The Digital Character Animation program is a bit of an anomaly. Instead of the usual year-long duration, it lasts just six months. And it’s officially considered an advanced training program; generally, those coming into the course have taken a year-long animation program already, or have experience in the field. But like all VFS programs, the students of DCA are passionate and committed and throw themselves at creating final projects – compelling films – ready for submission to festivals.
We caught up with Daniel Bohrer, a recent graduate of the program, to talk about his background, how he decided to come to VFS, and about the grueling process involved in creating an entire animation in just a few months.
Where are you from?
I’m originally from Porto Alegre, in the southern part of Brazil. I also lived in Germany when I was little. I’ve spent most of my life so far in the city of Santa Maria, close to my birth place.
What was your background before coming to VFS?
Well, from a very young age my best friend and I shared an interest in comics. We wanted to draw comics. As I got older, that led to getting into animation and film.
I went to university for graphic design, and loved it, but I found I was also studying 3D as much I could. During my last semester I got a job at Santa Motion back home, as a 3D generalist. After that and my graduation, with everything set, I packed and, my heart in my hand, I finally came to VFS.
What made you choose VFS/the DCA program?
I had discovered the school on a visit to Vancouver in 2000. Since then, it was something I wanted to do. When an opportunity to study abroad finally came, I turned towards, of course, VFS. Here I am.
As for the DCA program, what actually caught my eye was the short duration – perfect for me coming out of a 4 1/2 year program – and the fact that it was a Maya course. I’m really happy that I went for it, because I got to start and finish a short film and lose my fear of animation. I still want to model, and at least now I know I can handle it.
Your final project, La Vie, is a beautiful film about the power of music and imagination. What was your inspiration for the piece?
Well, for the premise, which was “homeless man plays drawn piano on the sidewalk”, pretty much nothing. For the development of it though, my main inspirations were: Picasso’s paintings (color and concept wise, rose and blue phases) and drawings (character design); the album Streets, by Savatage (mood); the book The Shadow of the Wind, by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (mood, environments); and Sofia Coppola’s work (for her subtle approach). Also, an ongoing project of my own, Luft (projectluft.com), which soon I’ll be able to show more of, for the field environment and mood.
Walk us through some of the stages of the creation process.
Story Development – I wanted the film to be more about the feelings than the story itself. I know exactly who my character is, why he does what he does, and how he arrived at the situation he’s in; but all that is only important for me in that it helped to create Moz how he should be. For the audience, I wanted to evoke feelings based on their own lives and past experiences, and make them empathize with the character.
Visual Research – At first I tried several, more realistic, approaches for the design, but hated them all. When I developed the character’s background story, which is set in Spain, it clicked: Picasso. He’s one of my favourite artists, and anyone that knows my drawings knows that I like languid, hand-centered, boney characters, which would go together with a “Picasso look” and the whole story. Colour wise, I decided to go with a palette close to Picasso’s blue phase palette for the street part, and a more rose phase palette for the field part, which make sense conceptually.
Character Design – Okay. Moz, before all this, was a tailor. So I knew he would be in a suit, now old and small, and would have a refined look, despite all the years on the streets. While refining my own style to make it closer to Picasso’s first cubist phase, I checked several paintings, drawings, short films, 3D stills, etc. – basically anything I could find that used straight lines, so I could see how they’ve had translated that from reality to art. I went through pictures of cloth and pictures of old men to keep myself somewhat grounded in reality.
Proposal/concept review by faculty – This was fundamental. The input I’ve gotten from faculty from the very start held my ideas together and kept my feet on the ground. I’ve always gotten the honest critique I needed and always the right amount of compliments to keep me motivated.
Music/Sound – The music is obviously a major part of the film. I’m very motivated by music. I knew exactly what I wanted for the piece, and how it should make me feel. I used parts of compositions by Trans-Siberian Orchestra and the soundtrack for the film The Fountain, by Clint Mansell, when I was putting the animatic together. After that, I sent the material to my friend Gerson, back in Brazil, who is a very talented musician and sound designer. He composed the piece in the film. The first time I heard it, it blew me away. It was all I wanted, but more. It was less epic, much more introspective and personal. That changed a lot the way I saw things, and soon all my shots were defined. I love this interaction with the musician from the very start; it shows you angles you would never think of.
Modeling – This was one of the areas 
I wanted to pay special attention to in my film. While I didn’t make this piece to just be a portfolio, I wanted the disciplines I liked the most to get more attention, since the amount of time available was very tight. I modeled everything very early in the game, following the final designs. Changes were made throughout the whole production on the street set though, since I wasn’t happy with it until the very end. Everything was modeled with Maya, using polygons. I made some ZBrush tests early on, but the final designs didn’t require much intricate detail, so the polys gave me all I needed.
Lighting and Rendering – This was another major area for me. I love photography, and the use of light and colour to convey feelings. I wasn’t going for a photo-real look, but I wanted my cameras and light to obey the rules of real equipment somewhat. Renderman played a big part in this, boosting Maya’s camera and light attributes, allowing for a very real approach to depth-of-field control, motion blur, shadows, etc.
What was most challenging in making the piece?
Getting what I wanted in the time I had. It’s sort of ironic, because at times I’d only come to the solutions I needed due to the time restrictions, but then I’d need more time to get it just right.
What do you feel is most successful?
Honestly, I’m pretty happy with the response I’ve gotten from people so far about the overall look of the film. I spent much more time in pre-production and modeling than anything else, and I wanted that to come through.
Anything you’d do differently if you were going to do it again?
I’ve learned to trust in myself more, not to overthink things, and to make fast choices.
What was your overall experience in the Digital Character Animation program?
It has been a great one. I came wanting to do a modeling reel, a thought lost (thankfully) on the first day. Doing a film, I got to experience a much broader world, and now I know for sure what I want.
The whole thing is over before you know it, and you really have to race against time from the very start if you want to achieve good results. That is very good, forcing you to be creative and to solve problems on the fly. As a designer, I loved that. What I take from it is a much stronger confidence in my own skills and choices, a certainty in what I want from the future, and friends, very talented friends, for life.
What’s next for you?
Well, I’d like to get a job in the game industry, as a modeler. I want to be part of a company that is passion-driven, working on a project I can really care about. On my own time I want to continue my project Luft, and I’d like to be involved again with short film productions, be they animation or live-action. Photography I’ll keep doing as well, of course.
What are your longer-term goals for your career?
What I’d really like to do is be involved in the pre-production stage of some nice projects. Working, with design, art direction, story and concept development, and documenting everything for production. I think right now the game industry is an exciting field, since it’s newer and blooming fast, ready for experimentation; but as long as the projects are interesting and challenging, I’m in. I know that it’s a long road to walk though, so I think modeling would be a great, and fun, way for me to start.
Thanks, Daniel!