Robot Chicken: Gandalf Game Show

The new addition to Peter Jackson's Middle Earth cycle -- The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey -- opens in theaters today. To celebrate, here's a "Robot Chicken" sketch featuring Gandalf (as voiced by Bryan Cranston) facing off with a puppet modeled after me!

BONUS! Animatic vs. Animation

Our friends at "Robot Chicken" offer this educational look at the decisions that go into changing a final animated shot from what was planned in the storyboard stage.  Enjoy!


A Closer Look at Hemlock Gin & Juice

There are a lot of variables that can necessitate changes between animatic and animation, as you’ll see in this post.

Check out these stills from this week’s “wet t-shirt contest” sketch. Here is the opening shot, first as it appears in the animatic, and then as it appeared on TV:

Animatic

Animation

Besides the angle being a little wider, everything looks pretty similar, right? Check out the next shot.

Animatic

Animation

While the board calls for the camera to pan over to the man shouting, we opted to do a digital punch in. The camera angle didn’t change, we just zoomed in a bit. Why? Because in TV production, time rules all. Our show (and all other shows) are on an extremely tight deadline. A physical camera movie takes a lot of time, but a digital punch-in only takes a few seconds.

Animatic

Animation

The original boards cut to a new wall, but we chose to frame our first shot with the wall already in frame. If had done what the boards asked, we would have had to re-frame our camera and put up a new set! Our final angle is also nice because it doesn’t require the characters to move around as much, which saves time and improves the pacing of the sketch.

Animatic

Animation

We have to make decisions like this for every sketch! Spending less time on some sketches allows us to spend more time on others. In the end, the joke is king. We won’t cut corners if it makes the punchline fall flat. It’s a careful balancing act, but after six seasons we’ve gotten pretty good at it!

Click here to read more from the "Robot Chicken" folks.

BONUS! The Robot Chicken Team's Simpsons Couch Gag

Airing on Sunday, May 19 at 8/7c on Fox, the animated comedy has commissioned Seth Green's Stoopid Buddy Stoodios, which produces the cult favorite stop-motion series Robot Chicken, to create a special stop-motion couch gag for the episode. "The Simpsons have been opening that up to a bunch of different artists and a bunch of different content creators to put their spin on The Simpsons couch gag," Green says.

Click through to see VIDEO!
via TV Guide

Jason's Deceiving Speed

How Jason stays ahead of his victims, according to "Robot Chicken."


And, an extra little tag...

Who's Killing the Muppets?

Probably my single favorite Robot Chicken sketch ever. And don't forget to watch the RC DC COMICS special this Sunday on Adult Swim!

Robot Chicken : O Great Pumpkin

Simpsons Couch Gag by Robot Chicken

My Name Is David

Today is Autism Awareness Day. This is a speech delivered by a 14-year-old with autism, rendered in stop-motion by a "Robot Chicken" animator.

WWE Slam City - Alberto the Barista

What our friends at Stoopid Buddy Stoodios have been up to, in between "The Friendship All-Stars of Friendship" and the new season of "Robot Chicken."


Check out the entire "Slam City" series by clicking here.

Micro Mayhem!

Excellent car chase sequence, shot on the micro level, by the Stoodio that brings you "Robot Chicken."