Solomonos Magazine N°1 English by Solomonos Magazine

01 Magazine

Erwin Gómez Viñales Margarita Cid Lizondo PamelaRiveros Raúl Manrupe Erwin Gómez Viñales Nicolás Bustamante Laia Machado Prin María Ignacia Pavez Travisany Héctor Zurita Manuel Ortiz Ossandón “Bear Story”Punk Robot María Fernanda Vergara Gabriel Jiménez

General Editor Executive Producer Reporter Guest Article Lead Designer Designer International Producer Editing Copyeditor Álvaro Arce Video Interview Cover and Back Cover Translate Translate November 2014, Santiago of Chile

01 Magazine

Bear Story • Zumbástico Studio • Alvaro Arce • Chilemonos 2014 • Alberto Rodríguez • Cristiani • Game of Thrones

BEAR STORY/08

The short film, directed by Gabriel Osorio and produced by Punkrobot was among the winners of the Chilemonos Festival. We will take a step into the backstage and learn where the inspiration came from for this animated feature, in which a bear made of tin lives a tale of exile and despair.

ZUMBÁSTICO STUDIO/22

A full-length trip through the history of this Chilean animation studio, which has proudly released more than 200 audiovisual works since its conception. Among its current portfolio are highly successful animated series, broadcasted both in national and cable television.

ÁLVARO ARCE/36

Read about the outstanding record of this Chilean artist, who has worked among the most talented animation studios in the US, including Hanna-Barbera, Disney and Warner Bros. Find out how he got to bat for the big leagues in Hollywood and how he ended up being part of the group that gave life to Scooby Doo.

CHILEMONOS 2014/52

The highly successful animated-films festival was the meeting place of high profile Latin American artists, opening the talks for joint projects and featuring for the first time the MAI! Market, the biggest in the Chilean scene.

ALBERTO RODRÍGUEZ/66

The chief director of Mexico-based Anima Estudios shares his epic tale of how he managed to earn Chespirito’s trust and convince him of bringing his beloved brainchild “El Chavo del 8” to the animated screen for the very first time.

CRISTIANI/78

Raul Manrupe, leading researcher and Argentinian director transports us to the world of trans-Andean animation. Learn how he cleverly used the scarce resources available to produce the very first animated-film in his country (and the world!), and how Quirino Cristiani rejected working for Disney, choosing instead to stay in the land that welcomed him with open arms.

OPENING GAME OF THRONES/86

Enjoy this feature interview with the art director behind Game of Thrones’ opening sequence. Robert Feng shares the creative processes and teamwork strategies needed to give life to a concept that has earned him multiple awards around the world.

BEAR STORY Looking for your own animation way

“Bear Story” was the 2014 short-film winner of the Chilemonos Festival. This film features the touching tale of a circus-enslaved bear. The main artist behind the piece shares how he got inspiration from the life story of his grandfather, who was exiled from Chile in 1973. The plot, told through the use of fictitious characters, draws a parallel on the life on a tent and life as an expatriate living far from loved ones.

By Pamela Riveros Ríos 8

A work of fiction that borrows heavily from real life and has won the hearts of its viewers. Leading mind behind “ Bear Story” Gabriel Osorio shares how the 3D film was his way of telling the tale of his grandfather, who was exiled from Chile after the coup d’état of 1973. Osorio adds, “He was away from his homeland for a really long time. Not only that, he was also in jail. When he was back, his family had changed. That’s the driving force behind the story: the sorrow of living separated from those you love”. For a long time, Osorio had kept this tale private inside his mind. After serious consideration, he decided to share it with his team at Punkrobot digital animation studio. After long sessions of refinement and brainstorming, the concept was born. Art and Concept Behind a Tale

Gabriel Osorio always thought that the protagonist of the film would be a bear, because he saw his grandfather as a stout, large person, representing strength. Therefore, the artistic director, Antonia Herrera created a character with a broad back and strong arms.

The tale about an expatriate could stand firmly and easily enough as the sole driving force of the plot; nevertheless the team behind this short decided to work with an idea that covered wider ground: the pain of missing a loved one. As the bear character is kidnapped by a circus, we face a tale of despair and loneliness. “We wanted to share the fact that he was forced away from his family without touching the subject of the coup. As we thought about how to translate his life to a film, we moved away from the specifics”, comments art director Antonia Herrera. “My grandfather was quite big... It was just natural to me to think of him as a bear”, remarks Osorio. With the main character in place, it was time to fit everything else into place. “The idea of using a bear was even more appropriate when we thought about him being the subject

Antonia Herrera, Art Director of the film.

of a kidnapping. I mean, which animal is more defining of a circus than a bear? That’s why it’s the perfect subject; they can even do human-like things like juggling”. Once the lead star had been found, other elements had to be polished. Which supporting characters or objects would best serve the theme? The team settled for an organ grinder, a notorious character in Chilean culture. Street organs are box-like instruments with a crank, which is turned to play alluring tunes. Through this instrument, the main character had to tell his life story. As street organs can normally just play one song and puppets do not perform inside them, the team had to find a way to tell stories. They found the solution in the Chinese art of shadow puppetry, which uses paper dolls as a storytelling mechanism. With both concepts integrated, they developed the idea of a musical box with moving, Gabriel: “The part of the real bear small tin bears inside. A Real Bear Once the tin bear and the storytelling mechanism were defined, the next step was a real esthetic and conceptual challenge. Even if the story was to be told by small figurines, the bear that played them had to be “real”. The very first attempts focused on a realistic bear. Even though it looked good, it lacked the human spirit needed for the film. “We went through many concepts, and in the end we decided to first produce a clay model. Only once we had a real tridimensional figure to work with we could visualize its shape”, comments Herrera. “Initially we had this very realistic looking bear, and we thought

that has hair, that was the biggest challenge in terms of everything, modeling, rendering, animation ... In narrative, for me, to make a story inside the other has to do to reflect what I know, which is animation. Things are mixed and the bear has a part of my grandfather and have a part of me, as an animator that is dedicated to making these dolls and tell stories. It is a reflection of the work we do every day.

Antonia: â&#x20AC;&#x153;We like these metal monkeys, also looks good in 3D. Gabriel: A producer we put Punkrobot Antonia because one day gave me a metal robot; you give him rope and walks. Somehow these dolls are very similar to that made of metal. â&#x20AC;&#x153;

it just wasn’t working out. We had two ‘worlds’ of bears to represent, and even though we needed them to be very distinctive, the realistic bear didn’t look good at all”, adds Osorio. In the end, the initial sketches were the key that held everything together: by modifying the eyes and the pupils they made the bear look more cartoonish and appealing. With the bear problems out of the way, they started focusing on clothing. For this matter, the team researched into the fashion of the 70s, aiming for a nostalgic kind of look. “The story inside the briefcase was already done; we had finished it two years ago”, remarks Herrera. “In technical terms, the furry main character was the single biggest challenge we had. Everything was a challenge: its modeling, rendering, animation, everything”, adds Osorio. “Having a story take place inside another is almost a projection of what we do as animators. There exists part of me and part of my grandfather inside this tale; it’s a Gabriel: “The original idea was always character sculpting other smaller characters”, reveals to show the person that made these Osorio. dolls. The story was changing, at first A City Industrialized Osorio grew up in Quinta Normal, an industrialized sector in the capital city of Santiago, Chile. This idea of a storytelling bear and his music box had to take place in an environment of tall buildings, big crowds and cement paved blocks reminiscent of the old city. With this concept as a base idea they set to finding elements that would let the audience feel at home. “Our inspiration came from the

the idea was to start with toys and that way we discovered the real bear, and it was modified by things storyboard and script. The idea was always to display these dolls, but that was a true story, a world outside.

homes of our ancestors”, adds Osorio. “In fact, the rooms remind me of grandma’s home. Details such as furniture and beds are modeled after what our grandparents would have employed back in their days, which are in a certain way common to people in the west”. Antonia Herrera was in charge of researching the typical items found in a home of the Chilean 70s. “We had many memories about nostalgic items of the era; cutlery, earthenware, tablecloths. We had very specific references. Even the puppets are made of tin, standard toy of decades past”. All in all, four years were spent in polishing every single detail, both art and plot related. Once the job was done, every member in the team felt proudly fulfilled and eager to show the fruit of their labor. Chilemonos’ Third International Animation Festival was the perfect chance for this: “Bear Story” both premiered at the festival and entered as a participant in the shortfilm competition, where it was awarded first place in its category.

