-Who is Owl White?
I see myself as a digital craftsman who enjoys genre films and animation. In the late 1980s, I was able to enter the world of animation professionally, where I have worked continuously for forty years.
During that time, I have done everything from concept design, storyboarding, 2D and 3D animation, matte painting, and even post-production, digital special effects, compositing, and editing, for both film and television.
Of course, I continued directing short films and have directed three small low-budget independent animated feature films. I have also participated in the production of more than 30 films and more than 50 animated series, providing services.
-Do you remember the exact moment you fell in love with film?
In 1983, when I was only 16, a Super 8 camera came into my hands. I’ve always been passionate about science fiction films, and I started shooting my first short films, homemade and with almost no budget, using drawings, paintings, models and matte paints.
Thanks to this, I was able to enter the world of animation.
-Tell us about your projects.
When I started, I did animation services for 2D animated television series, always geared towards children.
But the truth is, although I liked animation, I preferred stories for adults. I’m passionate about science fiction, fantasy, and horror, and I enjoy exploring those genres within animation.
-Which director inspires you the most?
When it comes to animation, I’m not really into Disney or Pixar. I think I’ve always preferred the Puppet animation, like Aardman, Henry Selick, Laika…
And in 2D, my idol is Hayao Miyazaki. My children grew up watching ALL his films and still do.
As for live-action, I have many “best movies,” from The Godfather and Blade Runner to my absolute favorite, John Carpenter’s The Thing. I like many genres and many different kinds of films.
But I think if I had to name directors right now, they would be: Christopher Nolan, Denis Villeneuve, and Alex Garland…
-What do you dislike about the world and what would you change?
Ugh… a sensitive topic these days… I can’t stand: Authoritarianism, the abuse of power, the manipulation of both information and people, the widespread dehumanization.
Of course, wars… mistreatment, hunger… I could go on and on, unfortunately… It pains me deeply to see a world where injustices are committed daily and nothing is done to stop it.
-How do you imagine cinema in 100 years?
100 years?… I think there’s going to be a huge change, not just in how films are made, but in our traditional concept of cinema. Not in 100 years . Very soon…
I have no doubt that AI is going to transform everything (not just in film). It will bring good things, but unfortunately, bad things. There’s already a bit of that…
But, my latest short films were created with AI. I have many colleagues who are completely against its use. I totally understand. Change is always scary, and this one is going to be very radical. And the misuse of this technology…
My first contact with AI was quite distressing. A French conceptual designer I knew wrote to me saying that they were using his images to train AI without his permission and that they were undoubtedly using mine as well.
He sent me a link, and sure enough, that was the case. From rejection and anger, I went to horror. But I decided to try it to understand how important this new way of doing things could be.
I was overwhelmed. In just one afternoon, using my own images, I ran some tests and saw how this technology was capable of doing the same thing I could, improving the quality and in a fraction of the time I needed. I was in shock for a week.
Could I fight against this? Should I just give it all up? At that time, I was working for an American company creating 3D content for entertainment, and I unwittingly saw for a while how denying its existence was a mistake.
The company itself was slowly but steadily introducing AI tools… The tsunami everyone was talking about was here. So it was pretty clear to me: If a tsunami comes, you can either sit and wait and succumb to it… or learn to surf…
Many people still just bury their heads in the sand and pretend nothing’s wrong. They see the tsunami as a mirage… and that’s a mistake.
-What did you think of WILD FILMMAKER?
The truth is, I didn’t know about it, but after discovering it, I think it’s a great tool for delving a little deeper into the difficult world of independent filmmaking.
