Short Film Interview: MILA – The Creation Of A Short Animated Movie

Short Film Interview: MILA – The Creation Of A Short Animated Movie

October 1, 2019 – MILA is a CG animated short about a little girl whose life takes an unexpected turn during WWII. It’s rare that animation takes on serious, complex matters such as War. Still, I believe animation is the perfect medium to tell this story set in my hometown, Trento (Italy).

Cinzia Angelini is a writer, story artist and director who has worked in the animation industry for more than twenty-five years. She has written and is currently directing “Mila,” a high-quality CG short film about a little girl whose life takes an unexpected turn in WWII. The film is produced by the largest independent, world-wide, virtual studio collaboration ever created.

Today, Cinzia Angelini spoke to VFX Online about her work experience of Animation and VFX industry also talked about MILA.

// From Cinzia Angelini, Director, MILA

Could you present yourselves to the community?

I am originally from Italy and have been fascinated by art ever since I was a little kid. That includes drawing on every single wall of the house and experimenting with the ink absorbency of our fabric couch. Luckily my mother is a painter, and she could never bring herself to punish me for messing up the house with ink, paint, chalk and more colours. After all, you have to start somewhere! When I was eighteen years old I discovered my passion, animation. Since then, I’ve never stopped dedicating my time and effort to learning as much as I can, aiming to become better at what I do. I started as a 2D animator in 1995, moved to the U.S. to join DreamWorks as an animator on Prince of Egypt in 1997. Eventually I tried my hand at CG animation, in early 2000s and in the subsequence years I worked on many animated features. After some eighteen years as both a 2D and 3D animator, I had an opportunity to move to an aspect of storytelling that had fascinated me for a long time, Story.

I have been storyboarding and developing stories independently, and for large studios, ever since. My passion for animation goes far beyond the production that takes place behind studios walls. I’m convinced we can do so much more through this incredible art form — that there are no limits to the type of stories that can be told with animation. This belief inspired my 2018 TEDx talks that I ended up giving both in English in the U.S., and in Italian in Italy.

What are your respective roles in the production of Mila?

I’m the writer/director, and often even supervisor of the animation. Due to my strong background as an animator, I like to supervise the animation department closely. Over the years Mila Producer, Andrea Emmes and I, worked on many aspects like crowdfunding campaigns, marketing initiatives and production needs. Considering it’s a volunteer-based project, it’s essential that key people are able to wear multiple hats. I was always a decent multi-tasker, but I definitely honed that skill thanks to this project!

Tell us more about Mila. When did the project start? How did it evolve to its current form?

The project started many years ago when I first considered the idea of writing a story inspired by the WWII events that impacted my family, and my mother in particular. The enthusiastic reaction of friends and colleagues when I pitched this idea, compared to more comedic ones, gave me the strength to embark in this adventure. Thanks to word of mouth and then coverage in the press, Mila has become unusually well known in the industry, considering the short film hasn’t even been released yet! The idea that 350 artists joined the project as volunteers from more than 35 countries, fascinates people from all walks of life. Their diverse interests and backgrounds aren’t necessarily connected to animation or VFX. Yet the project speaks to them. Recently, Mila caught the interest of Cinesite, one of the world’s most highly respected independent digital entertainment studios. They decided to join our independent production as co-producers and will help complete Mila. Cinesite’s Vancouver facility has already begun working on the project, taking on character effects, VFX, lighting and rendering. Mila is a sixteen-minute CG short film, with 2D end credits that are currently produced by Dog Head Animation -another Mila sponsor, in Florence, Italy.

What is the artistic goal you wanted to achieve, especially for the animation and visual part?

I love traditional animation but when I first considered which animation technique might best support Mila’s message, as well as the need of making the film feel very real, I chose CG to produce the film. I wanted Mila, the little girl, to look cartoony, but at the same time live in a world that was believable, full of obstacles and dangers. Co-Art Directors Alexandra Kavalova and Richard Smitheman were fantastic in supporting my vision and finding a stylised realism in the world they created. It’s a world that is unique to the film, yet also very true to the city that is the backdrop of the story, Trento, Italy.

Being a Director/Supervisor, what prompted you to a short featuring Animation and VFX?

After many years in the animation industry working for most of the major animation studios in Los Angeles, I was ready to tell my own story through the medium that I love. Shorts are a great way to tell very powerful stories, to share your vision with the world, and to challenge yourself to achieve the impossible. Working on Mila has made me a much better storyteller. I recommend writing one’s own film to anyone who wants to become a better storyteller.

Tell us more about the workflow of the Mila Film.