Gabriel: “It is a short staff and super nostalgic. I feel it as mine own. But I also think in the end turned everyone working because each did his part. The theme of the dolls is because my grandfather had lots of these boxes you give rope and rotating a doll with music, I had those boxes in my head. “

Overseas, “Bear Story” was exhibited for the first time at France’s Annecy Festival 2014. The film was also present at Brazil’s Animamundi International Animation Festival, where it was awarded “Best Art Direction” and “Best Children Short-film” prizes. SM

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Bear Storyâ&#x20AC;? was released nationally in the International Festival of Animation Chilemonos. Then he was part of the official selection out of competition Annecy Festival 2014 and won two awards at the prestigious Festival Anima Mundi in Brazil.

ANIMA MUNDI 2015 BRAZIL AUGUST RÍO DE JANEIRO/SAO PAULO http://www.animamundi.com.br/ EXPOTOONS 2015 ARGENTINA SEPTEMBER BUENOS AIRES http://www.expotoons.com/ CUTOUT FEST 2014 MÉXICO 13TH - 16TH NOVEMBER QUERÉTARO http://www.cutoutfest.com/ AXIS 2015 MÉXICO APRIL MONTERREY http://axisfest.mx/ ANIMA 2015 ARGENTINA OCTOBER CÓRDOBA http://www.animafestival.com.ar/

FOURTH INTERNATIONAL ANIMATION FESTIVAL FROM 5TH TO 10TH MAY 2015

ZUMBÁSTICO STUDIO Risk is Part of the Learning Process

With close to 200 released works, Zumbástico is proud to celebrate its “Block!” series’ 10th anniversary in 2014. The studio has also seized the chance to become known overseas thanks to a deal with Cartoon Network, along with two movies currently in production. For the studio, risk and evolution have shaped the course since its inception.

By Pamela Riveros Ríos 22

“Puerto Papel” will be premiered in 2015

Zumbástico’s new branch office is testament to this Chilean studio’s explosive growth: located in downtown Bellavista, its 500 square meters will be the place where the experience the studio has acquired through the years will see a chance to shine. To date, Zumbástico has more than 200 audiovisual pieces under its belt, in a timeframe close to 10 years. The studio’s growth can be seen in its endeavors: currently, two movies are being produced. One is a traditional 2D animated short-film; the other, a stop motion piece. Two teams are working concurrently on the projects. Founding member Álvaro Ceppi (37) recalls the humble beginnings of the studio, which produced short clips from a small office, affectionately called “the ashtray” due to its size and the smell of cigarettes. Since then, Zumbástico Studio has grown exponentially, releasing tons of series and short films, along with appearances at festivals and international television channels. The Shorts That Brought Block! To Life “Working in the animation industry was a thing of luck… and maybe I wouldn’t even call it luck; ever since I was just a child my dream was to be an animator”, says Ceppi about his work as an artist. “I used to watch cartoons nonstop, and only when I grew up I realized it would be the career I wanted to pursue”. His close friendship with members of Chilean band Papa Negro was the starting point of what would become a talented team: Gabriel Noé, Claudio “Guayi” Mas and later 24

Cristian Louit. The team saw its beginnings producing visual content for rave parties. Thanks to this exposure, an agent for TVN (one of the main national TV channels) got in touch with them, offering their shorts a place in its new segment aimed at children, Tronia. In parallel, they produced the music video for Papa Negro’s namesake single. “We had an idea, but were just unable to reproduce it in live action. It was impossible”, recalls Ceppi. Their concept was novel for a national music video: characters that looked cut out from sheets, animated through stop-motion techniques. There was a problem, though: they had no idea how to accomplish this. After taking more than six thousand pictures and choosing the most fitting, they started animating the movie. “We had no idea how to animate in Final Cut. We were having serious problems with rendering; the program kept crashing. We spent an entire summer trying to finish the project”, shares Ceppi. After the smashing success of series 31 Minutos and the pre-production of Clarita, one of the first Chilean animated series, TVN started searching for more content to fill its children audiences void. When an agent for TVN saw the music video produced for Papa Negro, the studio was contacted with the idea of animating a full-length in the same style. Thus, Block! was born. With its newly founded studio, “Solo por las Niñas”, Ceppi and his team applied for the Chilean Television Board’s grant fund, where they found success. “The most amazing “The Ogre and Chicken” 2008

part about this tale is that, even though Block! was a turning point for our careers, we had absolutely no idea how to produce the series. We had no knowledge about animation”. The studio had to produce twenty episodes of 15 minutes each, established in the grant fund contract. Production meant an extensive learning process, and tons of mistakes were made. One of these errors was the lack of organization among scripts, which resulted in significant continuity errors. As such, it wasn’t uncommon for a character to appear with three different outfits in a single episode.

Quantifying the work done so far by Zumbástico Studios can be summed up in 10 pieces of advertising, more than 40 short films, 3 short films, 3 documentaries, 20 episodes of “Block”, 13 “Wayapolis” 15 “Achu” 17 “Zumbástico Fantástico” 23 “El ogro y el Pollo”, 26 “and Horacio y los Plasticines” 26 “Cagemates” and 26 being made of “Puerto Papel”. That is, to the date there are 222 parts.

The Wayapolis Experiment With more than enough children show production experience under the belt, Solo por las Niñas Studio decided to try their hand at a new series. Zumbástico was eager to show their newly honed skills, allocating appropriate resources to every part of the production process. “We had this idea of producing a new series and dividing work in logical areas; it was the obvious thing to do. After working with all individual pieces, we could thread them all together as a whole product”, Héctor Velozo operating the doll of Horacio

Working session in the studio.

explains Ceppi. “Experimento Wayapolis” was their answer; a name that symbolized the studio’s new approach to animation: trial, error and isolated brainstorming. The endeavor culminated in three years of hard work along highly talented national musicians and artists such as Rodrigo Salinas, Matías Iglesias, Papa Negro members Gabriel Noé and “Guayi”, and Cecilia Toro, author of “Potti il astronauta inamorato.” “It was madness. We had this huge ambitious project. It’s our riskiest move so far, and my favorite project, by the way!” shares Ceppi. “Both Block! and Wayapolis meant no income for us. The earnings were evenly split among the entire team.” The Ogre and the Chicken Up to that point the producer had relied in a team of 2d animators for their Block! project. Once the costs became prohibitive and they could no longer sustain the team, they decided to outsource the art among other studios. The creative team behind “Solo por las Niñas” was eager to assemble a new group of talented artists and stick with them. In 2007 they seized the opportunity, applying to secure a spot on Chilevisión channel’s new segment aimed at children. It was time to focus on a new project and fill the allotted time: enter “Zumbástico Fantástico”. “All this time we had created nothing but zany and wacky shows, full of lively characters. In a sense, we wanted to go back to the roots. We were aiming for 7 minute shorts, produced in distinctive styles”, remarks Ceppi. This was 28

