Nicolas Gemoets
Making a short film with Callipeg
Can you tell us more about yourself and your work?
I really enjoy drawing, so I try to make it a big part of my life. Right now, I'm working a lot in 2D animation and comics.
Animation is very important to me because it allows me to put into images and music what no words can touch.
And I don't have many words in stock.
How did you discover Callipeg? What made you want to try it?
Annecy 2022, I meet Benjamin Cerbai on a sunny bridge not far from the lake.
He urged me to take a look at the animation app he and his team were presenting at MIFA. With one eyebrow raised and the other furrowed, I let myself be persuaded. Today, it's my favorite software. We're inseparable.
Can you tell us about your film “La Maison de Ezra” (Ezra's House), which you made with Callipeg?
La Maison de Ezra tells the story of a mini real estate agent, around 5 years old, who shows a young couple around his house. The house is bizarre: toilets in cupboards, giant tomatoes in the garden, a real playground. The visit turns into a little adventure. The three friends experience extraordinary adventures, full of twists and turns.
What are your favorite features in Callipeg and how do they help you?
Of all the great tools, my favorite is still the transformation layer. It lets me automate animations using a curve system that's very easy to learn. I use it regularly to move objects in my shot or for camera movements when I don't feel like doing everything by hand.
(I rarely feel like doing everything by hand.)
How do you organize yourself to work alone on this kind of film?
Organization is non-existent in my life, so we can delete the first part of that sentence. There's no particular method: it all depends on the project and its requirements.
But if I had to answer like an adult who seems to know what they're doing, I'd say: I start with a rough draft of the animation, which allows me to build a skeleton, a structure for the final result, in a short amount of time. Then, when I'm happy with everything, I move on to the actual animation, where I have to figure out the best way to get my message across through movement or relevant acting.
But on shorter projects like Merci Papy, I can jump straight into the final animation from the start. That way, I leave more room for spontaneity and improvisation.
You made another film more recently, “Merci Papy”, which is very personal (can you confirm that it was animated in Callipeg?).
No, sorry to disappoint you. I have no idea why, but this time I didn't use that app. Surprising, isn't it? You'd swear I did, and indeed the film would have been just as beautiful using Callipeg. Shall we remain friends and continue the interview?
Did you expect the impact this film has had?
I try never to expect much before sharing my work on social media. You cross your fingers for more than 30 likes and a comment from your mom (even that's worth its weight in gold), but other than that, there's nothing you can do.
This project was quite different from the others: it's a very personal subject. I hesitated for a long time before publishing it because I didn't want it to leave the sphere of my loved ones. They were the ones who encouraged me to share it, and I'm grateful to them for that.
To answer the question: no, I absolutely did not expect my most self-centered animation to connect with so many people, and I was very moved by it.
Can you show us a shot you animated in Callipeg and describe the process?
Here's a rough shot I'm currently working on. It shows a giant Captain Suka chasing a cake-shaped P3 through the city. In this shot, the camera pulls back from the front of the street. I animated the characters and traffic separately in Callipeg, then pasted them like stickers onto different shots in Blender. This allows me to play with the perspective and parallax of the different elements when I animate the camera in 3D space.
Sometimes, I don't need to leave Callipeg to achieve this kind of effect. In this shot, a car is speeding through the forest. The scenery moves a lot, so it doesn't need to be very consistent from one frame to the next; I can afford to animate it by hand. Here, the camera only moves sideways to reinforce the jolts of the car. The effect of distance is only suggested by the shrinking of the scenery.
Do you have any tips for animating characters? Things that help you animate more effectively?
If you have a phone, film yourself! Making reference videos before embarking on a complicated character animation isn't cheating, and it cuts out a lot of problems. Analyzing frame by frame helps you better understand the different chain reactions of our joints. Because that's all we are: big chains of muscles and bones, which is really not much at all.
A little tip from Coyote: it's a good idea to delete your reference videos once you no longer need them, or don't let your friends touch your photo gallery.
Overall, do you have any advice for someone who wants to get started and make their own animated films?
If I had to choose just one, I would say: finish something and share it. When you have lots of ideas and desires, it's often very hard to stick to just one project. However, there is no greater reward or motivation than finishing a piece of work. What's more, even if the result is bad, if it's ugly, if it sticks or if it stinks, bring it to life: share it with your loved ones and those who are less close to you, create debate and reaction.
Discover Nicolas's work on Instagram.