The past eight years were spent shaping the story, designing, modelling and texturing characters and their world. Then there was rigging, animating, working on the character effects and finally the lighting and compositing. VFX supervisor Valerio Oss and his studio, Pixel Cartoon, (in Trento, Italy) was our only “brick-and-mortar” studio, until Cinesite joined the production. With Pixel Cartoon on board, and now that Cinesite’s Vancouver studio has started on Mila production, the pace has picked up tremendously. Still, I’m proud that we were able, even if at a slow pace, to work at the highest quality, with 350 artists united in a single goal. One day soon we’ll be seeing Mila up on the big screen, and unfortunately even after all this time, it will still be all too relevant to current events in the world.

What’s your best achievements for Mila? How does that feel?

I feel we’ve achieved many things over the years. The greatest success has been our ability to attract so many artists, sponsors, backers and fans to support the project. The other incredible thing is the recent partnership with Cinesite. For an independent project like Mila, this short that deals with an unconventional topic with animation, to be picked up by a major powerhouse in the industry, is a milestone. I believe we’ve all played a part in making a real difference in the industry. Cinesite will be the first big studio to embrace an independent film that deals with this kind of topic. This film will be seen as a prime example of artists who can unite behind a powerful, socially relevant, common goal with passion, and get it done!

Could you give us a breakdown of Mila the little girl?

Mila is a five-year-old girl who finds herself caught in the middle of WWII. The character is inspired by my mother, who was Mila’s age during the conflict. To this day, my mother pauses when she hears the old bombers’ low, rumbling sound. It’s a sound no kid should hear in life. I have intentionally opted to create fictional bomber plane one that was designed using multiple WWII models and references from different countries, to underscore the fact that Mila isn’t a political film. It’s a film that wants to bring attention to the collateral damage of war, the civilians and in particular, the children.

Mila’s pre-production to post-production has taken a long time. How was this managed and what was your approach when working with a team?

It has definitely been a challenge to keep track of so many artists from all over the world for so long. But in 2010, I was fortunate enough to cross paths with Mila Producer, Andrea Emmes. Her production team has provided unwavering, invaluable support to me and the supervisors throughout the project. One of the things that is so important to both Andrea and me, is to give back where we can. We wrote recommendations, set up interviews at major studios, offered feedback on portfolios, and much more – whatever we could do to help further the individual careers of our team members.

Many budding artists in fact went on to work at DreamWorks, Sony, Illumination Entertainment, Warner Bros, etc., using their experience on the Mila production as a springboard to launch their careers. Other members of the team are of course very established in their own right, and simply wanted to be part of a meaningful, unfortunately timely statement. When you’re asking your artists to volunteer on your project for an undetermined length of time (in this case years) it’s very important to create an atmosphere of respect, gratitude and trust. It’s how we’ve been able to keep the core team and also attract new talent. We would be nowhere without them.

How geographically varied is the volunteer support for Mila?

Our team hails from many parts of the world, and each artist has contributed according to his or her own capability and availability. Some of the countries include the US, Canada, Italy, France, Germany, United Kingdom, Mexico, Brazil, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, India, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Turkey, Poland, Spain and many, many more. Communication is always challenging for any production. Imagine an independent production, with close to no funding, that spans the entire world. Thank you, Internet! We initially stayed connected through notes and uploads, through a forum that our Executive Producer Andy Gaham provided. As technology evolved over the years, we moved the team to a free version of “Slack.” The great advantage our team has is that there is always someone working on Mila, somewhere, at any given time of the day or night.

How did companies like Pixel Cartoon, Ibiscus Media, Unicef and Cinesite support you during this process?

The co-producers are all supporting Mila in different ways and came on board at different times. The first production company that believed in me and helped with the process of finding Italian grants via the Trentino Film Commission, and Fondazione CassaRurale, is Pixel Cartoon. I have known Valerio Oss since attending an animation course in Milan. I pitched him the film at the 2010 Annecy while attending one of the events, and I remember that he didn’t hesitate for a second. Thus, a great partnership was born. Valentina Martelli’s IbiscusMedia followed shortly after, providing a great push in press coverage. That really introduced Mila to the world and promoted our message before promoting the film. The fuel that has kept us going for so many years is the desire we all share, we want to shine a spotlight on the daily, dramatic reality of kids caught in the middle of violent conflict. This was behind Unicef Italy’s decision to join us in 2015. Unicef made a great statement explaining why they decided to be part of Mila. Unicef Italy will support us by bringing the film to the world through their channels, once it’s completed.

What is your favourite scene in Mila? What’s your most challenging scene in Mila?