Hugo Covarrubias creating the Plasticines of the show “Horacio y los Plasticines”

the format used primarily by Cartoon Network in the 90s, which brought to life series like Johnny Bravo and The Powerpuff Girls. The team had to secure talent from the national network of animators. Among those selected for the stop-motion team—for the production of “El Ogro y El Pollo”—were Cecilia Toro (art director of Enetenetu series) in 2008 and Hugo Covarrubias (from La Noche Boca Arriba fame). The year 2009 saw the release of Achú!, with the help of Chilean rock band Chancho en Piedra members Ilabaca brothers. The show marked the fifth production of Solo por las Niñas studios, comprised of educational shorts. Renowned artists such as Jossie Malis (illustrator on Zumbakamera and graphical artist in charge of Chilemonos 2014 Festival visual elements), Sol Díaz (illustrator on Bicharracas) and Bernardita Ojeda (leading artist behind Clarita and Hostal Morrison) lent their talents to this project. “It was an interesting experience. Many people joined and started forming their own teams. Others already had enough experience with past projects, like Bernardita Ojeda. Personally, I see this as a very good sign in the industry; people collaborating with each other”, shared Ceppi. In 2010, “El Ogro Y el Pollo” finally saw its release. The show saw big success in Chile and won multiple awards, including the Best (Gold) Public Service Announcement Campaign Promax BDA 2011 Award in the United States. Cecilia Toro’s role as art director was key to define the studio’s stop-motion animation technique, seen in all

“Block” was the first series that conducted this study, which played themes that connected with the adult world. For example, the protagonist was a 12 year old boy who had to take over the management of the building in which he lives (These apartment blocks are characteristic of Chile). Also, the issue of immigration, which at that time was just beginning in this country, so neighbors are shown with foreign accents.

Flo from “Horacio y Los Plasticines”

future projects. The Bliss of Experience: Horacio y los Plasticines

This is where the skills of talented Chilean puppeteer Héctor “Tito” Veloso saw their chance to shine. By combining techniques used in “El Ogro y el Pollo” and “Achú!”, the team focused on a new, novel series. The show aired on TVN and employed two teams of animators, one in charge of 2D animation, and the other in charge of the 3D aspects. The series also saw its release internationally, airing on Argentina’s Paka Paka national television channel.

shorts for “Zumbástico Fantástico”, such as Sol Díaz with “Telonio y sus demonios”, Pablo Castillo with “El Sorprendente Ombligo de Edgar”, Bernardita Ojeda with “Chanchi Perry”, Claudio Mas with “La Liga de los Semihéroes” and Álvaro Ceppi with “Pepe, un cuadrado en un mundo redondo”. About the production process, Ceppi shares: “In the past, we had dubbed the series ourselves. This time, we used a neutral style of Spanish for the voiceovers. We also recruited Carlos Bleycher as a writer.”

In 2009, while “Experimento Wayapolis” and “Achú!” were airing, the studio received yet another state grant from CNTV to produce “Horacio y los Plasticines”. Ceppi comments: “For us, the most important things were the experience we acquired and the talents we recruited. Thanks to them we created this children’s musical show “Zumbástico Fantástico” sees an international boom with puppets. In a way, it was reminiscent of Wayapolis.” Already renowned in the international market, the team All the while, talented artists lent their skills to produce was in the sights of Cartoon Network. The channel got in 30

contact with the team and made arrangements for airing the series. “We were very lucky. Someone saw our series in one of the international conventions we exhibited at and purchased the rights to air the show all over Latin America. It was this huge boost for us. From that point on, we focused on an international approach to our work”, remarks Ceppi. With 17 half-hour shows, “Zumbástico Fantástico” had its rights sold to Mexico in 2014, after a 4 year run. Team Solidification and the Release of “Puerto Papel” With new funds in hand, the team started thinking about new shows that could be marketed internationally. By integrating paper toys with a lighthearted setting of adventure and humor, the team released “Puerto Papel”, series coproduced by Brazilian children’s channel Gloob, property of O Globo. By this point, the team was known around the world as “the Zumbásticos”. Honoring their newly acquired fame, the team decided to drop their “Solo por las Niñas” name and take up “Zumbástico Studios”. Two Feature Length Films The studio has already two films on production, “The Mango Brothers” and “Antonio y el Extraño Manual Para Reparar Gente”. The first is being produced in partnership with Chilean studio Punkrobot and has been exhibited at Annecy Festival 2014 looking for sponsoring. The later of the two features a mix of stop-motion animation and live action. SM

2000 - 2002 First musical videos (videos released up to 2008) Joint productions with band Papa Negro. 2002 - 2004 Continuity Tronia “Urban Bicho” Born “Sólo por las Niñas Audiovisual” 2004 “Block!” receives a state grant from CNTV. 2006 “Block!” starts airing “Experimento Wayapolis” receives a state front from CNTV. Rodrigo Salinas and Matías Iglesias join the project.

2008 “Zumbástico Fantástico” and “The Ogre and the chicken” receive a CNTV grant.

2012 “Puerto Papel” receives CNTV grant (produced in partnership with Brazil’s Gloob).

2009 “Achu!” and “Experimento Wayapolis” start airing “Horacio y los Plasticines” receives CNTV grant.

2013 Producer officially changes its name to “Zumbástico Studios”

2010 “The Ogre and the chicken” starts airing Cartoon Network Latin America purchases the rights to air “Zumbástico Fantástico” in Latin America. Start of the “international era”.

2014 Work on films “Los Mango Brothers” and “Antonio y el Extraño Manual Para Reparar Gente” commences Starts production on a new season of “Horacio y los Plasticines”, for a total of 52 episodes (produced in partnership with Argentina’s Pakapaka.)

2011 “Zumbástico Fantástico” starts airing on Cartoon Network . Production on “Puerto Papel” starts (called “Amigos de Papel” back then).

2015 “Puerto Papel” starts airing.

“The Ogre and the Chicken” 2008

MARKET ANIMATION INDUSTRY

SANTIAGO 26th to 28th november 2014 www.mai.cl

ÁLVARO ARCE Life in the Big Studios

Hanna-Barbera, Disney and Warner Bros. Three ominous sounding names, three workplaces Álvaro Arce lent his talents to. One of his most recognized works is “Scooby Doo”, where he worked as part of the creative team. Without a single doubt, Arce possesses the most impressive portfolio in the national animation scene.

