For Artist and Filmmaker Myriam Obin: Inspiration, Concept, and Ideas Lead to Animated Adventures

You are a gifted Animator, filmmaker and comic book artist. What inspires you?
For “Eloïse, little dreamer” the concept started when I was walking alone in the streets of Paris. The idea of getting lost in a forest of legs came to me. The funny thing is that it actually happened to me when I was a kid. I liked that concept, so I kept it in mind. After a few months I was watching the news and I imagined the white masks that people wore during the protests flying away like butterflies.  So this is how my inspiration works, just adding ideas until the full story comes to place.

Do you have a go-to camera you prefer to shoot with?
Let’s talk instead about how I like to work when I create my animated films:

I draw my animation on paper, ink it and scan the thousand of pages. When it’s all in the computer, I clean and color them in the program “TVPaint’ one by one. I export them in Tiff. and I do the camera moves in a program named “After Effect”. At the end I assemble everything in “Adobe Premiere”.

Which role are you most comfortable with on set?
I can do everything in my film, except for the music. So big thanks to Vincent L. Pratte who created the amazing soundtrack for “Eloïse, little dreamer”.

Do you have a favorite film genre?
I have always been a fantastic and adventure film type of girl but I like every genre.

What piece of advice would you give to filmmakers making their first film?
If you want to make an animated film, you first need to be sure about your story and subject. Then I would suggest you try to make your first animation under 1 or 2 minutes. A good artist can make a compelling story in a short amount of time. Keep in mind that your first film is more like a try out. Look around for inspiration and don’t be afraid to experiment. In animation all technics and styles are good, it’s only up to you to discover and develop the one you prefer. It would be best for you to have a teacher or a mentor but you can learn it by yourself.

“Eloïse, little dreamer” Artistic reason: 
Before starting my film I had a long reflection on what I wanted to talk about. I had many ideas in mind but I decided to talk about police repression since I felt concern by it at the time. The other challenge was to show a peaceful protest being repressed by the system in place, but from a neutral point of view. So I decided to have a child as main character. At first the crowd in the city brings this impression of creation and action, but this quickly becomes too overwhelming for the little girl. In this fiction, the reasons for the protest are never explained. Just like Eloïse the spectator is not aware of what is happening. The spectators are welcome to make their own assumption about the story behind this chaos. After all, every country has different viewpoints depending on their history. At some point the tension just keeps on rising and the more Eloïse fells powerless, the smaller she gets. The worst part is that, she does not know if her sister is caught in the battle. Since Eloïse can’t recognize the masked people anybody could be her sister.

What was the most difficult part of making this film?
In the middle of the project, my hard drive went blank because of a malfunction with my computer. After repairs, the computer kept on crashing every once in a while. This was the worst situation I could be in. The material you are using is an extension of the animator's arm and, if it breaks you break. Hopefully I had a back up plan. At the end, everything was fine.

Tell us a little about the importance of music in your film.
The music made by Vincent L. Pratte is a big part of my film. It helps to tell the story, creates the ambiance and brings life to the animation. The collaborations I had with the musician, the sound mixer and the sound designer are also responsible for the success of the film.

How was your film funded?
I didn’t get any funding for my graduation film. All my expenses came from my pocket. When I had money I spend it on my film. All the prizes I received from festival went for distributing “Eloïse, little dreamer”.

Can you tell us what to expect from you in the future?
I want to make good stories with relevant characters. Developing ideas are always important in my field. I would like to make more short films and a pilot for a cartoon in order to develop a world with appealing characters in it. Actually I am working on a documentary and on a comic book that you can check online:  http://cibelleanimation.com/

Eloïse, Little dreamer - teaser from Myriam L. Obin on Vimeo.