Bradford Animation Festival: Michel Ocelot notes

What drew you to animation?

- Doodles and inventing plays with the siblings, liked to make stories in which he considered dialogue and did his own storyboards. He did animation when he was younger.

Across your working life, you've always been fascinated with fairytales..

- They're perfect, entertaining, they create a world in which we can escape with added morals.

Were you aware of French animation?

- The first animation that he ever saw was in Africa and he was aware of the work made by Emiele Cole.

Were you aware of Lotte Reinger?

- No my work came after but when I did realise, I naturally went to white cutouts with a low relief emboss.

Three Inventors

- I wanted to tell the world that I was there, making something that was refined, however there wasn't a happy ending. I wrote the first script and the producer said no and in his own apartment he took several months making the backgrounds and all the figures/puppets. Finally he went to the sixth producer and he said yes. Before this he was involved in a tv show about a duck. It was only 5 minutes but he was able to deliver on time as the puppets were there however he was always criticized. Film to start his career - only cut out animation and only white paper so that people would know that it was his work. It was refused by a few festivals but he won a bafta for his work. He wasn't paid, he was just happy to have the tools and made the film using cheap materials as he had no money. Had a camera from the Second World War so no view finder technology like today, no heating but he was happy.

Why that technique?

"I have no passions, just passion"
It is not a style he chose but one that he loves, doing more after the feature film hes working on at the moment. He had no job so he did a lot of workshops with children. Did animation styles that he taught them and he did use the techniques which Lotte used - with silhouettes, uses iron thread with black puppets and thread for the white ones. Uses a backdrop light as its cleaner, can't see any marks on the puppet etc.

When did you discover you could make cutouts?

From a very young age, I started with scissors.

At the time of La Reine Cruelle, he had never touched CG for the radar, he actually used a coca cola plastic bottle and painted it black and then added colour - animating it frame by frame. Used cel animation as well when people changed into another shape. Brought characters to CGI animators as he wanted it to be as simple as possible and he had the money. All the software was available due to money.

Any particular Disney films that you remember or were inspired by?

- Inspired, no. But I remember Sleeping Beauty as it touched my heart. Everything influences me, loves childrens picture books, cultures.

Kirikou - based in Africa woman gives birth to a child, at the time it was hard to find money as it was only america that could make animations so he had to get loans. Producer started worrying - was criticized all the time - started with storyboard then title then narrative - They brought another storyboard artist but he ruined it, it was too complicated - then went back to the old storyboard, had an african child so he was aware of the culture and the life. He couldn't find a distributor in Paris, and there was no advertisements or trailer just at the cinema - they were upset but they still went with word of mouth. They released 60 copies of the film and it worked, every week.

To the Kirikou film, what responses did you get?

It was released internationally but BBC told them that they couldnt show the film, even at 11pm. There was no protests about the way they were dressed. 

Success of that sort should allow you to make more films..

Yes! Bankers loved me, the right people, the right time, the right place.
Everyone believed in what they were making. He worked with singer Bjork, silhouette music video - projected film on her face used all the techniques he knew.