Rémy Terreaux

A look back at your years at ESMA

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO STUDY CG ANIMATION & FX?

I’ve always been attracted to all forms of art in general, mainly anything that has to do with the image and the visual (painting, sculpture, photography, cinema etc.).

When it came time to choose a professional training, it was complicated for me because I couldn’t get rid of the desire to work in one medium or another. To choose one career over another would have meant saying goodbye to other interesting possibilities.

But at a student forum, I fell in love with animation schools when I saw how students made their graduation shorts. They had this freedom that I was looking for, to be able to touch many fields at the same time and with the common goal to create a unique and original work.

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO STUDY AT ESMA?

At the time, ESMA had just released their very first short film, Oui maman. What caught my attention was the energy of the teachers and their desire to make the ESMA curriculum different from other schools.

WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER ABOUT YOUR TRAINING AT ESMA? WHAT DID THE TRAINING AND THE TEACHERS BRING YOU?

What I remember most were the teachers, they were all very complementary and gave me a great maturity of thought. Their common objective was not only to make us succeed in the course, but above all to give us all the keys that would help us develop throughout our future career.

I really remember the values of never giving up and working hard to stand out in a very competitive environment, while working as a team.

WAS THERE A SUBJECT THAT YOU LIKED IN PARTICULAR?

All the subjects interested me a lot to tell the truth. But maybe the Photoshop classes were something that piqued my curiosity because of their originality.

HOW DID YOUR PROFESSIONAL IMMERSION GO AFTER GRADUATING FROM ESMA?

When I graduated in 2008, there were a lot of opportunities but very quickly everything stopped with the economic crisis of that time. I took advantage of this downtime to consolidate my demo tape and my website, which allowed me to get my first job with DreamWorks as an animator.

Your career path

CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT YOUR CURRENT JOB : ANIMATOR SUPERVISOR ? WHAT DOES IT CONSIST OF AND HOW DO YOU LIKE IT?

The position of Animator Supervisor is different depending on the studio. In my case, I validate the work of my teams and help them in the development of their animated sequences. At the same time, I manage the Fortiche studio in Las Palmas and represent it.

What is rewarding in this position is to have a strong impact on the projects I work on, and to be close to the teams while having a global view. It’s a job that allows me to learn a lot every day.

ARE THERE ANY SKILLS OR QUALITIES REQUIRED OR NECESSARY TO DO THIS JOB?

To be an animator in feature animation, I would say you have to be open-minded and humble, have the desire to push your limits every day and be interested in many different art forms because they are often very complementary in animation.

It is important to be open to criticism, to see it as something positive to your learning, and to reach out to others. Animation is a team work, the one who will want to be apart or who will have a form of arrogance will be wrong. It is a job that requires effort and application.

CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCES IN THE DIFFERENT STUDIOS WHERE YOU HAVE WORKED?

Each experience has given me something different and enriched me. I worked mainly in feature animation.

I started at DreamWorks in India (Puss in Boots, Madagascar 3, Shrek 4), which allowed me to acquire a solid foundation in Animation but also to have a strong vision of the structural and corporate organization on feature films.

Then, I worked for Kandor Graphics in Granada (Justin and the legend of the knights) which taught me the fun of small structures and the ability to let go, as well as the Spanish language.

Asterix: The Domain of the Gods, at Mikros studio, was a highlight in my career, bringing me the accuracy of the performance in the acting and the work of drawing in the poses. While at Ilion Animation Studio in Madrid, I had the chance to get closely involved in the development of the pipeline, rig or tools for the pre-production of the film The Park of Wonders.

When I went back to Paris for Illumination Macguff (Tous en Scène, Moi, moche et méchant 3), I was able to continue animating on new styles of animation.

Finally, at Fortiche on the Arcane series, I especially learned to push all the possible limits and get involved in the structure of the Anim department.

YOU WERE ABLE TO DO AN INTERNSHIP AT DREAMWORKS IN LOS ANGELES IN 2009. CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THIS EXPERIENCE?

DreamWorks offered me my first job in animation for their studio in India. But before sending me directly there, they trained me for 3 months in their studio in Los Angeles. The experience was quite crazy because I had no professional experience yet and obviously I had everything to learn.

To arrive in a structure like that was obviously impressive and marked a high point in my career. The film Dragons was in production and seeing the enthusiasm of the teams in the making was really inspiring.

For a month, I was trained in the tools and the internal pipeline, and then I joined Shrek 4, putting into practice what I had just learned. This film was also very rich and different from the others in the saga, offering a darker tone and more animated feel. By far, it was a flourishing time at DreamWorks.

THEN YOU WENT TO DREAMWORKS INDIA WHERE YOU STAYED FOR 2 YEARS. HOW DID THIS EXPERIENCE GO?

At DreamWorks India, I stayed 2 years and a half. It was also a great experience where I was able to work on the feature films Puss in Boots and Madagascar 3, as well as several quality short films.

Varying so many projects in a short period of time was really exceptional in my learning process with new challenges every day and adapting to new characters and totally different atmospheres. During this period I was able to really acquire a solid base in animation.

INDIA IS A VERY DIFFERENT COUNTRY FROM OURS. HOW DID YOU LIVE THIS CHANGE OF CULTURE?

