Thread by @SketchyHuntsmen

For Fixing RWBY Volume 5, we had the special opportunity to animate and compose our very own opening sequence! It was a massive collaborative effort between JayjayBase, @mixed_coffee , and Mollie Rhymemaster for music composition. Now let's take a look at how it was constructed.

First we'll look at some of the storyboards that were made for this intro. The first storyboard was made by both JayjayBase and mixed_coffee, this early concept beginning with a zoom on Mistral. There were plans to use the new Mistral here, but this version of the OP wasn't used.

Another early concept storyboard, this time drawn entirely by mixed_coffee. The idea was to follow a trail of rose petals, panning around to each character. However, it was scrapped due to technical issues.

Here we have the storyboard by mixed_coffee that most closely resembles what was done for the animatic. We also have posing concepts and a camera movement suggestion for the zoom on the island tree.

More posing concepts, featuring primarily Weiss and another character.

Putting aside the storyboards, other visuals were considered for the animatic, including this series featuring chess pieces.

These chess visuals were made by JayjayBase early on, and though they ended up not being used, they certainly made for some interesting concepts.

The following series of images are among the first visual concepts ever made for the intro. They were a leaping stone for later storyboard work.

The idea to have the camera pan past the characters across water to an island where they were gathered made the crux of the intro, although later architecture and positions would be shifted around.

The island would be later shrunk to this main section, the characters grouped closer together before focusing on Yang and Raven and tilting up for the title.

The design of the island would be edited and improved over time, as well as the surrounding lake and architecture.

Soon character posing would begin, including these shots with Neo and Yang, featuring her older model before it was updated by mixed_coffee.

Here's a short intro test clip, set in a field instead of water this time.

And finally another test shot, this time featuring more characters and the lake the island would be centered in. It would still take weeks to achieve the intro as we know it, thanks to the incredible work by JayjayBase, @mixed_coffee , and Mollie Rhymemaster.

Thank you for joining me on this thread discussing the OP for Fixing RWBY volume 5! We hope you'll continue to appreciate the OP where it was posted and in future FRWBY videos as we unveil the rest of volume 5. 😉