the shapes
out of modeling material.

They create a mold
from which they produce copies

In fiberglass
or quick-setting resin.

Then they paint the copies.

With the set dressed
and approved,

The animator can begin.

With great care referring
to the animatic,

He positions the rigged puppet.

Then, with the push of a button,
he shoots a frame,

Or, in animation lingo,
grabs the frame.

Next, he moves
the puppet incrementally

And makes slight changes
to body positioning...

...and grabs another frame.


Equal one second of animation.

The animator's art
is knowing how and by how much

To move the puppet
to create lifelike movement.

To get special
close-up facial shots

That they'll later intercut
with the full-body sequence,

They sometimes set the puppet

On a rig positioned directly
in front of the camera.

Once they've shot the animation,

They take what's called
a plate --

A shot of the set with puppets,
props, and rigs removed.

They send the plate digitally
to the editing suite,

Where the editor uses
the visuals to cover up the rig,

Essentially erasing it
from view.

This process
is called compositing --

A little bit
of behind-the-scenes artistry

To create a whole lot
of onscreen magic.

[ Laughs ]

[ Laughing ] baa!

Ooh!

Narrator: if you have
any comments about the show,

Or if you'd like to suggest
topics for future shows,

Drop us a line at...