*Have you ever called out to the universe looking for answers? In Disney and Pixar’s Elio, the universe is calling back!
The new feature film follows the cosmic misadventure of Elio, a space fanatic with an active imagination and a huge alien obsession.
We talked to the lighting art director (Ernesto Nemesio), the set supervisor (David Luoh), and animation supervisors (Jude Brownbill, Travis Hathaway) about creating emotions and the Communiverse.
WATCH the full Elio interview above.
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Q: How do you give faceless aliens happy, mad, and sad emotions?
Travis Hathaway: It’s a classic animation exercise. For a long time, people have been anthropomorphizing animals or lifeless objects. The classic example is a flower sack, where if with a little bit of twist on the body or a little bit of animation of the little corners, the angle of the head, or the bow of the spine says so much about the state of mind of the character.
He added: “The more you can employ those little tricks, you can communicate those things to the audience in a way they’re not realizing that, ‘oh, this character has no eyes!’ They’re just vibing with the character.
WATCH the full Elio interview below.
Q: What was the most challenging aspect of working on Elio?
Ernesto Nemesio: Definitely the Communiverse, trying to figure that out. It was so difficult to [make it] look like a village. It took a whole team to really figure it out. We knew we wanted to do something different. We knew we wanted to do something that wasn’t already out there. How do you depict something that’s engaging, immersive, beautiful, inviting, something that’s like a slice of paradise, but something you’ve never seen?
Jude Brownbill: The number of different species we had to bring to life, create a movement language for and then bring to life in a convincing way because each of them are so different in their design and in their implementation that it was a new challenge for everyone. A lot of them don’t have facial features or they have limited facial features. So figuring out how to make them emote and make them point in the right direction so you understand where they’re looking, was another challenge.
Q: What was the most rewarding aspect of working on Elio?
David Luoh: The experience working with the Elio team. It felt like a team that came together with generous spirit, with a good context for what was important for the show at any given time. In a very cliché way, this reflects the diversity of the alien species in the Communiverse, bringing all those talents and personalities together. For sets the Communiverse is definitely one of the more challenging aspects of the film because of how open-ended it was because of how vibrant it needed to be, how much it’s featured through the film.
See Elio, only in theaters, June 20!
For more details follow #Elio | @Pixar | @Disney
More news on EURWEB: ‘Elio’ Creates Courage for Children! | EURExclusive
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