By Pamela Riveros Ríos and Manuel Ortiz Ossandón. 36

Álvaro Arce in Jamieson Film Co. Dallas – Texas 1960

Arce’s skills became known in the US in the 60s, part thanks to luck, part thanks to fate. Arce helped create storyboards, layouts and sketches for “The Simpsons”, “The Lion King”, “The Flintstones”, “The Jetsons”, “Yogi Bear”, “The Laff-A-Lympics”, “Quick Draw McGraw”, even turning down a request to work on “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”. Throughout his career het met dozens of artists and places in the United States, Europe, Brazil and Chile. The Birth of a Career Arce wanted to be a teacher, reason he joined the Fine Arts campus of Universidad de Chile. It was there that he met the woman he would later marry. By fate, Arce joined an advertising agency, tasked with art and design. He would never leave that path, ending against all odds working in the United States. “I had never even thought about going to the United States”, shares Arce, shocked. His brother, a commercial pilot, was transferred to the country and asked Arce to join him and keep him company. “He even got me a job. I started working as an art director on a small start-up corner and animated them throughout the paper, corner advertising company in Kansas City”, shares Arce. to corner. Then my boss arrives and says, ‘That’s a strange way of animating...’, and I replied ‘Yeah, this is how we do Then it was time to move to Dallas. In 1959, Jamieson Film it in South America’”. It was pretty awkward but hey, that’s Company recruits Arce after scouting his work. About this, how my career started!” Arce remembers: “I got home and immediately told my wife, ‘Honey, my career as a cartoonist has just begun!’”. The Road to Hollywood “I had no idea how I ended up working as a cartoonist. And I don’t feel good either about lying to this one girl back After a coworker suggested that he applied to Hollywood, then!”, remembers Arce about a funny anecdote he had. “where the pay was better”, his next home was a small “I saw a table with a hole in the middle, a disc, a light and studio inside Paramount Pictures in 1966. Yet the gig was some supports. You won’t believe what I did. I took a sheet short-lived. “What do I do now? I was already a step inside of paper, put it on the supports, drew some doodles on a 38

“The Little Tailor” Hollywood. I have no idea how I ended up working for Warner Bros, but that’s where my real career began.” The House of Termites Warner Bros was a huge animation studio, with an entire fake town inside. At the very back of this town was the “House of the Termites”. It was there where Arce had his first taste of animated films, drawing for the “Road Runner” cartoons. “It wasn’t complex at all... Draw some highway here, some highway there, some hills, a rock... What was really amusing is

“The Prince and the Pauper” Disney Studios (1988-1990). 40

that back then, people who went to the theater to watch a movie always expected a cartoon to show first. If they didn’t get it, they left disappointed. So someone had to give them cartoons, and Warner Bros was in charge”, he remarks. After a few months of working for Warner Bros, Arce moved around multiple studios for small projects. “Back then it was only a handful of us who really knew about animation... Well, us and Disney. But Disney was up in a steep mountain above the clouds. You had to climb up there and knock on this huge metal door. Then an ogre came out and said ‘No jobs here’, and closed the door. Thinking about working at Disney back then was just... Nobody bothered”, he remarks. Arce then found a place in United Pictures of America as a freelancer. “If you name any show from that period, I probably worked on it. I worked in almost all of them”, he laughs. In one of the restaurants he used to frequent, he got in touch with many people from Paramount Pictures. It was there he met Claudio Guzmán, Chilean producer of series “I Dream of Jennie”. “There was this new show called ‘Star Trek’. He was one of the creators of the series. He designed the very first model of the Enterprise ship and showed it to me. I’m not sure if someone else retouched it, but it was Guzmán who designed the interiors and everything else”, shares Arce. Hanna-Barbera and the Birth of Scooby Doo In The Disney Studios (1988-1990).

At this point in time, Hanna-Barbera had already struck it big; the studio held an office building that nowadays is 41

face and creative mind, with frequent trips to New York. Back then, only companies such as NBC, CBS and ABC purchased the right to cartoons. In one of the many trips back to the studios Barbera assembled the group of artists, informed them CBS had asked for a detective show and told them: “Don’t forget to include a mascot”. Arce recalls: “He loved animals. As a joke, we started doodling a bunch of different dogs and offered him this really big one. He went to negotiate with the executives and when he was back he informed us they hadn’t liked it one bit. Thus, we started retuning its design. In a second trip, Barbera came back with one of the CBS executives, who had been listening to Frank Sinatra on the plane. He was like, ‘There’s this one song that ends like… Scooby Dooby Doo… Tah-dah-dah…’ And that was the beginning of everything. He thought Scooby Doo was an amusing name for the show and the dog, and so it was called”, laughs Arce. Alvaro Arce with Joe Barbera Hollywood heritage. Arce remembers: “I went inside the building and someone told me, ‘to get a job, get in touch with the producer’. It was just chock full of people, there was just so much work to do. The produced asked me to do layouts for a show called ‘Abbott & Costello Show’, and I gladly agreed, so I was hired.”

though you have become real close with the creative team, I need to tell you something... I never actually hired you. You arrived here on your own, and I didn’t have the heart to tell you to leave.” From that point forward, Arce became a regular of the “Abbott & Costello Show”, occasionally working in “The Flintstones”, “The Jetsons”, “Yogi Bear”, “The Laff-AArce placed his desk in one of the corridors and got to Lympics” and “Quick Draw McGraw”, among others. work. William “Bill” Hanna, one of his two bosses, saw him repeatedly around the building without having a clue as to The studio had a rigid workflow. Bill Hanna had his offices, who was he or what was he doing there; in a way, Arce was and Joseph “Joe” Barbera kept his directly in front. The never officially hired. He recalls the words of Hanna: “Even first was in charge of budgets, and the later was the PR

Scooby Doo was a huge hit in the United States and the world, and after 36 years since its inception there have been hundreds of episodes and even live action movies. The Falling Out One day, while working for the show “The Three Musketeers”, Arce had a dispute with fellow artist Mike Allens. Arce had been searching for the drawings he had left on his desk, when he stumbled upon them in the trash. “Who tossed them?” asked Arce, to which Allens replied: “I was looking through them. Not good, we need to redraw it.” Befuddled, Arce quipped: “Since when are you the director?” As the quarrel could not be settled personally, they asked for Hanna to intervene. “He came in and I told 43

him, ‘Do you see what’s going on? What does this mean?’ to which he replied, ‘He IS the director’. I was furious: ‘No, he is NOT the director’. I threw him my drawings and snapped, ‘You know what? Forget it. Screw you and your studios, I’m out’. I left and Hanna yelled behind me, ‘You will never set foot in another studio again!’ I went to my office, picked up my things and left.” Despite his strong will, things did not go well for Arce. His new company, Dimensión 70, closed down after only eight months. One day, his secretary informs him of a surprising call. “Bill Hanna? Are you sure?” recalls a surprised Arce. “He had some new shows and wanted me to join the team, said I was hired.” The next day, Arce was on his way to the Hanna-Barbera studios. Reencounter with Claudio Guzman and the First Trip Back Home Not long after wrapping up his job at Hanna-Barbera, Arce got a call from friend Claudio Guzmán, who had recently “Aladdin” It was a first attempt for the film. They wanted to use the classic Disney characters. received a state grant from the United States for an educational show. This was one of the last projects of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles this huge hit…” he adds. artist before selling all of his possessions there and leaving temporarily. After living in São Paulo, Brazil for some time, After some years, Arce moved back to the United States, Despite this, Arce had great intuition with The Simpsons, Arce moved back to Chile. where he rejoined Hanna-Barbera for a new project. It was working as part of the creative team when the studio was titled Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Arce was quick to just a start-up named Klasky Csupo. There, he founded Grafilms along with Enrique “Puma” voice his opinion: “I said ‘What the heck is this? Are you Bustamante and Carlos González, of the Tevito fame. serious with this crap?’ They told me about this rat master The First Animated Film As production costs were excessively high back then, and his ninja turtle pupils who lived in the sewers. ‘I doubt the studio lasted for only seven years before its closure. this thing will ever take off’”. Arce drew the storyboards A new toy craze had swept up New York; it was the Despite that, it was successful in releasing animated series and layouts for a few episodes. He remarks: “Even though Scrabbles. The manufacturing company asked Arce like “Condorito” and “Una Sonrisa con Lukas”, as well as I did my job the best I could, I was emphatic in stating I to work on a movie for one of the toys that was to be various advertisement projects. didn’t want anything else to do with the series. Looking released soon, who decided to trust production to a close back everyone knows how wrong I was, the series became friend in Argentina. After his friend failed to uphold his 44

Carlos González en Sabados Gigantes 1987

Víctor Jara junto a Carlos Gonzalez interpretando “Charagua” para cortinas de Tevito (1973).

