The Key Role of the Storyboard in the Animation Production Process(A case study of the antihero of Toy Story 4)

The storyboard is one of the most fascinating parts of animation. Storyboard artists are great designers who use their imagination and sense of direction to create the best scene for the viewers' eyes. These scenes should be attractive and exciting for the audience in every aspect, be it from the esthetic aspect or from the composition and characterization. The Toy Story 4 Animation is no exception in this regard. The storyboard of this animated film was created with storytelling, characterization and the hero's journey in mind so that he can incorporate them into his acting and show them according to the characters' traits and social status. One of the characters in the story, according to how he is placed in the hero's journey and turns from a negative character to a positive one and finally achieves redemption is Gabby Gabby the "antihero" (Mireshkari, 2018) character of the story, that the storyboards are designed according to who he is and the change in his personality.Problem Statement: In this article, an attempt is made to examine the way of designing to change the character of the antihero, considering the knowledge of the storyboard in the animated film Toy Story 4 and how the antihero character is formed.

A qualitative research was conducted in this article. The results were obtained by studying library sources, reading articles and authoritative journals, and investigating the animated sequences of Toy Story 4.

Storyboard is considered the most important and integral part of the production of any animation movie. In this article, we present the background to the discussion, taking into account the most important books and sources on the role of the storyboard in animation production. In the book "Storyboard" by Asghar Fahimifar and Seyed Javad Shabani (2006), an attempt was made to explain the important role and position of storyboard by collecting foreign sources and quotes from the greats film and animation. Also, in the book "Elements of attraction in animation cinema" (2009) by Mohammad Hadi Irandoost, an attempt was made to define the storyboard and offer solutions to make it more attractive. In the book "Ideas for Short Animation" (1390), Gary Schumer, Keith Alexander and Karen Sullivan discussed how to draw a storyboard and which rules are used and necessary. "The Art of Knowing People" is a book by Barbara Barron-Tieger and Paul DeTiger about the Myers-Briggs Personality Types or MBTI. The authors explain the true cause of people's behavior based on their personality. "Camera Movement in Relation to Narration in Animation: a study to extract practical patterns" (2013) is an article by Mohammad Reza Hasnaei and Fateme Maleki that examines camera angles and provides a sense of genre through camera movement, in addition to the use of exaggeration.In an article titled "Storyboard" (2009), Manijeh Hatmian writes a brief history of storyboards, the use of storyboards, it's creation and impact in business. Studying the background of the article on the nature and quality of visual story (storyboard), there are few articles or books that have analysed and explored the place of storyboard in changing the character and hero's journey in the story, body language and plot of the portrait in terms of changing the character and redemption. But the upcoming article follows this theme.Storyboard Review of Gabby Gabby; the Villain of Toy Story 4The opening sequence with Gabby Gabby is the one in which she meets Woody while sitting in a carriage and being looked at by one of his servant dolls in an antique store. The camera angle in this sequence is low, giving Gabby an advantage over Woody in terms of power. Gabby Gabby is in the centre of the frame and in focus. The light shines directly on her and his facial expression is very friendly. ConclusionStoryboard is one of the important visual stages and a basic guide for film production. Therefore, the filmmakers put all the scenes, the arrangement and the position of the characters, and the objects of the scene on the storyboard in the form of a picture, their road map, and imagine a unified visual narration of the entire film frame by frame. The director supervises the storyboard drawn by the designers from the script and after the approval of the producers, he enters the production stage. In addition to arranging the sequences, the storyboard pays attention to the placement of the objects and the arrangement of the characters concerning the subject and the background environment. The angle of the camera and the determination of the shot are carefully considered at this stage, all the sequences in the animation are first drawn in the storyboard, then they are entrusted to the hands of animators, artists and creators and background designers, etc., to make the work more realistic and with more details. Storyboard designers to depict it according to the subject and characters and draw it on paper depending on the character, social status, and timing of the film. This makes the scene look more realistic. The example that was examined in the upcoming article, the sequences of the Toy Story 4 animation are considered for the character of Gabby Gabby, or the protagonist of the story. And it pays more attention to him in terms of creating his character and changing his character compared to other characters. The camera angle for Gabby Gabby is adjusted to give him the upper hand and show the world from his point of view. Especially in the last scenes that lead to salvation. Redemption can be seen in his character and figure in terms of personality, and she approaches the type of typology of Myers Briggs in the character of Gabby Gabby, which according to this model is one of the goals of this supporting personality type, and finally achieves it.