“I think this is the dawning of a renaissance where animation will play an emerging role in the digital film industry.”
“A unique viewpoint and perspective is what makes films refreshing. And today the film maker/ story teller is better poised for unique story telling than ever before, with a vast array of tools and mediums at disposal, including CG Animation and VFX”
Australia based studio Animal Logic recently won the Oscar for best Animated Feature for Happy Feet. Speaking at the CNN Future Summit: Virtual Worlds in Singapore, the studio’s Co-Founder & Managing Director Zareh Nalbandian shared his perspective on Virtual Worlds and how the future will look like.
While in Singapore Nalbandian also gave an exclusive Interview to AnimationXpress.com Managing Editor Anand Gurnani
Excerpts…
Is VFX increasingly being used as “eyecandy” your comments
Well not really. There are different ways that one can utilize VFX and at times they are ‘eventised” but it would be incorrect to say that they are being used as mere eye candy.
Audiences are getting more sophisticated and they are always looking for something that is engaging and offers a different view and perspective and the story is of course, the most important ingredient. Visual effects are there to serve the story and to make feasible and possible whatever can’t be done in the physical shoot. VFX is yet another important set of tools for filmmakers.
The idea is to use all techniques and technology available at hand to tell the story better, not to get overawed by the part that serves the whole. In Happy Feet we have used everything, right from advanced motion capture to real performance to plate photography. We’ve used a library of photographic stills and references to create matte paintings and textures. We have of course used a lot of exquisite key frame animation, very complex VFX, water, snow, ice, mist. We converged all of these to create a film which had a point of difference and told a unique story.
Is the Animation & VFX industry becoming more global?
The digital entertainment industry is maturing and becoming more global in nature. The tools are definitely more accessible, there is more experience in the industry so more advances can be made. Undertaking a large project in VFX, CG requires a lot of tools, processes and pipelines, but because technology is advancing and becoming more accessible across the globe, it no longer is the domain of an elite few in California. There is a very mobile workforce in our industry. People are young and follow the projects wherever they are. All these factors are making it a more global industry.
And I hope that this trend will advance and continue. Tools and technology are ever important and thanks to that, artistry and storytelling will be more in focus.
Tell us a bit more about Happy Feet?
The original idea is George Miller’s and we were in a planning phase long before the film got greenlit. It was a four year project and before we got going, there were many processes to establish, many unique bits of technology to support that George had conceived. It’s after all a dance musical in Antartica with photo-real penguins.
Everything we did was to support that vision which George had. For example, we created a system where we used mo-cap techniques to capture the dancers performing on set and even as they danced, we were able to get a real time display of them as penguins dancing on the digital screen, so that the director could see what he wanted instantly.
We bent our technology and processes to support his vision. And that’s exciting. ‘Technology serving the storytelling’ – Happy Feet demonstrates that. We will see a lot of live action directors making VFX and animated films —– Happy Feet was the tip of the iceberg.
You have done several VFX biggies including Matrix, the mother of all VFX films..
VFX is about bending reality to suit vision.
Every project is different and if we become a slave to VFX it restrains our creativity. Matrix was sci-fi and at that time, that style we created helped us offer a different point of view in a better way. Moulin Rouge! was different and so was House of Flying Daggers, which had a different kind of artistry. We were also heavily involved in 300, which was yet another form of art direction.
And while artistry is what we are about, Animal Logic is very strong in technology too and its collaboration at the end of the day.
Last year, 16-17 high-end animated features released and only 2-3 of them were successful. Point is that you have to find a great story. It won’t be to a formula, everything has to have a creative point of difference otherwise audiences will be bored and you won’t excite their imagination. Of course traditional animation is amazing to bring characters to life and now animators have all the more tools at their disposal.
I think this is the dawning of a renaissance where animation will play an emerging role in the digital film industry.
Your perspectives on the animation scenario in India.
We work with Indian artists – I am following the incredible accelerated growth of your industry and it’s a force to reckon with. It will be interesting to see the structural changes you will see, shortage of talent, need for better teaching – it’s the same as what is being experienced the world over. It will be interesting to see how digital animation and filmmaking are applied to Indian storytelling as your industry matures.
We are seriously looking at Asia in general to look at where the long term opportunities are for training as well as for additional production facilities. It is part of our long term strategy which will be implemented in the next 2 to 5 years.
Whenever we enter Asia, we will always commence with training because obviously we need to have a trained talent base. That’s the first area we would invest with a long term view. And in terms of Asia, Animal Logic is very well poised. We are much more part of the region.
What do you look for in an artist? What’s your advice to animation students in India?
First of all, we look for passion. You have to love what you do, you have to be committed and passionate, it has to be a part of your life. The thing that I look for or that which gives me an indication, is that if you are an artist, you have to have your own ideas and imagination and whichever part of the artistry you specialize in, you have to have your own reel or personal artistry that you have created. We recruit from all over the world. On Happy Feet, we had 22 different nationalities; we look for artistry, commitment and experience. There are no barriers whatsoever in this industry, I would say to Indian parents that this is the future and just as lucrative and more satisfying for their children who have a natural aptitude for artistry. You have to let them follow their passion. If someone�s passion is in animation and not in banking, they will still have a good career. Artists are getting more and more credit and better financial reward. It�s a huge globalized opportunity In Asia, in the West, all over.
What future trends do you see?
I see a lot of convergence happening in filmmaking and games. Many forms of content will converge and as the power of digital filmmaking and entertainment accelerates, we will see a lot of photo-real games and high complexity games. Filmmaking and game making will tend to converge and production will begin together and originate from the same idea. Because the production techniques will be digital, a lot more sharing of assets will be possible. There will be technical, creative and economical advantages and a lot more consolidation between game making and filmmaking.
The thing is that games are a nonlinear form of storytelling and the films will support the game in terms of providing a context to the characters and the plot.