By Pablo Hadis
(Spanish version HERE)
"Changes" is an entertaining animated short created by a nonconformist,
in the healthy sense of the term, who at times seems to have doubts
about the merits of his own nonconformism. But this comes as no surprise
since the director of this short film is none other than Daniel Martínez
Lara, one of the most talented animators from Spain, and someone with
a true passion for the medium.
Martínez
Lara became interested in 3D animation while he was studying filmmaking,
and afterwards ended up working for a while at renowned Spanish company
REM Infográfica. At that time he started producing his own short
films and created the character Pepe, who would later show up in various
issues of 3DWorld magazine.
Copi,
the main character of "Changes", is related to Pepe in many
ways and follows the same minimalist aesthetic (Pepe was originally
conceived in plasticine, and maintains a certain likeness to the material).
In fact, "Changes" uses an even more restrictive color palette
and the animation is staged in a barely suggested environment. Both
choices are coherent with the urban and social themes of the animated
short.
Martínez
Lara's generosity is something that should also be mentioned. Through
the years, he has shared his knowledge and helped others learn: be it
through tutorials, 3D scenes posted on the Net, or the courses he has
taught. Yet another example of his generosity is the time and effort
he's dedicated to this interview.
Hadis: What motivated you to start working on "Changes"?
Martínez Lara: After doing freelance jobs for a couple
of years and spending another three working at Ilion Studios every cell
of my body was screaming at me to start working on a short film, ideas
kept piling up in my head.
I had been doing a few tests and animations, but I felt that it wasn't
enough; I wanted to tell a story with a beginning and an end.
Hadis: How did the script come about?
Martínez Lara: Of all the ideas I was considering, the
one that I liked the most and felt was more approachable from a practical
point of view, was an idea from a comic book by Quino (Ed. Note: "Quino"
is the signature name for Argentine humorist Joaquín Lavado).
I found an idea that I thought was very appealing to turn into an animation.
Hadis: When was the first time you got to read a book by Quino?
Martínez Lara: Well, that happened due to my older brothers
(there's six of us), and it was a book of Mafalda. I recall that I enjoyed
reading it, but that was pretty much it. When I really began admiring
Quino was when I got older, and discovered the other books by Quino,
those that don't focus on any particular character and deal with the
more general subject of the human condition from a surrealistic and
cynical point of view.
Hadis: Quino is without a doubt an acute observer of human nature
and the distortions produced by the "modern world". Why did
you feel identified with the themes you've chosen for your short among
all the ones that Quino deals with?
Martínez Lara: Because it's a subject that hits too close
to home, something I've given a lot of thought to; follow a path laid
by others or choose to create your own. I've reached the conclusion
that both possibilities in life are equally good, as long as one makes
his choice freely and in a conscious way, and that's what the short
film is about. Sometimes we think that we are choosing, that we are
actually changing something, but after a while we realize that we have
only managed to make superficial changes. And after the novelty wears
away, everything remains the same.
Hadis: Which other sources of inspiration have influenced your work,
besides Quino?
Martínez Lara: I really enjoy the classic animated cartoons
from Warner Bros., they have a certain cynicism that I like a lot. I
also enjoy the work of French comic artist Edika.
Hadis: Why did you choose to continue using a non-realistic, minimalist
aesthetic ("expressive simplicity" according to your own words)
in "Changes"?
Martínez Lara: Because that economic aesthetic allows
me to focus on the story and characters, which is what I'm really interested
in. It's a legacy from comic artists, they only tend to draw elements
that are relevant to a story. I think it's important to know how to
identify those elements and once you have them all that you choose to
add afterwards will be of great help to embellish the story, but not
essential.
Hadis: How did you go about finding the music for the short? What
led you to Wim Mertens' compositions?
Martínez Lara: Once I was working on the storyboard, I
began to "open my ears" in order to find the music for the
short. During my search I remembered listening to Wim Mertens' work
and I recalled that he had certain musical pieces that could fit nicely
with "Changes". So much so that I found three musical scores
that complemented the short well, but I had to settle on one. I discarded
the one I found less promising but it was difficult to pick between
the two left. I liked them both, the two of them contributed different
things to the visuals, one being lighter, the other more intense. After
much pondering on the issue and carrying out a survey among family and
friends that didn't help much in clarifying things, I decided to post
both versions on the Net and let people vote for their favorite. And
that's what I did. The lighter version won with 75% of the votes, so
that was the final choice.