Hanna - Barbera Studio in 1968

responsibilities with the project, Arce had to lock himself up in a hotel in Buenos Aires and work nonstop to finish the project. “I put everything aside… my wife, my kids, everything. I barely met the deadline, working hand in hand with the editor as the release date was approaching”, recalls Arce. When he arrived at New York, a nasty surprise was waiting for him: the movie was out of sync. “What was I supposed to do then? Luckily, someone told me there was a place nearby where I could get it fixed. It was finally done. I brought it to the hotel and received a call from Long Island; they were coming to pick me up to exhibit it. When it ended playing, everyone clapped. We came back from Long Island, I handed over the reel, received my payment, hurried to the hotel, took the first flight available and scurried out. One of the worst anecdotes I can recall.” Only two days earlier his wife had arrived at the same city, completely by chance. After being separated for quite a while, they were finally back together. Knocking on Heaven’s Door: Walt Disney Arce had been working for Walt Disney for some time. One afternoon, his portfolio disappeared. It had been taken to the “big studios”: the place where movies were produced. There was a project in the works, and the studio needed a team of artists to help make it true, just like the old times when Disney himself was alive. Arce agrees to join the team under the condition that he could still work as a freelancer for other studios, even if that meant he would not get the same benefits as other employers. His fellow team members were an exemplary bunch: Brenda Chapman, Kevin Lima, Kelly Asbury, 46

Ali Baba was a new production of Disney series “Mini Classics” and Chris Sanders, among others; all of them incredibly talented people who would later become world renowned. It was there that Arce had the chance to draw for projects such as “My Fair Birdie”, Army Ants”, “Antz” and even “The Lion King”. “Right around this time, this ‘fairly known’ director came with a movie for us to work with. It was Who Framed Roger Rabbit, from Steven Spielberg. Our task was to produce some of the shorts. He used to visit the offices with this cheery, kind demeanor. He liked everything he saw. I don’t think I ever recall him saying ‘This won’t do…’ No, he just cracked up at everything he saw!” recalls Arce.

Keeping Up to Date After visiting the United States a few times as well as Europe (where he worked for Lápiz Azul in Spain and Don Bluth in Ireland), Arce decided to go back to Chile in 1990, settling once and for all in 1995. Nowadays, his purpose is clear: he wants to be a mentor. “I have given online classes to some kids already”, comments Arce. Currently he directs a firm in the United States, and has recently lent his guidance for the short film “La Mujer de Tierra”, work that received a grant fund for its production. SM

Along with the creative team at Disney, Brenda Chapman (“Brave”), Kevin Lima (“Tarzan”), Kelly Asbury (“Shrek”), Chris Sanders (“How to Train Your Dragon”), among others.

1968 Hanna-Barbera “Quick Draw McGraw” 1968-69 Hanna-Barbera “Scooby’s All Star Laff-A-Lympics” 1969-70 Hanna-Barbera “The Three Musketeers” 1961 Warner Bros. “The Roadrunner”

1970 – 71 Dimension ‘70 Educational adverts for “Sesame Street”

1966-67 Hanna-Barbera “Abbott & Costello”

1970 – 77 Hanna- Barbera Freelance works

1967 Hanna-Barbera “The Flintstones”

1975 – 77 Bilingual Childrens Television” BCTV “Show “Villa Alegre”

1967-68 Hanna-Barbera “Scooby Doo Where Are You”

1977 Works in Brazil

1968 Hanna-Barbera “The Jetsons”

1979 - 84 Grafilms - Santiago,Chile “Condorito” “Una Sonrisa con Lukas”

1968 Hanna-Barbera “The Yogi Bear Show”

1984-85 Murakami-Wolf Studios USA “The Ninja Turtles”

1985-86 Arce Studios Scrabble People Toy Co. - Productor N.Y. “Un Zapallo Sin Sentido” - “A Pumpkin Full of Nonsence” 1988 Klasky/Csupo “The Simpsons” 1988-90 Walt Disney Studios Feature Animation “My Fair Berdie” “The Prince and the Pauper” “Army Ants” “The Rescuers Down Under” “Beauty and the Beast” “Lion King” 1990 - 94 Lápiz Azul (Madrid, España) 1994 – Hasta la fecha Return to Chile Freelance consultancy for multiple European and American studios. 2011 Tournier Animation “ Selkirk, The Real Robinson Crusoe “

NBC 1967 Assistant Art Director at “The Show de Bob Hope”.

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CHILEMONOS 2014 The festival of the Latin American family.

From May 6 to May 11 in Chile, five animation festivals signed an agreement that seeks to promote Latin American industry. This approach was the base of Chilemonos 2014, where through an expected MAI !, animation market with exhibitions across the country, put emphasis on the production of the neighborhood.

By Pamela Riveros RĂos 52

Tribute to the pioneers of the Chilean animation, during the inauguration of Chilemonos 2014 53

Chilemonos Award Ceremony 2014

The Third International Festival Chilemonos 2014 Latin America had a clear stamp. Directors, producers, writers, executives, brought major projects and productions from their own countries: Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Mexico, Uruguay and Brazil. Polish studio SE-MA-FOR interviewed by Solomonos Magazine

This event took place between May 6 and May11, which, through different activities, this approach was able to see both movies and series that were shown, as well as lectures and laboratories that were conducted. An important agreement between Latin American festivals was added, in order to encouragethe development between neighboring countries. Latin American Presence

Master class by Alberto Rodríguez

Soledad Suit presents Novasur award

In CHILEMONOS-LAB, Nelson Luty conveyed his years of experience supported in his immense portfolio, where it can be found his work as art director of “Metegol” and his funds into “Gaturro”; both Argentine productions. With dynamics established, this talented artist could drop the hand of the participant in this lab, so they could create a landscape worthy of a great animated movie. Also, five Latin American artists made three of the master class scheduled during the festival. The first one was JossieMalis, illustrator and creator of “Bendito Machine” where he explained his experience as independent studio and how they produce this series with Chinese shadow, imaginary prehispanic and machines that control everything. Also the audience could hear the great Alberto Rodríguez, director of “El Chavo Animado” series that has planted

Jossie Malis

great successes, and where the result of the work of this executor and his team managed to move one of the most popular sitcom of the Latin American imaginary, into animation. The lecture “TresDirectores” joined at the same table, to artists from Argentina and Mexico. They commented on their animated feature films made in co-production; enriching experience for those seeking finance their future projects. The Argentinian Gustavo Cova of “Gaturro” and “Boogie el Aceitoso” told how worked his way of working, socializing, even with countries in Asia. The other transAndean, David Bisbano with his film “Rodencia y el Diente de la Princesa “, provided an efficient form of production, where studies of Peru and Argentina fit together to carry out this part. Finally, the Mexican René Castillo, who is on his first 3D animated feature “Poncho balón”, leaving out the multi awarded stop-motion, said about his work and how was his experience of how two production houses ofhis country are behind his project. An additional consideration is that a very important visit came to this event on its master class, as Douglas Wood was Vice President of Production Animation and Creative Issues at Universal Pictures, Turner Pictures and Warner Bros, as Executive Creator of the TV series “TinyToonsAdventures “and” Animaniacs “. His class was transcendental to teach “The instinct in the anmated script.”

