Roots Run Deep: Spending The Day In The World Of GOAT.

Recently Sony Pictures Animation invited us for a jam packed day to celebrate the making of their new film, GOAT. It’s not often that a studio invites press for an in-depth day of behind the scenes sessions highlighting everything that goes into making an animated film and it was incredible. To bring such a gorgeous vibrant world to life we spent the day learning about the costume design, editing, voice-recording, production design and bringing real action to screen.

On top of starting the day off with an exclusive screening of the film, my favorite part of the day was stepping into the recording booth and providing some voice over in one of the sequences in the film. It was only fitting I played a member of the press and I think I might’ve found my new calling.

Costume Design: Only The Best Streetwear For This Cast.

When it came to the costumes of GOAT, they brought in the incredible Dominique Dawson to create an array of stunning styles that fitted each character perfectly. She blended in sleek modern fashion with each animals anatomy and in the process each have their own distinct style. For research she spent hours at the Zoo to look over how each animal walked to get a sense of how the fashion felt natural for them. She also spent time at Rucker Park in New York, the courts at Venice beach and The Dome in Baltimore to see what today’s hoopers were wearing. From all of that she was able to create a massive deck of streetwear influences.

Each character had it’s own style and through the journey of the film, you will notice how often their wardrobe evolves. For the main character Will, who literally starts from nothing goes from wearing bulky gear and once he gets drafted to the thorns you see his TRUE fashion sense come alive.

The hardest character to work on had to be Jett. When you think of a Panther, they walk on all fours, but Jett walks on Two proportionally so Dominique had to think of that perfect fit on her. She’s a cat, how do you embrace that? By wearing a cat suit of course. When it came to Jett’s tunnel wear, Dominique wanted to incorporate sleek metallic suits to show off her form with a Bob Mackie twist.

My favorite though was hands down Modo who’s basically a Komodo Dragon that looks like Dennis Rodman. It was important to show his painted nails and multi colored scales. He just looked like he did a Ayahuasca in the desert and was ready for some parties. It was important to fit him with an Ethiopian tapestries to highlight this diverse world. It made it all feel very authentic.

Fast Break: From Story Boards And Making Things Authentic.

GOAT has been in the works for YEARS. When it comes to the making of animated features, there’s always thousands of story-boards to go over. With a film like GOAT, the amount is doubled because of the fast paced style of the roar-ball games. The team spent three years working on pivotal scenes like the big Thorns vs Shivers game, to make sure you felt every emotional moment with the characters.

When you have an NBA star like Steph Currey involved, the team was lucky enough to bring in a friend and former player to help. World Champion and Legend Andre Iguodala was brought in to consult and give the film an authentic feel. He went over numerous plays with the team and not just any plays. Plays he took part in on with those Golden State Warriors champion teams. He was able to bring Pro baller experience to the DNA of the film. An example we saw was Andre just off-the-cuffing a play called the Cyclone and they actually used it in the film. What would take months to learn was done in 2 hours having Andre in sessions.

The Importance of the Editing Hub.

We were lucky enough to sit down with Lead Editor Clare Knight to talk the editing process of this film. In the world of animation, the editorial room is the “hub of the movie.” Clare has been working on the film for three years and from the very beginning was very hands on with Director Tyree Dillihay. As an example of a scene that was edited and edited numerous times until it right, we see Coach Dennis, played by Patton Oswalt given the coaches whistle for the first time. She explained that editing starts in the Voice recording booth. Oswalt being a pro at VO would do his lines and then ad-lib so they’d have different versions to work with.

We were shown the original scene and it was completely different than the final scene that you’ll see. They tested the original scene with an audience and they felt it got a little boring so all they had to was have Oswalt do another session with the feedback that was given and scene had more levity and humor than before. This personality shift for a character is normal throughout the process of any animated film. The audience loved the new take and it also allowed Oswalt to lean into his animalistic improvisation and the audience loved it.

This type of flexibility is what make Animated films so incredible to work on. It’s the ability to redraw a scene or re-record a line to find the perfect comedic beat and tweak it without having the need for a massive live-action reshoot.

It Takes A Village

The motto that echoes throughout GOAT is “Roots Run Deep”. When it comes to film like GOAT, it takes an army to create such beautiful filmmaking. From the sneakers a character wears on a court made of ice, the way light shines off fur, to the design of a bedroom, it’s all these decisions from different teams that help make animated films feels so real and immersive. I was so impressed with Sony Animation and everyone I met there. They truly love creating epic films like GOAT and it’s a sight to behold. I can’t wait to see what they give us next.