Jan 1, 2017

The World's Smallest Man!" The great challenge of production

Argentine director Juan Pablo Zaramera, who made great strides with his first TV series, "The Smallest Man in the World," explores new production techniques in this hybrid of animation and live action.

Watch the trailer below:

Zaramera's short films are among the most acclaimed in contemporary Latin American animation. With a gentle sense of humor and a deep meditation on human nature, Zaramella's animation exhibits qualities rarely found in today's crazed animation. Zaramella's work blurs the artistic boundaries between pixilation and clay animation that have been explored in short films such as "Luminaris."

The initial concept was developed in just two weeks and eventually became the first episode of the show. Zaramella contacted Can Can Club, a former co-creator of Luminaris, to help as associate producer. Founded by animators Becho Lo Bianco and Mariano Vergara, this independent Argentine studio has produced several notable films, including Javier Murad's short films Teclópolis and 2 Meters. The partnership was still insufficient to generate the necessary funding to begin production. Finally, Films de L'Arlequin and France Télévisions stepped in with a sound financial proposal. This support was later reinforced by national funds from the Regional Region of Brittany, the CNC, and the Argentine government.

With an aesthetic that consciously reflects classics such as The Pink Panther, the 53 one-minute episodes follow the adventures of six-inch characters interacting with real actors in a live environment. The concept of the series references classic television shows," Zaramella told Cartoon Brew. 'The simple, static structure and musical score give the series its tempo and identity.' 'The simple, static composition and music score give the series its tempo and identity. I am aware of the risks involved in this decision, but I chose to gamble on something different. As I always say, if all the houses are painted green, paint yours red to stand out"

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Keeping the length of the episodes short was an important consideration in order to focus on the comedy found in the different scales of the characters and their environments. Says Zaramella, "The short length of the episodes made it difficult to find investors initially, but we decided to do so because we truly believe that the essence of this series lies in its simplicity."

"Making the episodes longer could have deepened the personalities of the characters, but instead we decided to concentrate on the gags."

Most of the humor revolves around scale as well as the contrast between the clutter of nature and the sophistication of art. I am particularly interested in showing the difference between the animated world, where everything is precise and controlled aesthetically, and reality, where entropy and disorder reign." If the natural environment is cracked or dirty, I leave it as it is, except when it affects the clarity of the story." And the humor that emerges from these contrasts is beautifully complemented in the show, thanks to the naturalistic, almost documentary style of filming.

The greatest technical challenge in "The Tinyest Man" is undoubtedly the interaction between environment and character.

"Composition was a different challenge every episode," says Zaramella.

In some cases, live recording was done on location with only the character's body, with the missing head animated later in the studio. The environment was reconstructed in the studio according to the needs of the shoot. Sometimes the floor was the only thing in contact with the character, so that was all that was needed, but if the story took place indoors, the entire set was reconstructed. As a result, budgets varied widely from episode to episode, with some costing twice as much as expected and others only half as much. Little Tamer was the most expensive episode, due to the use of specially trained rats that confronted the characters.

Another interesting aspect of the production was the collaboration between teams from Rennes, France and Buenos Aires, Argentina. Production began in early 2016 at JPL Films in Rennes, an established leader in the field of hybrid animation. Zaramella was dedicated to overseeing the puppet creation, animatics, and the start of the filming process. Once the French animators understood the characters, the team was ready to begin shooting the first 20 episodes. After returning to the Can Can Club studio in Argentina, Zaramella coordinated the work in the French studio by holding daily Skype meetings and approving shoots via Whatsapp.

The potential for collaboration between such international producers and Latin America's thriving animation scene is undoubtedly enormous, and for Can Can Club's Luciana Rudé, her participation in The Tiniest Man is a testament to her work with other international producers For Can Can Club's Luciana Lourdes, her participation in The Tiniest Man was doubly rewarding thanks to her connections with other international producers and distributors. Rude explained, "International collaboration is probably the key to completing more complex and expensive projects that would not otherwise be feasible."

"The Smallest Man in the World" will be televised on France 4 (France) and Paka Paka (Argentina) in January 2017, and French distributor Dandelooo is negotiating sales to other countries. The episode "A Christmas Present" has been released. Fans of Zaramella will be pleased to find a reference to his short film "Lapsus" in the gag about the two nuns at the end of the episode.