"Hugh is a really impressive short movie done by four ESMA students. We've asked them a few questions to know more about the creative processes involved in this animation.

IT’S ART: Where did you get the idea for the movie? Can you tell us more how it all started?

Sylvain: We were very interested in the Native American universe, its’ traditions and its’ legends. We decided to target a very precise public, the kids. That is how the idea came to us and after a lot of thinking and brainstorming we got to the basic concept of the film which the main theme is the transition of knowledge. After a lot of research we decided that instead of creating a legend from scratch, which would not have been realistic, that the storyteller should be teaching the three kids a real Native American legend about the sky not being as high as it is now. We then set up the characters: the storyteller would be an old medicine man who is telling the story to three young Native American kids. 

Mathieu: We were looking to root this story in the Native American legendary world knowing that this civilization has a very rich imagination and holds a vast list of fabulous stories. Furthermore, the visual folklore that is attached to this civilization is well known and offers an infinite graphic inspiration. The idea of a narrated legend came fast to our minds knowing that kids, to who the movie is dedicated to, love stories. We really wanted to have a bear in the story but as the script evolved we knew that there was no place for the bear as a character in the story so we ended up having his fur on the medicine man.

Aurore: It seems that everything has already been said (thanks boys!). I just want to add that four people creating a scenario required a lot of time and a lot of discussions. This legend was very interesting its’ lightness and simple poetry which led to the particular graphics and allowed us to reach a large audience.

IA: Did you intended to integrate a 2D look to this movie from the beginning or did it come later? And what were the reasons for such a choice?

Sylvain: We wanted to use the graphic potential and the symbols of the Native American culture from the beginning. We researched a lot and decided to follow more common graphical choices and use more colors than the traditional paintings of Native Americans. Our objective was to mix both 2D and 3D. When children see scenes in 2D they directly know that a story is being told. That is why we found it logical to insert passages in 2D. We have used the same software for 2D and 3D, Maya 8.5, but without volume. We just did animated plans and we calculated the images really fast in one night with the help of four PCs. And we have launched the rendering of the whole 2D universe. We wouldn’t have finished this movie on time if we didn’t do that.

Mathieu: It was mandatory from the beginning to illustrate the story told by the medicine man. We chose 2D for multiple reasons. First, because we took our inspiration from real Native American paintings and we wanted to make our 2D scenes appear as if drawn by Native Americans. That was a kind of travel through time to discover what their painting tools were. Their drawings told the stories of their deeds and immortalized their legends which ironically remind us of our own TV’s. With the movie being intended for a young audience we needed it to be simplistic and at the same time to present to the children the Native American culture. On the other hand, the use of 2D immediately created a split that leads to an imaginary world and the viewer just relaxes in front of this simple universe and its images and colors. Going back and forth from 2D to 3D gives a certain rhythm to the movie and allows us to play on the transitions. Finally, technically we got a break and won precious time during production. We ended up delivering the work very late anyway but I don’t want to imagine the time it would have taken us if it was all in 3D.