It was very interesting to read the comments from people and see how
they firmly defended one option over the other.
Hadis: Why did you choose not to add other sounds to the musical
score by Mertens?
Martínez Lara: I did try, but I didn't like the results
at all. I felt it had a distracting effect, though I probably didn't
do it with much enthusiasm and was a bit inclined to not liking the
outcome. Truth is, from the very beginning I imagined it as having only
a musical score.
Hadis:
How has your animation production process evolved since your first shorts
with the Pepe character?
Martínez Lara: It's completely different when comparied
to my earlier shorts. Having worked for almost three years on the script
and production process of the animated feature "Planet One"
at Ilion Studios has forever changed my approach to film production.
I'd say that now I put a lot more effort in elaborating the central
concept of the short and do a more thorough job at planning directing
tasks. My previous shorts were essentially visual gags which progressed
as I advanced with the development of the short itself. It's a fresh
approach towards this kind of work, but the problem is that you aren't
quite sure of where you are headed, and the idea for the short film
can easily end up watering down. There wasn't a true script being developed
for the shorts.
In this last short I've felt that I was in full control of the steering
wheel, I invested lots of time in planning, creating, and communicating
the story. Javier Moya, an old student of mine who currently works as
lead animator at Ilion Studios, was an invaluable help. We spent many
hours discussing concepts. It's absolutely essential to have someone
with whom you can discuss ideas; someone that can contribute his own,
that can ask uncomfortable questions. This short film would certainly
have been much worse without those conversations.
Hadis: What have you learned from the production of "Changes"?
Martínez Lara: Personally, this is the short film I'm
the happiest with, I think it's the most polished one up to date. Without
leaving the audience in a knock-out state, it manages to transmit something
and hopefully it does it in an entertaining way. It's a short film which
doesn't suffer as much from a "void date" as previous shorts
I've made such as the one called "Pepe" (that has a robot
and a table) which is one of the best known. That short lost much of
its original impact as time passed because it consists mainly of a gag
rendered with "global illumination", and once this technique
was adopted and surpassed what remained was the story itself.
Hadis:
How has the Internet influenced the production process of "Changes"?
Martínez Lara: The Internet is a wonderful thing, I'm
still fascinated by the fact that a person from the other side of the
planet can show his or her work all around the world without leaving
home. It's a window through which you can watch others, as others watch
you.
In the particular case of "Changes" it enabled me to carry
out the survey to see which musical score was preferred by the audience
and above all to be able to make the short film known.
Hadis: Due to the quality and wide distribution of your work, you
have probably received various offers to work abroad. Many Spanish artists
have tried their luck in this respect. Why did you choose to remain
in Spain?
Martínez Lara: Yes, there have been some offers, and very,
very tempting ones. But they were exclusively for working as an animator
and I personally don't consider myself to be a good animator; there
are many animators that are better than me. What I really like is to
tell stories and connect with an audience. I haven't felt the need to
leave Spain in order to make my shorts and accomplish what I wanted
to do in this respect. Besides, now that I have started the Pepe-school-land
project, I'll need to stay in Spain for quite a while.
Hadis: What do you like most about Spanish culture (or about Spain
itself)?
Martínez Lara: Spain is a wonderful place to live in,
and even more so if you happen to live in beautiful Barcelona like I
do. Spain is a very diverse country where many cultures coexist. For
example, there are three official languages besides Spanish.
From a professional standpoint there are good projects to work on, though
it can't be compared with other parts of the world. But one can make
a good living working in 3D animation.
Hadis: Which animated feature film would you like to see produced
in Spain?
Martínez Lara: "Planet One" from Ilion Studios,
of course. If everything keeps progressing the way it has, I think it
will end up being one of the hallmarks of European animation. The production
quality is unbelievably high, it can easily compete with movies from
the US in this respect. There are tons of talent inside that studio
and with good business management it will undoubtedly be a success.
Hadis: Daniel, thank you very much for answering our questions.
Martínez Lara: Greetings to everyone and thanks to Animwatch
for the interview.
"If
I haven't had fun, if I haven't enjoyed it, then for me there's no reward
(...) the rewards lies on the road itself."
-Daniel Martínez Lara
(3D y Animación
Interview, 8/2003)
Changes - by Daniel Martínez Lara
For more information, visit the official Changes
website.
Special thanks to Eviya Vitola for her invaluable assistance on this
feature article.
