Jeepney: Background Painting

As we conclude phase 3 of pre-production for Jeepney, we’d like to take this opportunity to show some of our hard work. 

Based in Manila, Philippines, Jeepney is a friendly cultural film about two of it’s colorful inhabitants. A jeepney, the namesake of the film, is a type of vehicle most commonly used locally as a form of mass transportation.  Domingo is a driver of one such Jeepney. Unfortunately, Domingo’s jeepney is rather bland in appearance, especially compared to the other beautifully painted trucks of his competitors. Unsure how else to drum up business, a young but poor art student, Analyn, approaches him with a solution. In exchange for free rides to school, Analyn offers her artistic talents to create a charming mural on the side of Domingo’s jeepney. A mutually beneficial friendship blooms between these two characters, as we’re reminded that all obstacles can be overcome with the help of friends. 

For Pre-Production, we focused on creating some beautifully created backgrounds. As you can see, there was a very decisive use of warm and vibrant colors to go along with the theme and mood of the film. We also kept with a painterly simplicity in the backgrounds to draw focus to the main character as well as the colorful Jeepneys.  

We’ve included a progression process, to see how our artists have been able to tackle making these backgrounds. The initial layout was designed by Chyna Key, revised by Art Director Ann Fry, colored by Sean Co, and finalized by our director Lex Cooper. The framing of this particular background is meant to frame the Jeepneys, the centerpiece of the film. And this is only one aspect the team has been able to conquer so far. A lot of great artists have put in their valuable times and efforts and we’re proud to see what the outcome will result in. 

We were also hard at work creating some wonderful character rigs with the help of our lead rigger, Denise Anger. Some great animators were able to test our rigs, getting everything ready for our next phase of production. 

As we begin to wind up the last of our pre-production phase, it’s clear to say our production team is excited and eager to see what’s to come next. We’re thankful for all the support and feedback from our teams, our classmates, and our patient professors who have helped us so far. For those of you that’d like to follow along as we make our film, we’re appreciative of your support as well and can’t wait to show you what we develop next.

Post written by production manager Sabra Leong