about: CARLOS LASCANO

What you are currently doing/working on exactly?
I had a very busy year working on commercials, so for the moment I am interested in devoting my time to more art-related projects.

I am now working on a couple of personal projects that have been on my “to-do-list” for long. A lot of factors must come together for a project to come to life, so right now I am developing the first stages of three projects at the same time… as soon as all those factors arise and one of them has the possibility of coming to life, then my devotion to that project becomes exclusive.

I am also enjoying the results of the hard work that two of my latest projects took: A Short Love Story in Stop Motion has been screened at many festivals during the last couple of months, and The Can recently won the Honorable Mention at the Hyde Tube Festival in Paris, France.

If you have a bachelor degree/education background; what is it?
My education in the artistic field has been mainly self-taught. I´ve always been very curious about the things I am passionate about: drawing and filmmaking. So that has led me to spend a lot of time researching, experimenting and trying new things. I personally believe that that is the best way to learn in art-related careers, but of course, sometimes studying the basics can shorten the learning period.

I have also graduated from Law School, though I never practiced.

Where are you located?
I´m originally from Argentina, though I’ve been living in Spain for the last eight years. I’ve spent most of them in Barcelona, but now I am based in Madrid. However, I’ve been traveling so much lately, that I´m not sure where I live anymore!

I love traveling, getting to know different cultures, I think it is something that every artist needs: to enrich from those experiences, and to get to know creative people with a different background.

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The Legend of the Scarecrow from Carlos Lascano on Vimeo.

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Tell us about this movie you made, titled “The Legend of the Scarecrow”. What was the message behind it?
I made that movie back in 2003/2004. The Legend of the Scarecrow represented my coming back to illustration and animation, after a long time in which I didn’t do either of them. That was the trigger that made me realize I wanted to work on animation again.

A friend had written the script and asked me how would I face the project. I thought the story had great potential and needed a great visual approach.

What I liked about this film is that, using a childish-like narrative, refers to social issues such as preconceptions and prejudices, and how the individuals have the choice of fighting against those, in spite of the consequences.

I usually don´t like stories that end with a moral… the great thing about this film is the fact that at its end, the dramatic irony leaves the door open to two different interpretations, both positive and negative.

Would you explain a bit about the process of creating the movie? What were the challenges and how you went around it?

• For each shot, there were layered backgrounds made with Photoshop (buildings, trees, grass, sky, etc)
• Based on the characters I had sketched, the 3D models were built with MAYA.
• A Character Studio skeleton was what we used to animate each shot. We had to adapt the proportions previously.
• In After FX, I split the .psd in layers on the “Z” axis to create a virtual moving camera that achieved a fake 3D sensation (…one of my biggest findings ever!)
• The scarecrow model was attached to the skeleton and replaced in every shot. The renders were made in 3D Max.
• Many of the climate effects (smoke, dust, fire, etc) were made with Particle Illusion.

The most challenging things were the crow, the fire and the scarf.

• The flying part of the crow is quite easy, since it is only a loop, but when the bird takes off it is very hard to reproduce it in 3D… I didn’t have a choice but to draw it with the Wacom, on Painter. For the flying part I bought a model at DAZ and I stylized it.
• About the fire, at first it was made in MAYA, but turned out to be very slow, so we finally decided to create it in Particle Illusion.
• And for the scarf we had to make a waved loop on 3D Max, since reproducing fabric would have taken more time than our deadline would have allowed.

What would be your strangest assignment you have done? Why so?
I guess it was precisely that project… it was a commissioned one, but I’ve been given the script and told to do whatever I felt like. I redesigned the original concept and tried to give it a new, characteristic look.

It is a project I am very fond and very proud of. I was lucky to be able to tell the story as I considered it had to be told, with no restrains nor limitations from the author.

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The Can from Carlos Lascano on Vimeo.

