Michael Tran
Go Behind the Scenes of Jacked! with Animation Designer and Video Editor Michael Tran
What would you like to share about the editing process of Jacked!?
Technically, it was very long! But to me, it didn’t feel long. There were so many days where I just fell into a rhythm with the music, the artwork, and the flow of the piece that I would just work for hours. (This is where I give credit to Jackie “Jackpot” Sharp for his absolute bops and Nicholas Kryah for creating such visually engaging artwork.)
Typically, the process would begin with me listening to the final recording of a track on a loop as would listen for sound cues, different characters, transitions, and/or beat changes. I would then look at the images that our artist Nicholas Kryah had made and begin to brainstorm some ideas of how I wanted the animation to flow from piece to piece as well as any transitions within in the track.
Earlier in the process, Nick had supplied me with a version of the script that served as a storyboard. In this version, he had pieces of artwork corresponding to where they belong in certain sections of script. Within Nick’s storyboard, I created my own storyboard of how I wanted the ‘camera’ / ‘frame’ to move within his pieces—I added marks for things like zoom ins, cuts, etc.
The animation process began with me running all of Nick’s artwork through a program that enhanced the quality and the detail of his work. I knew that there was going to be a lot of moments where I needed to zoom really close into his pieces and I didn’t want to lose any quality or detail. If there were any images that I wanted to overlay on top of each other, I would run the image through a different program that removed the background and replaced it with a green/blue screen. I would upload them all of those images into the editing software I used. Then the real work for me would begin! I began by cropping an image to a specific frame, duplicate the cropped image, move the frame slightly, repeated the process, set all the images to 0.1 – 0.3 seconds, and it would move like a rapidly moving slideshow—and there it was, stop-motion! There were also certain sound cues that were embedded into the recording and I had to make sure that the movement of the stop-motion was aligned with that sound cue. Therefore, I would also have to go back, look at the duration of each image, and do a little math to ensure that the length of each image equated to the timestamp of the sound cue happening in the track.
The entire process was definitely time consuming as it would take about three to four hours to complete one minute of the animation/editing. After I would have a semi-rough draft for an animation of a track, Jamie (our director) would review the track, I would then hop on a Zoom call with her, and she would have some notes for fixes in the animation. We would then repeat that same process for each track in the show.
How did the animation evolve?
When I first approached the animation, it was very much stop-motion-frame-by-frame animation. It was very sharp, rigid, and quick. But I quickly discovered that there were some tracks where that style of fast-paced animation didn’t quite fit. So, I began to explore and incorporate other elements like fades, panning, and Ken Burns effects for a more fluid and continuous feel to the piece. The question then became which style better told the story in a particular moment? And what happens when I combine the two styles together in the same track? Or even… in the same frame? I give major credit to Jamie for allowing me to explore these questions because I made some pretty great discoveries. Discoveries that made me go back and edit already ‘finished’ tracks/animation. Ultimately, I think I ended up with multiple versions of animation for different tracks. In fact, I think the only track whose animation remained unchanged and made it into the final product was the first song!
What are some of your favorite moments of Jacked!
There is a very beautiful moment right before the end of the show between Jack and his Mother. It is my absolute favorite moment, and it is also when the waterworks typically begin for me. Another moment would be when we meet Mink for the first time in the second song and he convinces Jack to take the beans. I am particularly proud of how I used his cape to transition between different images he wants Jack to see. It’s so persuasive and convincing that if I was Jack… well, I would take those beans, too!
Was there a particular part of this project that you found challenging?
I don’t think so! Besides, one or two moments where I was stumped on what to do next, I had such amazing collaborators that made my work so much easier. While it was definitely time consuming, that didn’t necessarily make it challenging. I guess if I had to point out a challenging moment, it would be me trying to answer the question: “how do you find movement in a single still image?” And I still don’t know! I made a couple discoveries with this project, but for the most part, I’m still pretty stumped. If anyone knows the answer, please also let me know.
Can you share some sources that you drew inspiration from while animating Jacked!
In our initial concept meeting, Jamie (our director) had brought up Harry Nilsson’s The Point as an animation inspiration. That sort of animation style reminded me of School House Rock and was in line with shows that I grew up on and what I would watch in school. Drawing inspiration from that, I did more research on YouTube and fell into a rabbit hole of videos about the early stages of animation. I watched everything from videos on Disney’s 1938 animation process to a 1972 stop motion film called En Rejse til Månen to early 2000s fan-made LEGO movies at the dawn of YouTube. All of these served as the principal inspiration for Jacked!, but I also knew that I wanted to incorporate modern elements into the piece as well. So, I watched The LEGO Movie and Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse for inspiration, and there were a lot of cool moments where music and animation worked together really well in storytelling. And finally, for each track, I would ask myself: ‘how would this look if this was a music video?’—this is especially apparent in ‘Lay, Now, Goose Lay’ and ‘Different Eggs.’
Why should people watch Jacked!?
Jacked! is an ad-rap-tation of a childhood classic. Dare I say, it’s the next Hamilton! It’s a bold and innovative production that fuses together hip-hop, hand-drawn images, and animation in a theatrical experience unlike anything you’ve ever seen. It’s such a beautiful show about community, family, and magic beans!
How did you get interested in editing and animation?
I actually never intended to get interested in editing. But especially in the age of COVID and theatres being shut down and everything transferring online, it seemed almost inevitable. But I have always been interested in animation! I remember watching TV on Saturday mornings and getting invested in how they made cartoons. My parents had bought me this huge magnetic drawing board as I kid, and I would doodle made-up scenes with my favorite superheroes. I took this board everywhere. But I really got to try my hand in animation last year when I directed a LEGO stop motion rendition of a scene from a play for school.
What advice or encouragement would you give young people who might be interested in animation and video editing?
Two things: there is no wrong way to do it and don’t be afraid to ask for help. A lot of the animation in Jacked! came from me experimenting, messing around, and trying different things. Sometimes, I would make a mistake or do something unintentionally that worked out really well. You never know until you try! Also don’t be afraid to ask for help. While working on Jacked! there were so many moments I would ask Jamie for her help in deciding what she thinks should come next. I also can’t tell you the number of times I would ask a friend to look over a section of animation and let me know their thoughts. Animation is art. And art is collaboration!
What do you like to do for fun away from screens?
When I am not staring at a computer screen, I love going outside and playing tennis (preferably when it’s not snowing). If it is snowing, you can find me nose deep in a Shakespeare play with a nice warm cup of tea.