Romain Lavoine Conference
News . 18 Feb. 2022
Romain Lavoine, former ESMA student – class of 2016, gave a lecture to all our fourth year CG Animation & FX Master Degree students at the end of December. He talked about several of his achievements, gave advice and answered many questions from the students.
Romain Lavoine, co-director of the film Swiff, graduated in CG Animation & FX Master Degree with flying colours in 2016. His profile caught the attention of the famous studio Sony Pictures Imageworks for which he has been working for almost six years now. Today as Lead Lighting.
Romain has remained attached to the school and does not hesitate to meet with students during occasional conferences. This year again he wanted to give his time to meet the new generation of students, ready to join the professional world soon.
A PRESENTATION OF SONY’S LATEST PROJECT: MITCHELLS VERSUS MACHINES
After a look back at his career since graduation – Romain went straight to Canada to join the Sony Pictures Imageworks team – he spoke about the film The Mitchells vs. the Machines (formerly Connected) released in 2021.
Romain explained to the students the work carried out on a so-called “stylised” film, involving a particular focus on the lines and contours of the characters. In order to achieve this, extensive research was carried out to design a look that was both elaborate and unique. As each character is unique, it is important to determine his or her own look, animation, lighting etc.
ROLES AND DEPARTMENTS IN A STUDIO
As is the case in most studios, the work is divided into different departments. Each one is assigned specific tasks within the department.
Teamwork is essential to be able to evolve in these professional fields because it is important to be able to rely on each other and to be able to move forward together for the common goal: the release of the project. It is therefore essential to produce clean and organised files in order to make it easier for colleagues to follow.
As Romain points out: “We all have different experiences and these make us more efficient in one technique or another. When we pool our experience, we can create great images.”
SOME CONCLUDING ADVICE
Finally, Romain did not hesitate to end his conference by giving the students some keys for their future entry into the professional world.
First of all, it is important to multiply the sources of inspiration, whatever they may be (various and varied hobbies, the practice of art…). This allows you to get out of your comfort zone, to keep your imagination alive but also to take a break from your own work-related projects. It helps to open up one’s perception and to see things from another angle. He goes on to say that it is important to cultivate oneself through films or series in order to see and learn about what is being done elsewhere, while at the same time allowing one to improve oneself. As Romain points out: “I love seeing films and wondering how such and such a thing was done. Today, there is something for everyone, it’s not just the big screen. The quality of series is exceptional today and that’s largely due to the talent in the studios that specialise in series.”
The human and relational side is very present in this job. Romain even makes an analogy between studio life and school: “understanding when someone needs help is very important, it’s valid at school as in the professional world. Sometimes it’s just explaining a particular technique. It doesn’t sound like much but it can help a lot.”