Roundtable at School of Communications in Universidad Catolica about Government Policies in MAI!

Guest to opening dinner of faculty host of “Universidad Mayor” and Embassy of Poland.

Freeze - International Meeting of stop-motion The first version of FREEZE was a success; a conversation space waits to keep summoning the highest regard of stopmotion world. In this first version we had the iconic Polish studio SE-MA-FOR, winner of two Oscar. Nickelodeon Conference at MAI!

Opening Chilemonos GAM 2014. TERCER FESTIVAL INTERNACIONAL DE ANIMACIÓN 6 AL 11 DE MAYO 2014

From Mexico were present René Castillo, stop-motion icon from Mexico, author of the award-winning short film “Sin Sostén” and “Hasta los Huesos”; and filmmakers Luis Tellez and Carla Castaneda, creators of “La Noria”, an awarded film at the second version of Chilemonos Festival.

“Rodencia y el Diente de la Princesa”

From Spain joined this interesting conversation the producer of “O Apostolo” Marta Garcia, who explained the processes and dimensions for this film. The greatest moment in the Chilean stop-motion was represented by the Diluvio studio, which is composed by young artists such as JoaquínCociña and Cristóbal León, who have sought their own forms of expression coming to create a new concept in the art.

“Metegol”

“Latin American Festivals Agreement” During the awards-and as last official act of 2014 Chilemonos five festivals, Expotoons (Argentina), Axis Fest (Mexico), CutOutFest (Mexico), Anima Mundi (Brazil) and Chilemonos (Chile) signed an agreement with the order to enhance the Latin American production. Among the points agreed are to favor co-production, maintain a minimum of Latin American programming at these festivals, and facilitate the transfer of the work done between the signatory countries, so that they begin to move around the neighborhood works Animated and assessing the potential and the great work that lies behind feature films, short films and series in America.

“Boogie El Aceitoso”

“La leyenda de la Llorona”

Roundtable on government policies in MAI!

Conference SE-MA-FOR in Freeze

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Rodencia y el diente de la princesaâ&#x20AC;? in the film with the director on Cineplanet.

Conference Platige Image

David Bisbano in Master Class “Tres directores latinoamericanos”.

Animation Workshop “SEMAFOR in your school”

Laboratory “Concept art para largometrajes animados” with Nelson Luty

Meeting of Latin American studies at MAI!

Master class â&#x20AC;&#x153;Cinematics of Video gamesâ&#x20AC;? from GrzegorzKukus, Polish Platige Image Studio.

Master class for animation script with Douglas Wood

MAI! Market Animation Industry

Novasur Prize at schools in Chile

The first MAI! (Mercado AnimaciónIndustria) was carried out in this third version of the festival, where producers, directors and animators were able to meet and discuss their projects and see a way to fund them through co-production. Various activities marked this awaited first market of animation, with business round tables, master classes, conferences channels and legal frameworks, which sought to bring twenty studies from Chile, Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, Mexico and Peru. After this successful start, MAI! prepares its next version, which will experience a growth in activities and expects to reach more countries.

Novasur Prize at schools in Chile

Novasur and Dibam In a joint effort between Chilemonos and cultural and educational television CNTV, Novasur, made that twelve thousand children throughout Chile saw Latin American animation series. They voted for their favorite, and awarded the NovasurPrize.

At the Cinema with the director

The winner was the Brazilian series “Sitio do Picapau Amarelo” of Humberto Avelar, and was awarded in the awards of the festival, carried out on Saturday May 10.

At the Cinema with the director

Added to this, the Directorate of Libraries, Archives and Museums, Dibam alongside Chilemonos created the activity “Chilemonos your library” which seeks to showcase Latin American animation in these spaces. The first two films,of the Argentine director Gustavo Cova “Gaturro” and “Boogie el Aceitoso”, could be seen by families in the regions of Antofagasta, Atacama, Valparaiso, Los Lagos and Aysén.SM

MA ! MERCADO ANIMACION INDUSTRIA

In 2014, during the festival’s most important market of animation was created, MAI !. Its first version was a success, bringing together producers, TV networks and studies from Latin America Chilemonos put his focus on the continent, in the relentless pursuit to contribute to the formation of a booming industry, seeking his own identity to insert the animation of the neighborhood in a global market. Therefore, in November 2014 a second version of MAI !, emphasizing the quality required these guests, who are the promoters of the current animation industry globally will be made.

ALBERTO RODRÍGUEZ

“El Chavo Animado” As Process of Creation and Learning Alberto Rodriguez belongs to one of the most prestigious animation studios in Mexico, Anima Studios. There he started in animation and directed “Animated El Chavo” which has been seen in more than 22 countries and was the only proposal that convinced Chespirito to transform his series into cartoons. Thanks to this, Anima Studio grew strongly allowing him today to plan his production for five years, something never before seen in an animation studio in Latin America. By Pamela Riveros Ríos

Alberto Rodríguez entered the world of animation by chance. While he was a lover of cartoons when he was younger, his professional life developed in the first instance in the live action films as producer. He worked at Anima Studios and distanced two years from this studio. Then he comeback to edit the second film of this company. “I think God heard me”, he said “ah! Revenge!” Says Alberto referring to the beginning and adds,” I have many animators friends and I visiting them. When I saw them I thought “how much work they do, I could never do that”. So fate marked the way of Rodriguez and put him in charge of the first animated Anima Studios which involved a major challenge, since he had to convince the Chespirito Group that his famous sitcom “El Chavo del 8”, to make it animated. They eventually succeeded and began producing 2006. They released the show in 2008 and today they can say that they had seven seasons of 26 episodes each, which are more than 180 episodes. What was the challenge of convert a story like Chavo del 8, a very famous and beloved series in Latin America, into animation?

