Meet the Director of the Other Madagscar

Tuesday, November 03, 2009
By: Ramin Zahed

One of the many rewards of working at Animation Magazine is being able to enjoy inspiring work by new talent from around the world and help spread the word about these gifted artists. French animator Bastien Dubois’s highly original short, Madagascar: Carnet de Voyage (Madagascar: Travel Notebook), has certainly been one of the polished gems of the past year.

Dubois, a graduate of the prestigious French CG animation school, Supinfocom, tells us that he was inspired to create his short after taking a summer-long hitch-hiking trip from France to Turkey several years ago. “This trip was intended both as a way to enjoy major artistic destinations in Italy and Greece and to come up with subjects for my first travel notebook,” he says. “I made over 120 drawings in ink, watercolor, pencil, gouache—Then when I started my semester at school, I experimented with a 3D program called Camera Mapping, which projects these drawings into a 3D space. That’s when I discovered that the travel notebook can become a launching pad for an animated short film.”

It took Dubois two years and 160,000 euros (about $240,000) to finish his haunting 12-minute short about the journey of a Western traveler who is confronted with Madagascan Famadihana traditions—an ancient tribal festival which involves the returning of the bones of the dead. He notes, “When I draw, I tend to change styles all the time and choose my technique and style depending on the subject—it’s always an experiment for me.” He says he relied on 3ds Max, Combustion, Premiere, TVPaint and Flash to deliver the short’s impressive and eclectic animation.

Dubois

A huge fan of acclaimed animators such as Alexander Petrov, Frédéric Back and Michael Arias, Dubois says he has been surprised by the positive reaction his work has generated at festivals such as Annecy and Ottawa. “When you’re working on a project for two years, you begin to hate everything about it, so I have been surprised to see the response. At Ottawa, I met Paul and Sandra Fierlinger, the directors of My Dog Tulip and it was so impressive to see that they had made this feature on their own—the same with Sita Sings the Blues—absolutely amazing.

I spent two years on a 12-minute project—and they made these long movies!” For the time being, Dubois is mulling over ideas for his next animated project and enjoying being the center of attention. “At the moment, it’s pretty cool,” he says. “I travel to many festivals, I receive money, people give me compliments— it’s not bad! I also meet a lot of people who fascinate me. It makes up for the long periods of stress, loneliness and boring routine!” And his advice for all those who want to follow him on the long, arduous and ultimately rewarding journey? “Have patience and passion and work hard. Oh, and surround yourself with good people!” Spoken like a truly seasoned traveler!

Madagascar: Carnet de Voyage

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