I don’t think I can identify my favourite scene. The candle-lit sequence, when Mila and the woman who saves her from the bombing bond, is very emotional. By playing with a music box, Mila is able to forget the brutality happening outside that little house, just for a moment, she remembers her mother in that instant. What makes this sequence magical is composer Flavio Gargano’s touch, music is a key element in Mila, as there is no dialogue. The intent is to make it a universal message — no boundaries of borders, or language. Flavio’s incredible score was recorded in Italy by The Haydn Orchestra, a Mila sponsor and a very prestigious orchestra that believes in our message. They dedicated two full days of their entire orchestra to the project, it’s another testament to the reach that Mila’s message has through animation.

I do know which scene will be the most challenging to complete. During the bombing, the woman who picks Mila up races with her to shelter across a bridge. That bridge is bombed as soon as they reach the other side of the river. This very thing happened to my grandmother as she was running across the bridge with her five-year-old daughter in her arms. The complexity of the bridge collapsing under the bombs, a historically accurate event of the September 1943 bombing of Trento, will certainly bring many challenges. I’m thrilled that the shot will be done at Cinesite, a studio that is a master in VFX. Can’t wait to see it!

Tell us about the collaborative problem-solving that goes on during the production of Mila?

From the time we started until just this morning, I’ve spent hundreds of days waking up with one production issue or even twenty, hoping to solve them with the team by the time I returned to bed that night. The fundamental key is to be surrounded, even just “virtually,” by an incredible group of professionals who help find the best solution for that particular issue, at that particular moment. This adventure has created amazing friendships that will survive long after the release of the film. Like Andrea Emmes likes to say: “We are more than a team, we are a world-wide family!”

Creating Realistic CG Characters with Animation & Rendering is challenging. How did you manage that?

Bringing any film to completion without a budget is almost impossible. This is especially true with CG animated films. The complexity of the process and the tedious nature of the work has been a big challenge. Every artist on the film has a different brand of computer, different Operating System, varying capacity, even variable bandwidth of internet connection and so on. All of this adds to the fragility of a virtual pipeline for an independent project. Sponsors like Autodesk, Solid Angle, Side FX and ToonBoom have had a huge impact on solidifying our workflow the last few years. Thus far we’ve been rendering at Pixel Cartoon, but now Cinesite Vancouver will take that over and scale it up. It’s a massive shift that will rapidly escalate the completion date – the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel is near.

October month is special for Animation/VFX artists and professionals. What’s your thoughts about International Animation Day?

The recognition of Animation and VFX artists on a global scale is a great initiative that started in 2002, when ASIFA proclaimed October 28th “Animation Day.” Initiatives like this are really important for introducing the amazing artists, behind the magic of animation and VFX, to the general public. The more the audience learns about our industry and the skill involved in creating that magic, the more likely it will be that the work will be recognized as an art form, and not just a genre.

As we continue to think out of the box, push that envelope, and develop even more inspiring work, the path to pure expression becomes limitless. We’ve seen, for example, how animation has all but merged with live action in the past two decades, resulting in inspired shows like “Undone.” They approach the story from the other side of the spectrum, and bring live action closer to animation. Or is it that animation is enveloping live action? It’s an exciting time for our industry to be sure, as many boundaries are being challenged and crossed. It can be beautiful. It can be mesmerizing. And in the end, it can be fantastic.

Which direction would you like to take your career in the near future?

I want to keep directing, I’m a good animator and a good story artist but I think what I do best is direct. While I’m passionate about story and character development, I also know how to partner with the right artists to achieve the vision I have for a specific project. I love working with people, and my greatest reward is seeing us grow within the project.

I’m painfully aware that directing can be a challenging path for a woman to aim for in a male dominated industry. But if you set your mind to something and work hard to reach the goal you set for yourself, look what can happen!I‘m really fortunate to have worked with Cinesite these last two and a half years. A studio that supports women in leadership roles at the highest levels in all their five facilities, a studio that is committed to working on diverse projects, that cover a wide range of subjects, styles and scales, is not easy to find. It’s the perfect home for “Mila” — an independent project written and directed by a woman.

What advice would you give to someone who wishes to get in to this industry?

It’s a tough industry that demands a lot. If someone is passionate about film-making they will have a lot of fun — even when the hours are long. Encouraging someone to undertake the making of a short film is the best advice I can give anyone, whether they’re students or professionals. The journey that you have to embark upon in order to complete the film enriches you both professionally and spiritually. It’s the best thing you can do, no matter what role you’re passionate about.

We would like to thank Cinzia Angelini for the great interview, and if you like to know more about her, Feel free to reach her out Website or visit at MILA.