We produce the “Chavo Animado” in 2006 with Grupo Televisa and Grupo Chespirito, who own the brand. They discovered the potential of Anima Studios. We were in the third film when we approached them when we teach a demo of what we could do and teach them a little test animation, and they liked it. Then we realized that we were given the green light and we were very happy to

DR. ﾂｩﾃ］ima Estudios S.A de C.V., 2011

make 26 episodes of 22 minutes each, which is great. And besides, we had to do it in a very short process. Very soon we realized that we had to act very quickly, and the first thing we established was a very clear line of production to have a relationship with Roberto Gómez Bolaños. We explained to them why we wanted the first sketches of Chavo to be like that and he gave us his feedback. We prepare the characters, then the rotations. They were like 18 thousand signatures for authorizations. They were tiny little steps. And we had to design the neighborhood, we decided to do it in 3D, and cask, which was the heart, and the first thing we did. We did the cask a thousand times and sent us to correct it 3000 times, and once we had the cask we began to generate the whole neighborhood. We knew we had to do a kind of cutout animation and we were not going to encourage full animation. We didn’t have the budget to do that, and then we decided to joints in the wrists that had no marked or visible joint, so that it was attached. That made it seem that the characters seem puppets Why does Chespirito finally accept your draft? Had he seen other animated projects? El Chavo is one of the most sought animation projects in Latin America, since he was successful in the 70 and 80’s, almost immediately began receiving offers. And late 70s received a very serious proposal for Hanna-Barbera to make the series, but Chespirito wanted to do it in Mexico. And the limiting in Mexico is that it was too expensive to do so, there wasn’t the ability to make a series of this magnitude. Digital animation allowed to provide those two

things: quality and necessary speed and price, to make a project that big. We went to the office of Chespirito many times with other studies and he never wanted to compromise with anyone, and was until we send a tantrum of Chavo and he liked it. And that was when we were sent to call and that’s when we said “we already have it” and it was a moment of great happiness for Anima studies. What resources of the animation enhance this animated series El Chavo? The series was originally a theater, the characters entered from the left or right, they walked, reached the center and gave their dialogue in the middle of the yard. And we had this scene where the characters were beginning to gather in the center of the courtyard, and the animators said “but why do we see them walk that distance. Maybe we see them react and make a blur and in two frames they are already on this side “.” At first we were too shy to do it and when we started doing the Chespirito Group said “of course this is much more dynamic and much more beautiful.” For example the slap of Dona Florinda to Don Ramón obviously in the 70s sitcom is not giving him a blow, but the animation gives a “suacatelas” and he turned the character and “escuachaba” character, stretched , and was walking around with stars. All these licenses seem very simple, but our client was very clear with what they wanted. It was not easy to convince. And then we started to make these games that allowed the characters to do things that they thought they were doing something. In the original series Chavo imagined was driving a car, then here he did not only imagined it, 74

but we saw him driving a car and that was really cool.

What it meant El Chavo Animado for Anima Studios?

How was the reaction of the audience and what levels It formed us all, it was our best school for producers, reached El Chavo Animado? artists, animators, colorists and all the people who makes digital composite. Immediately Televisa pushed the series and from the first season it reached the first levels of popularity. He We work at a strenuous level. That formed an impressive immediately won another series of that time, SpongeBob and growing muscle and every time we work faster and was currently at the top, entered the Chavo and then more effectively, and that allowed the studio to make the ousted him. operation more faster. The reaction of adults was distrustful, but the kids loved it. And immediately the impact began, products and sweatshirts were created for sale, immediately emerged the play. Currently is seen in more than 22 countries, also in Canada and Patagonia, it can be seen in all American continent.

During and after Chavo, we began producing feature films, because we did movies before, and the difference that this experience had given us in terms of implementation, and it was seen in terms of capacity and in speed. For us at Anima Estudios, our existence is unthinkable without “El Chavo Animado”. SM

CRISTIANI About of Quirino Cristiani and the first movie of animation of the history. “Here we can do it too” was the slogan of many Argentines and immigrants in the early twentieth century’s. By the Geographical distance from the cultural centers of the Western world, perhaps the revanchism of those who ventured to cross the Atlantic Ocean leaving behind a dark present, that mentality was present at the founding of the best and worst of the Argentinian genius.”

By Raúl Manrupe

Images courtesy of the Museo del Cine Pablo C. Ducrós Hicken (Buenos Aires).

Quirino Cristiani, a young Italian artist in Buenos Aires, found a mentor in Federico Valle, an Italian and a pioneer of current films. Argentina, being a country with a long tradition in political cartoons, the idea to include in the final meters of the Film revista Valle film, an animated comment on a topic of the moment. Drawings were limited animation and rapid implementation and mocking spirit, as a novelty, worked and were celebrated by the public. Creativity, ingenuity, has always been popular in the pampas. Things went well and soon the young local reference Quirino cartoon was made. This encouraged him. Why not make cartoons with a longer duration, a satire on political power in Argentina and President Hipólito Yrigoyen as main character?

Quirino Cristiani is no doubt that Argentina initiated animation. He invented techniques which persisted for a long time and managed to consolidate in the 40s. He refused to be a part of Walt Disney his creative group, preferring to develop the art from the country that welcomed him

As many times, when facing something new, and do not have contact with someone who has done something similar, carry out the ambitious project involved creating a proprietary system. It was not exactly the most simple: instead of the traditional system and then, Cristiani devised a personal one, eager, complicated, amazing.

Each character and their actions were represented by drawings in negative (white lines, black backgrounds) on cardboard. There were thousands of plane dolls with the different attitudes of the characters, based on the style of Diogenes Taborda, famous cartoonist of the moment, in a mix of cartoon and a very particular stop-motion. Inexperience led to illuminate with natural light, which made by varying the angle of the sun throughout a day, much material dismiss. But persistence was one of the characteristics of young Quirino. Including segments including a model of the city -destroyed by the script demands - The apostle, premiered successfully, remaining weeks in theaters in Argentina’s capital and simultaneous rooms elsewhere in the country, with good reviews. It was like a high redemption industrial craft: handmade but with claims of economic success. Years later, another dream. A sound long tardy: Peludópolis, another dig at President Yrigoyen (they called him “El Peludo”) and in his second presidential term that would lead to the first coup in 1930 If we talk about being first, we prefer to emphasize

Stills from animations Quirino Cristiani recently rescued by the Museo del Cine Pablo C. Ducr贸sHicken (Buenos Aires).

“El Mono Relojero” by Cristiani 1938 another milestone: Peludópolis is the first sound animated final.And with regret that the first incident had failed to feature film in history. generate warnings. There the long and short of Cristiani were lost, of which has survived for years, a copy of The Cutting.Early 1940s. watchmaker monkey, there were lost. Untill now. When Disney toured Latin America, Cristiani asked how many people had been part of their projects. Upon learning that both long were the work of one man, Walt wanted to take away their studies. Cristiani declined the offer, which went to Florencio Molina Campos.

In the 1920s Julián de Ajuria, a Spanish producer and distributor living in Argentina, wanted to give back to his new country something of all he received. He determined to make a film about the war of independence of Argentina ... produced in Hollywood. The result, with the star Francis X. Bushman and directed by Albert H. Kelley (it was used It was well established as the local acme animation. to put the middle initial), was expensive and very well Cristiani Laboratories were guarantee prestige and work. set “A new and glorious nation.” The United States called As often happened with the nitrate, merciless, fires “Charge of the gauchos.” After its local premiere in May destroyed his acerbic. The last one in the early sixties, 1928, was exhibited for years in primary schools and in

national holidays. Then, like so many films, it disappeared from the map and thought to be lost for decades. The story finally had a happy ending in2013, in an Italian file and by management of researcher Andrea Cuarterolo, a copy in excellent condition of the international version was found. From this researchers and collectors comes the tale of a couple of years also in the Museum of end of the World in Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, people from the Museum of Argentine Cinema found some old animations of Cristiani, which were part of the news made by Federico Valle. They were exhibited in Buenos Aires, in Malba in a special show. It’s not much, but it is very important; for years that any material on the pioneering thought nonexistent. Today, when the chests of many files is open and sharing content is an unstoppable global trend, this finding is a fact on the one hand and on the other to hold a sign of sure hope there are more surprises. An interesting tip: let’s try to find something on google. You will see-and I invite you to do it- so much information that can be assumed “easy to find” or even obvious, does not come as quickly as you think. Conversely, a lot of information that one might assume “difficult” or limited access is available, to anyone who knows search. In the world, including our files, often neglected (young countries, underdeveloped countries, with no time to think about such things), lie treasures that often must be there, ready to be thrown, restored, healed and discovered. Metropolis and his reappeared running time-in the Film Museum and also instances of the collector and researcher Fernando Martín Peña is a milestone in that way. 84

