Documents
DESIGN, and POSING GIMMICKS GUIDE (English)
I think this was a somewhat novel idea at the time. We were always talking about finding a way to get better written scripts. This guide was a way to make writers more sensitive to the visuals, and to encourage the artists to interpret the scripts well.
NOTES FOR XSHEET DIRECTION (English and French)
Most of the television series I worked on had animation style notes for exposure sheet directors. Exposure sheets are written, frame-by-frame directions for animators (usually the animation for animated TV series is subcontracted to other countries where the labour is cheaper - in the case of Bob Morane, China, Korea and Vietnam).
NOTES FOR STORYBOARDERS (English)
(Note: Half the storyboarding team were in Quebec, and the other half in France)
ELLIPSE FIRST DESIGN, and DEVELOPMENT STORYBOARD
A first-developement design phase was done by Ellipse in order to secure partners and financing for the series. Arthur Qwak (Francois Hemmen, Jean Nöel Lemoal, and Jean-Jacques Prunès spearheaded the visual development. It was gold.).
16:9 WIDESCREEN PROPOSITION DOCUMENT (English and French)
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Where do I start here?
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Bob Morane suffers in terms of longevity from it's low resolution and it's aspect ratio. Unfortunately, it belongs to another era of television.
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It was produced at the absolute end of the low-def, 4:3 ratio, analog era. We were already seeing music videos shot in widescreen, and some commercials. There were news articles about HDTV and some industry demonstrations of the technology (The first public HDTV broadcast in the United States occurred on July 23, 1996 - the first regular HDTV broadcasts in Europe started on January 1, 2004 in Belgium). I had a feeling a big change was coming, and my art director Steve Majaury was my partner in crime in trying to convince the production to use a 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio for the show. I can't specifically remember any other series at the time that was being produced in widescreen, although I was aware that there were others (but none in animation).
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Hats off to André Belanger and Dominique Mendel who capitulated to our sulking, infantile, temper-tantrums and allowed us to take a half-step into the future.
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Bob Morane was actually storyboarded in 16:9. Holy crap. (see storyboard sheet PDF document on this page) We figured out a technique where we boarded in widescreen, and then added at the top and the botton of the image in Layout and posing stage, and then produced the final image in the traditional 4:3 screen ratio. So it was broadcast 4:3 like all it's contemporaries, but if you want to zoom it to 16:9 on a modern television, all the compositions would work ! The ultimate problem is the resolution. Producing at HD before broadcasters were asking for it was not an investment that the producers were willing to make. It seemed too far in the future --- when in fact it was just around the corner....
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When broadcast in 4:3 the result was actually more in the line of what we were trying to do with the style of the series. More realistic, live-action style compositions! The close-ups were closer, and the log shots were longer; a dynamic range of composition that was much a much bigger scale.
Here is our pitch document to the production...
NOTES FOR DESIGNERS (English and French)
Storyboard blank and Xsheet blank
BOB PROMOTION TEXT
The adventures of Bob Morane have been adapted from the novels of Henri Vernes. They tell the story of a modern day knight who, aided by his friend Bill Ballentine, must battle powerful enemies in an epic struggle between good and evil. The series springs from the best traditions of fantastic, action-adventure, and science fiction storytelling to introduce a hero that will surpass his own limitations and triumph over his adversaries.
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Bob Morane—cult hero for yet another generation.
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Bob Morane and his faithful companion Bill Ballantine are the stars of this animated series inspired by the action/adventure novels of Henri Vernes. After Bob Morane’s first appearance in 1953, Vernes wrote over 180 books featuring the hero, who became a legend among young readers in the French-speaking world.
Best sellers in Europe, the novels have repeated their success in English, German, Danish, and Italian to name a few. Furthermore, they have been adapted for media such as comic books, records and television.
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Bob Morane, a television series co-produced by Cactus Animation (Montreal) and Ellipse Animation (France), is a package of 26 episodes starring Bob Morane the contemporary knight. Our hero is ever ready to risk his life for a just cause, especially where action is called for and a pretty woman is involved. However, he isn’t alone in his adventures: the series co-features Bob’s friends.
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A Hero and His Friends​​
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Bill Ballantine is the burly Scotsman who follows Bob through the jaws of Hell.
Sophia Paramount, a famous American photographer, almost as bold, courageous and witty as Bob himself.
Professor Clairembart seasoned archaeologist, linguist and explorer.
Frank Reeves is the multimillionaire playboy and sometimes patron.
Colonel Graigh is the commander of the Time Patrol.
Worthy Enemies
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Colonel Staggart, infamous neo-fascist, convinced that the salvation of the world lies in his own hands (4 episodes).
Miss Ylang Ylang, the seductive, cryptic head of the private spy organisation SMOG, and her hired henchman, Organetz (4 episodes).
Ananké, a horrific universe ruled by fate, that will yield to none, except Bob Morane (4 episodes).
Monstrous Denizens of Time/Space includes dinosaurs, medieval sorcerers, deep-sea monsters (4 episodes).
Doctor Xhatan, the pompous, megalomaniac scientist, out to rule the world (4 episodes).
Ming, known as the Yellow Shadow, is Bob Morane’s archenemy (6 episodes). He merits special consideration. Of all the characters created by Henri Vernes, the Yellow Shadow is without a doubt the most famous, the most despised and the most complex enemy. He inspired the majority of the Bob Morane novels and his epic conflict with Morane is an allegory of Humanity’s struggle against Evil.
A Fable Rooted in Reality
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The Bob Morane animated series draws from the best traditions of the action-hero story, the thriller, fantasy and science fiction. In spite of this, realism remains the keynote, as no situation is ever resolved through magic, and (except for the Yellow Shadow) no character is endowed with supernatural powers. ​​B​​ob​ ​​Moran​e​​​​ himself is a man, not a superman, but he knows how to extend his limits to their maximum capacity. He comes out a winner by virtue of his exceptional human qualities: audacity, courage, determination, willpower, intelligence, savvy and astounding physical powers.
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Bob Morane, represents for the young and not so young alike a new hero and a knight for the present day.
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​Operation Atlantis
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The treasures of Atlantis is the stuff that dreams are made of. Professor Harrambour has built the Trilobite, a prototype of a submarine, using a revolutionary material called kearnalumine. This craft will allow Harrambour and his team to reach the depths of the ocean inaccessible until now… and perhaps, Atlantis itself. Bob Morane and Bill Ballantine are along for the trip.
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The languid Ylang Ylang however, has other plans for the Trilobite and wants the formula for kearnalumine. A monumental struggle ensues on the ocean floor, among the giant octopus and floating mines…
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Puppets of the Yellow Shadow
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Strange mechanical dolls lure Bob Morane below Chinatown in San Francisco. In this mysterious underground labyrinth Ming has installed one of his duplicators. But the duplicator has malfunctioned and created a mad Ming, who reigns over a kingdom of amusement-park rides, populated by dolls. This crazy Ming aspires to replace the original Ming, who has no intention of going along with this…
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