NARRATOR:
These images were made as ideas for the world of Finding Nemo, an underwater film that starts in the brightness of a coral reef, but soon moves to the depths of the ocean, where it’s very dark. That posed some problems for art director Ralph Eggleston.
RALPH EGGLESTON: It's very explosive at the beginning with lots of color, and as the film progresses, we pull colors out. It's almost monochromatic for a good portion of the middle of the movie. It suited the film emotionally.
NARRATOR:
These powerful charcoal drawings bring out the sense of danger always lurking in the open ocean. They recall the mood of gritty live action black and white films known as film noir. Pixar encourages artists to stretch their imaginations. You won’t see these images in the final movie, but they lie behind its many fearful moments.
On the lighter side, the Nemo artists really plunged into the research.
RALPH EGGLESTON: So we said, let's go learn how to scuba dive. And that collective experience really bonded us, and we were able to begin talking the same language when we were talking about things like the fact that you really can't see very far underwater. And surge and swell. Why does the water move in a certain way, back and forth and back and forth?
NARRATOR:
Pixar artists created the water so effectively that they were worried the audience might start to feel seasick. So they did some tests on a team member known for her sensitive stomach.
RALPH EGGLESTON: We put a bunch of little spheres in the water and moved a camera, rocked it back and forth and back and forth on the computer. And then sat her in the screening room and waited until she got queasy. (laughs)
