Disney/Pixar's Onward Set Designer Speaks To FlickDirect

Automatically transcribed; may contain errors.

hi it's Judith Raymer here with flick direct and today we're talking to set designer for Pixar Carlos Felipe Leone hi thank you for joining us today of course thanks for having me well I want to talk to you about your latest film on word how much of this story was flushed out when you came aboard yes I felt very fortunate because when I came or when I started working on the film even though there were a lot of parts of the film that weren't truly fleshed out I felt like the emotional core of the story was already there it was clear that this was a story about two brothers and the relationship that they wish they would have had with their father so I think that a movies in a very good place whenever dad's figured out because when you know what the film is about or what the emotional core is you can work all the other stuff around it so it was I felt like it was in a very good place so did that help inform the worlds that you were creating and what did you find most challenging and doing so yes I think it was very helpful because we were also very aware of the emotional evolution that the characters had to go through there were parts where things are going well and things are working well there are parts where they fight with each other and so knowing where those emotional beats land is very helpful because we can do everything to support that with the sets and the kinds of obstacles that they'll have to face and challenges so yeah that's that's really helpful that's interesting because it almost parallels the two worlds that you were bringing together kind of this modern urban setting but it's also this kind of fantastical elven world yeah absolutely and that was really one of the biggest challenges for this film but also what made it really interesting is mixing the classical archetypes of fantasy that we've seen in movies and literature and novels and illustrations and I find the take on the stones would be really interesting where they mentioned that heroic sort of fantasy as a historical past that's just been left behind but the characters themselves are still you know they have their jobs and they have to drive to work and so I think that was really really interesting I don't think I've seen that before but definitely mixing those fantasy elements with the superb like modern suburbia was definitely a challenge because those two things are in opposition so it was very hard to have those two things coexists be interesting and entertaining and entertaining but also not cancel each other out yeah right where you have you have an officer that could fly but he's driving a car or the manticore who possesses all this knowledge and ability running a themed restaurant yeah honestly that was super fun because seeing this a Manticore who is a really powerful character just have to think twice about doing everything because there might be lawsuits coming or I have to think about the investors or whatever the patrons are gonna say or how her restaurant is gonna be rated you know so that definitely puts the characters in very interesting situations and speaking of the manticore and her themed restaurant we had the opportunity we were speaking earlier and you brought up it took what like two months to just create that world alone just the restaurant and all of the detail the enormous detail that went into it yes I would say that the design process took about two months but the actual building we took far longer so there's a design process where we kind of established what the space should look like what the different areas and the restaurant should be in all the details but then the sets Department which they do an amazing job actually building all of that stuff takes me more time after that and then you have to assign materials and textures and lighting to the place so yes overall it's a huge endeavor for specifically for this site because it was it was a pretty big and complicated set because you just add each team adds another layer of detail or lighting absolutely I worked based on storyboards and and and just a story that had been written so that gives a lot of information to work and draw inspiration from so I try to plus that work by bringing something to the table and making it better and every time it goes to another department things just become better and better sets take the designs that I provide and they turn it into something that looks fantastic with a lot of detail and believability and then the everything is shaded and the materials are there and then everything is lit so it's great it's a great feeling where when we feel like we're hitting towards a common goal and everything and everyone is just contributing to get there and it looks better and better every time so that's great for our fans and aspiring animators tell us a little bit of how you came to work on onward or how you even came to Pixar yeah well I think it's I'm originally from Columbia and I I've always loved animation from when I was little but back then it was kind of hard to think of how to get there there wasn't any internet back then can you believe that and but yeah I mean I think it's important to just do the work I think there's really no shortcuts and some things are just about mileage and you need to draw and draw and draw and the more you draw the better you'll become and that's paired with just being interested in learning about new things I for this film for instance I had to learn a lot of architecture and things that I didn't know before so just being very open to learning things and just doing the work makes you ready but then you you know opportunity and sometimes you know it's a good luck but but you have to like seize those moments and it just works out I started working at Pixar two and a half years ago and I feel very fortunate for that you know I didn't think I'd end up here I am very much appreciative of it and but at the same time I feel challenged all the time and I just want to do better and keep making good films and but enjoy it in the process as well and you've worked on so many great films and now you've had this spectacular film that's about to come out we're just now getting to know about it and up next you have another great project coming up as well yes I had the chance to work on Sol which is also coming out later this year in June and that was another fantastic film from me I'm very proud of it and every film is very different and I love them for different reasons [Music] you