Jan 18, 2017

First trailer for "Here's the Plan," a sweet film about relationships

Last year, "Bear Story," directed by Gabriel Osorio, won Chile's first Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film, bringing attention to animators in Latin America's southernmost country. Now, Fernanda Frick, who was part of the "Bear Story" production team, has completed "Here's the Plan," an ambitious short film that combines the techniques of independent film with the aesthetics of modern animation.

Cartoon Brew will premiere the trailer. The short will be appearing at the festival soon:

In an email interview with Cartoon Brew, Flick discussed the ideas that inspired the film and the challenges of creating such an ambitious animation project in Chile.

The first part of our discussion concerned the difficulties faced by animators learning their trade in her country. She said, "After studying for two years at university, I left to complete an online course with an animation mentor. It was the only way to get a high level of internationally recognized education without leaving my country. She then received a scholarship to attend the summer school program at the Gobelins school in France, and did a month-long internship at the Chilean studio Punk Robot, where she helped with additional animation for Bear Story. These experiences inspired Flick to create several short films influenced by strong emotions. (Here's the Plan revolves around a young couple torn between their dream of opening a bakery and the harsh realities of workplace pressures and financial constraints.) Nearly 20 minutes long, the film features a dramatic story with engaging cartoon-like characters, and is a CG It defies the conventional wisdom of what to expect from a country with little tradition in animation. [Flick told Cartoon Brew, "While I made my first short, 'When I'm Scared,' out of fear of creative stagnation, my anger at the misrepresentation of love and relationships in the media sparked the initial idea for 'Here's the Plan. The film was about "useless, mean-spirited pig-like men who leave the toilet seat up, controlled by hysterical, manipulative women. When it seemed impossible to escape these negative representations and gender stereotypes, my current relationships, TV shows like Parks and Recreation, and indie films like Away We Go proved them wrong."[7

Taking cues from indie films was an effective foundation for short films. As a child, "I didn't like live-action films until I was a teenager because I couldn't relate to the human actors in the same way I could to animation. Later, I grew tired of certain stereotypes in commercial animation, while I became fascinated by the complex acting, themes, and direction in independent films," Flick says. I liked character-driven stories about everyday life and sought to mirror the understated look of indie live-action films." That was the main directive I gave the team, which included animators, sound and post-production crew, and indie film composer Joel P. West, who did the score"

. [It was also the desire to maintain a natural tone that led to the use of animators Lindsay and Alex Small-Butera of Smallview Studios to voice the two main characters, rather than professional voice actors.

Another bold move was to increase the length of the film, breaking the unwritten rule of seven minutes from the classic cartoon era. The first version of the script was relatively short, but in making the animated matte, Frick realized that the characters did not have time to reflect on what they had been through and that the story felt rushed.

She decided to do so despite the fact that a feature-length version would complicate the production and potentially hinder her participation in the festival. She said, "At that moment, I stopped worrying, added all the necessary pauses, and the story grew to over 18 minutes.

Flick explained that the film was completed in two years, with a budget of US$50,000 and a core team of nine people. Funding for the production of the film was provided by Chile's National Council for Culture and the Arts. The grant is both a curse and a blessing, as it is the only option for funding short films in Chile. The country recognized the value of animation when "Punk Robot" won an Academy Award. Still, government funding could not cover the entire cost, and she had to draw down her personal savings to complete the film.

Another hurdle was the lack of CG professionals in the still developing Chilean animation scene. Flick credits his connections with the Punk Robot team as "incredibly helpful," but even so, they fell short when it came to finding a crew. Most of the guys here work in advertising and video games, which is not possible on a budget for an independent short film team."

Punk Robot's assistance was crucial during pre-production, but even though the original plan was to complete the entire film on Punk Robot's premises, after the success of Bear Story, the studio became too busy and Flick had to find a new solution The first was a new production of "The Bear Story. With production interrupted at the Punk Robot offices, the only option was to work from home and collaborate online, and eventually a local Santiago studio, Estudio Pintamonos, lent Flick office space. When it came to rendering the film, however, Frick did not have an adequate computer. She had to outsource to a Chinese render farm, which "fortunately worked out well"

.

One of the most distinctive elements of Here's the Plan is its aesthetic, which reflects a wide range of visual references, from David O'Reilly's short films to the lighting techniques of Disney's Feast and The Paper Man to the marriage sequence in Pixar's Up.

She hand-painted all textures to achieve a design that is stylized while remaining true to the original illustrations. She also took an unconventional approach to lighting. I drew several sketches to create a fake light source as a lighting script for the lead writer," she says. My goal was to achieve something unnatural but engaging, so I encouraged the lead writer to use shapes and objects that were not present in the scene, but created shadows and other effects to enhance the cinematic look."

While waiting to hear from the festival, Flick is already hard at work on other projects, including completing a graphic novel called "Strokes" (Trazos), and has his sights set on developing other concepts for television and animated feature films.

For more information on the film and upcoming screening dates, visit the official website or Facebook page.