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Describe how you feel at the starting of a new project?
Well, it depends… if it is a personal project that I´ve been longing to do for a long time, I guess my most noticeable feature is that I get incredibly self-demanding: I can work on the artwork for weeks until I finally chose the definitive designs… which is not bad, unless for the fact that by the end of the first month my working team is already planning my homicide.

When working on other kind of projects -generally of commercial nature- in which the concept has been previously determined -either by me or the person commissioning the project- I usually get excited about the possibility of bringing a project to life. Of course there are other feelings that usually come later, such as worries about deadlines, anxiety, and concerns about how to avoid homicide from your team workers… but that is, of course, just part of the fun.

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A SHORT LOVE STORY IN STOP MOTION from Carlos Lascano on Vimeo.

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How do you see yourself 5 years from now?
Hopefully doing what I do today, and developing more personal than commercial projects. I have a few projects of my own that I hope to have done by then.

Could you share any insight for people just entering the field?
I’ve been asked this in several occasions… I guess any personal experience is self-driven, and affected by different external factors such as the environment you are in, the references you are exposed -or have access- to, the people you connect with, and of course, there´s always a little bit of luck involved.

If I had to advice somebody that is willing to get into this business, I would mention the first cliche of all: don´t do it unless you are really passionate about it. Then, I´d advice to develop distinctive style that separates you from the rest and in which you feel confident enough, since if you are not confident with what you do or what you have to offer, nobody will want it. Of course, perseverance is needed in order to discover and develop all that.

Try to surround yourself with people that would boost your creativity, and with whom to share ideas with.

And last but not least: try to keep on track! use as much time as you can to improve your skills and develop your own projects.

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AL BALAD – Napoleon from Carlos Lascano on Vimeo.

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Who is the person you look up to in this industry? Why so?
Uff, the list is too long to mention. I admire different people for different reasons: some of them are great story tellers, others have a profound imagination, and others have developed very personal and distinctive aesthetics that I find visually astonishing.

I guess it is no secret that my aesthetics have some things in common with Michel Gondry´s and Tim Burton´s.

And from the narrative side, I have a great influence from Federico Fellini and other italian filmmakers of that time. In my works it is also easy to identify light treatments inspired by Alan Parker´s style.

How do you overcome creative block?
Luckily, I usually don´t suffer from creative blocks, but quite the opposite: I´m always loaded with images and ideas that I have to write down in order not to forget. And when a new project arises, I have a tendency of wanting to use all those ideas together, which would -of course- lead to a very confusing result!.

Being conscious I am prone to that, I always try to organize my creative process starting from a basic premise, without thinking in technical or format limitations. Once I define the premise, everything else comes up by itself, coherently with the main idea. Of course that doesn´t work every time… sometimes it is better to wipe the slate clean all over again, start from the beginning… and see what other premise can be found.

So far, I have had the luck to work with people very open to ideas and suggestions, and that has left me room to explore and propose my vision.

I do a lot of brainstorming with my staff and other people I share aesthetic concepts with: gathering and mixing together different creative approaches and points of view is what usually results in the best ideas.

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AL BALAD – Ghandi from Carlos Lascano on Vimeo.

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What’s one thing you wish you knew when beginning this passion?
I guess that when entering this (or any other) field step by step, as I´ve done, you get to know it thoroughly. However, I wish I knew that projects take such a long time from the moment the idea is conceived, until it is finally carried out. Of course I always knew I have chosen a path that is not so easy, and that bringing projects to life is very complicated and requires a lot of time and energy… that is sometimes a bit discouraging! However, the satisfaction of doing something you have passion for, makes up for it.

If you have online portfolio (website/awards/credits/client’s showcase), what is the URL?
You can see my online portfolio at: http://www.carloslascano.com/carloslascano/gallery.html

And the projects on my “to-do-list” here: http://www.carloslascano.com/carloslascano/work_in_progress.html

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AL BALAD – Beethoven from Carlos Lascano on Vimeo.

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