India is radically different from France and especially the fact of living in a country on a daily basis is not the same thing as traveling there.

It is a country with a thousand facets, all in extremes. What I liked the most was the opportunity I had to live a unique experience in my life and the possibility to make many trips and unforgettable encounters. It really gave me a solid background on my perception of the planet and a taste for adventure.

THEN YOU MOVED TO SPAIN AT KANDOR GRAPHICS AND ILION ANIMATION STUDIOS AND THEN YOU MOVED TO FRANCE AT MIKROS AND ILLUMINATION MACGUFF. CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT IT ?

My experience in India made me wonder what I really wanted to do in my life and I felt the need to go to Andalusia which has always fascinated me.

While working for Kandor Graphics in Granada, I learned Spanish and met my future wife. From there, my relationship with Spain has always been close.

At the end of the project I was working on – and the studio had no other films to offer – I moved on to Paris with Asterix: The Kingdom of the Gods at Mikros.

Then, same thing, there were no other projects after that and I went back to Spain, first on a sabbatical year in Seville because of my personal life, then I went to Madrid to work at Ilion, and then to Paris at Illumination Macguff.

A lot of back and forth, but moving around so much wasn’t a problem for me because I like the adventure side of things and then working in different studios allowed me to gain different experiences and visions of work.

The lack of renewal of projects has motivated my changes of studios, but it is also true that I could have stayed in the same cities instead of changing country each time.
I was lucky enough to be able to choose the projects I worked on, and that was the driving force behind my moves. Being able to work on projects that I like and that offer a narrative that touches me personally has been fundamental in my career.

FOR MORE THAN 4 YEARS YOU’VE BEEN AT FORTICHE PRODUCTION. WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT THIS STUDIO ?

Fortiche is by far one of the best studios I have ever worked for, if not the best. What I like most is the family spirit that reigns there, the creativity and the carte blanche given to the artists. We really work in harmony and respect, people have confidence in them and in these conditions we can say that the artists give the best of themselves.

I really think that the key to their success is teamwork and that the studio owners are also artists and that they are involved in the making of the projects.

The projects are very different from what is usually done in the industry with a much more mature tone and clean graphics.

Every day it’s a new challenge to push back, it’s a good and motivating work energy.
I’ve been with Fortiche for 5 years now and I can’t get enough of it!

WHY DID YOU ACCEPT TO JOIN THEIR STUDIO IN THE CANARIES?

In fact, the opening of Fortiche in the Canary Islands is my initiative. It follows the need for growth of Fortiche and mine to follow the professional evolution of my wife.

It was a way to grow the teams while keeping the family side that characterizes Fortiche by opening small satellites.

DO YOU GAIN IN QUALITY OF LIFE THERE?

The quality of life is undeniable. It is a quiet and pleasant life that allows you to find a balance between your professional and personal life. You can spend an intense day at work and then fully recharge as soon as you leave the studio by taking a walk by the ocean.

It’s true that most large studios are located in intensely populated areas or have particularly gray and rainy weather. Here, it’s the opposite.
To be able to work on projects like Fortiche’s and have this environment is a blessing.

DID YOU WORK WITH ESMA ALUMNI?

Yes, I have and more and more. I’ve been lucky enough to meet a few in all departments to tell the truth. And actually several ESMA alumni are working with me!

IS THERE A PROJECT YOU ARE PARTICULARLY PROUD OF THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE WITH US?

There is more than one for sure, but without a doubt I would say Arcane. It’s a human adventure in which I’m particularly proud of where we got to. We had to overcome a lot of challenges every day and push back everything that existed in the business. Reinventing ways of doing things, giving it its own style and graphic universe, or building a team from scratch.
It was definitely a project apart from anything I’ve seen in my career.

To conclude

HOW DID YOU EXPERIENCE THE EVOLUTION OF CG AND THE ENVIRONMENT SINCE YOU LEFT ?

The fact of animating in CG has not really changed, but the tools available have. It depends mainly on the development of each studio.

What I feel is an acceleration of productions and the desire of studios to reduce costs. There are many more animation productions today and many more jobs than before. There are also more and more animation students coming out every year with the democratization of online schools.

Otherwise, I would say that the gender mix has been a very positive evolution in the field. When I started it was rare to find a girl in the teams, whereas today my team is composed of half of them. This inevitably brings harmony and strength to the projects that wasn’t there before.

WHAT IS LIFE LIKE IN THE CANARIES?

It’s great, once again the quality of life and the quality of projects bring a perfect harmony. Each island has its own landscape and its own universe, all different from each other. With an average temperature of 22 degrees, you can enjoy them all year round. The inhabitants are incredibly kind and like to share, so it’s very easy to integrate.

WHAT ARE YOUR FUTURE PLANS?

To be a good dad, the Canarian baby is coming! 🙂 And if not for my professional projects, it’s to make that Fortiche in the canaries has a long future in front of him.

TO FINISH, A LITTLE ADVICE TO GIVE TO STUDENTS AND FUTURE STUDENTS?

I would say : stay open minded and humble, that’s the base, without forgetting a big layer of work. Nothing comes by itself and even less from the Holy Spirit. You have to make some sacrifices to do what you love, it takes time and detours.

But it is really worth it in the end!