Bio: Sylvain Despretz is a freelance director and writer with a background in art and illustration. He mentored under Jean ”Moebius” Giraud –the late world-renowned graphic novel artist. For two decades Sylvain brought his unique style of storyboarding to A-list directors such as Roman Polanski, Tim Burton, J.J. Abrams, Mike Newell, Darren Aronofsky, and Stanley Kubrick, among notable others. His name appears in the credits of several top-grossing motion pictures, all of which lean on a full grasp of Visual Effects, with their advantages and pitfalls, notably Planet of the Apes, The Fifth Element, Harry Potter, The Fountain, Alien Resurrection, and Academy Award winners Gladiator and Black Hawk Down. Source: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0221642/ Sylvain was kind enough to speak with us about the concept of making a story board.
With every great movie you can be assured a good deal of planning (and a lot of trial and error in some cases) comes first. In his video Sylvain demonstrates how the creative process of making a storyboard ultimately becomes a movie. But the first thing necessary (aside from a great story) is the vision. The artist must be able to “see” in his mind’s eye exactly what it is he/she wants to put to paper; OR what the director wants the artist to put to on paper.
Sylvain’s detailed video is very reflective of who he is… Well spoken, thoughtful, pragmatic, and extremely talented. When you open the link scroll down to see video. Also you must allow Adobe Flash to play.
http://www.metaprogram.net/concept-art-gallery
With some sadness however, we must tell you that although he did do a very interesting and in-depth interview with us. (More on Sylvain to come later in future newsletter posts from Bags Unlimited). Sylvain told us that if he never had to draw another thing again, it would be too soon. Hmmm. Well, at least we have the archives and the films, AND the books that he worked on and publishes…AND Sylvain himself to explain how this magic is made.
And magic it is, indeed.
For more information on Sylvain and his work visit www.sylvaindespretz.com
*Here is Sylvain on set with Cool Your Jets. He is the creator of this short live action hardware/science fiction film, full of visual effects, being post-produced in Paris, France.