“El Apóstol” by Cristiani en 1917

Something else: Cristiani feature films were not, as has happened with the work of other pioneers like bohemia, only copies. El Apóstol and Peludópolis had commercial releases nationwide and copies circulated throughout the country, from north to south. The Valley current affairs were also nationwide for years. Today, when the files are opened, it is possible to believe that there are new findings, some fragment of history that we fortunately believe that is not closed. The democratization of information is increasing. The digitization of print media publications put entire collections to the reader. Something similar happens with the public archives of moving images. The concept of selfish possession of the material is necessarily changing. Italian researchers as Giannalberto Bendazzior or Gabrielle Zuchelli, have been rescued in the last decade the importance of Quirino Cristiani. In Argentina, he occupies a place of pioneering founder. In this space reconquered in cinephile and collective memory, is expected to reach new recovered examples of his art. To stop being a myth and be the subject of study and enjoyment. SM Raúl Manrupe. Director, researcher of cinema and popular culture in Argentina. Author of “A Brief History of Cartoon in Argentina”, which was the first book published in the country on the subject. The book “A Dictionary of Argentine films” of three volumes also wrote with Alejandra Portela. He has contributed to various magazines and publications related to the film and animation worldwide. He has been a juror at festivals and in charge of the Department of Cinema Centro Cultural Rojas, Buenos Aires (UBA). (Photo courtesy of Alejandra Del Castello).

GAME OF THRONES OPENING

Robert Feng the art director behind of this global success Robert Feng was working hard four months for a main title that was suitable for a production that was brand new HBO called Game of Thrones. Emmy Award-winning, has managed to be recognized worldwide, even generating autographs through openings of other television programs. The work, which was inspired by the work and mechanics Da Vinci, known for its special care on details and forms one piece gestated in 3D By Pamela Riveros

Simon Tofield y su gato.

Black Castle

“We knew from the series wanted to convey, at the opening, the sense of geography, to give the audience a window into this world. The initial brief stating only “make a map”. That initial line has never changed, but we did a search for something a little different. “

The inspiration was Leonardo Da Vinci. That was how it began creating the concept that would have the opening of the upcoming HBO series he was doing, “Game of Thrones”. Those who were given the task Elastic study, those who had to create a world that will place the viewer in the land of Poniente and Esso, history related to the experiences of the various noble houses vying for the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms.

a piece with a clear goal: should be geographical. It proved to be an exhaustive bear in mind that involved the development of a unique product, developed and complex, represented in a sequence that could order the head of the audience as to where each protagonist family belonged.

It was Robert Feng who was recalled to Leonardo Da Vinci and how the work of this artist and scientist could help the development of the image, while planning a way to define the conceptual language that would. Definitely the work of this leading figure mark achieved design, since So the team with Angus Wall (Creative Director), Hammed the inventor invented this technology is based on the Shaukat (Producer), Kirk Shintani (CG Supervisor) and parameters of a medieval era. Robert Feng (Art Director) was formed to bring together

Eyerie Concept Art

One element that emerged was the astrolabe, which would support the idea of placing these familiar domains in the ancient world and that somehow symbolizes the idea of a unique land guided by the cardinal points. Robert Feng and his team worked about four months in this opening, with a total of 24 people involved in the process. So they managed to create a piece with movements and translations of retro-futuristic camera, showing a map with castles and medieval sites, raised by the mechanics of Leonardo Da Vinci. So the piece made between Robert Feng and his team captured the eyes of the world, with a hit show and has given visibility to a main title was later honored at Primetime Emmy Award as “Outstanding Main Title Design”. Solomonos Magazine interviewed this outstanding artist to know about the process behind and above the interests that motivated him to make this work as Art Director. very important, if not more. What do you think is the reason why the openings have My newest favorite title was “Halt and Catch Fire”. It was become important in recent times, becoming a piece of art so mesmerizing and effective, even considering how short in itself? What you consider relevant you currently and in it was. the past? How do you feel as an animator when you see that There are both easily accessible content that can transmit your work has become an international reference and or download instantly, you have to differentiate yourself everywhere be recognized as being of high quality? and that becomes increasingly difficult. The need for faster capturing the audience has never been so important. It’s a great feeling and I stay humble with it. Lying if I said I knew I would become so recognized. The creators of the More on TV than in film titles, the amount of time for the show gave us a lot of freedom and I liked the idea of doing titles appear to be declining, so whatever you do you need something different. Without their support and, of course, to stand out and make an impact. without the great success of the series, I would not think I will say that the visual is everything, but we must not much notoriety. forget the importance of sound and music. I mean that’s My favorite titles regarding Game of Thrones nod was a 92

Dothrak Concept Art parody of The Simpsons in its opening. What a wonderful surprise. My second favorite was the interpretation of “The Legend of Zelda”. What concept was considered for the creation of the opening? What information handled the series? We knew from the series wanted to convey, at the opening, the sense of geography, to deliver the audience a window into this world. The initial brief stating only “make a map”. That initial line has never changed, but we did a search for something a little different. How was teamwork to reach the proposed opening? How roles were distributed within the group?

Escena de “The Simon’s CatAstrolabe Story” .

Through the years, it has become more efficient and takes less time to do fractions. What do you think should be considered an Art Director in a production like Game of Thrones? What concepts are basic and what would you say to the next leaders? I think we had the best strategy for the conceptualization of the titles was to begin not only relativize the material. And seek to deepen their historical reviews, and saw how it looked when we compared their characteristics.

Stark family Shield

“We spent a lot of time researching before production began. We draw a couple of ideas on how would be the general mechanics of the world we would work in. When we began to have a clearer focus, we rendered a couple of key things from the scene, before the CG began to build. And at that point everything became a wonderful, fluid process, where we design buildings and sketch key to the art. “

We spent a lot of time researching before production began. Before putting together a collage of things that happen to us, we draw a couple of ideas on how it would be the general mechanics of the world we would work in. When we began to have a clearer focus, we rendered a couple of key things from the scene, before the CG began to build.

When we felt we were going toward an inevitable or redoing concepts that had already done the end, we were not afraid to push the button, reset, and start again. That forced us to lower archetypes that never would have considered otherwise. What projects are you working on now and could you tell Solomonos Magazine?

Most of the time, I direct advertising campaigns. I do more work in live-action, in fact usually the projects tend to have a “technical” or component design. I’m also working with the company to establish a satellite Jim Henson study in China, for HDPS (Henson Digital Puppetry System) and also working on adapting a classic fantasy novel for a And at that point everything became a wonderful, fluid movie. Sorry, but I cannot tell you what it is. SM process, where we design buildings and sketched key art, while the CG modeling and made the preview flyby trajectory. This sequence changes each season, what difficulty posed to the project? It means we had to build sequences in a modular template as if it were a canon to follow. The logic and workflow were established in the first season and the next was associated with making new schemes.

Godswood Concept Art

This project has been funded by the Audiovisual Development Fund.

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