Can we just talk about the animation in Spider-verse for a second?
October, 2018
The the first trailer that came out surprised me because I thought it was for a game. When I realised it was not only not a game or TV series, but a full-length feature film I was astounded by how ambitious that was of Sony.
Let’s be honest, they haven’t had a very good run at making good Spider-Man universe films lately. I actually paid money to go and see Venom last week and found myself howling with laughter at how bad it was. (Full disclosure: my friend Ethan who I saw it with absolutely loved it and thought it was brilliant. But he also thinks I’m pretty cool, so take that as you will.)
Every time I see one of these Spider-verse trailers I’m mesmerized by how brilliant the animation is and how vivid the colors are, being rendered in such a way as to almost look like you should be wearing 3D glasses. (Should we be? Actual question.) I’m also not even sure if the frame rate is 24fps? I also love the combination of 2D/3D animation… it’s like, 2.5D.
Sony employed the biggest animation department of any film ever for this production, and it shows.
Even though it’s kind of a parallel universe version of Manhattan and Brooklyn that have been depicted in the trailers so far, it’s still a way more honest version of New York than any of the live action Sony Spidey films I’ve seen in the last decade. It has the same geography, grit and grime of when I see on a daily basis walking around the city. There’s something especially familiar about how they rendered the sidewalks and streets, and have included Miles Moralés’ predilection for graffiti and stickering, that make it particularly authentic.
I’m excited to see the film, if for no other reason than to see if this animation plays as well on a big screen for 90 minutes as it does on my small screen for 5.
There was an after-credits teaser trailer at the end of Venom, and watching that on the big screen was a totally different experience than viewing this on my phone.
Anyway take a look at this music video that just dropped and let me know what you think.
