Luca Comes to Life

How quickly can you identify your favorite animated films? Which details make them memorable? Most have a distinct visual style. The characters, the scenery, and the design all work together to support the narrative, or story.

“Every story has a beginning. Something happens. And then it gets resolved,” explains Andrea Warren, the producer of Luca, Pixar’s new animated film. But since animated films are entirely invented, the trick is to tell the story in a believable way.

What’s your favorite animated movie? Why do you love it? Which details do you remember most? Many animations have their own visual style. The characters, the setting, and the design all support the narrative, or story.

Luca is Pixar’s new animated movie. Read on to learn how artists worked together to share a story about adventure and friendship.

When the animators of Luca got to work five years ago, they started by looking for inspiration—first for the story and then for everything that would support and visually unify it. The film tells the story of one boy’s unforgettable summer exploring his Italian seaside town with Alberto, his new best friend.

“One of the things I love about Pixar is that the stories tend to come from personal experience,” Warren says. And Luca is very personal for the film’s director, Enrico Casarosa (en-REE-koh kah-suh-ROH-zuh). When he was a kid growing up in Italy, a good friend helped him gain confidence and find his true self.

As a result, he later had the courage to leave his hometown and move to the United States to pursue his dream of working in animation. Casarosa hoped to tell this coming-of-age story while combining  sense of adventure with his vivid memories of Italy.

The team started with storyboards, which show a drawing of every scene in the movie. These are like “a sketch of the movie,” says Warren. “You can see what’s working and what’s not with the story, rework the script, and then really start designing the movie.”

The animators of Luca began the project five years ago. The film tells the story of Luca, a boy who lives by the seaside in Italy. He spends an unforgettable summer exploring his town with his new best friend, Alberto.

“One of the things I love about Pixar is that the stories tend to come from personal experience,” says Andrea Warren, the producer of Luca. The film’s director, Enrico Casarosa (en-REE-koh kah-suh-ROH-zuh), grew up in Italy. When he was a kid, a friend helped him gain confidence and find his true self. He later had the courage to move to the United States to follow his dream of working in animation. Casarosa hoped to tell a story about growing up. He wanted to include a sense of adventure and his memories of Italy.

Creating a character begins with rough sketches. “The goal is to figure out the character’s personality,” says Warren. As decisions are made, the artists’ sketches become tighter and more refined.

Early in the process, the designers draw each character making varied facial expressions, like in the sketches of Luca on the cover. How does he look when surprised, nervous, or overjoyed? Working out these expressions helps finalize the character’s appearance. The director liked how Luca’s cheeks squished in certain expressions in early sketches, so the designers knew they had to give Luca cheeks that would naturally move that way—even when the character was just looking straight ahead.

“The animators add the jumping, the running, the talking, and the crying,” Warren says. “But they also add smaller movements—the raise of an eyebrow or the frown of the mouth—that help you understand what a character is thinking and feeling.” When the animators discuss what’s happening in a scene with the director, they often focus on motivation. “You would animate a character differently depending on what he or she is feeling,” says Warren.

To create each character, animators begin with rough sketches. “The goal is to figure out the character’s personality,” says Warren. In the early stages, artists draw each character making different facial expressions. Take a look at the sketches of Luca on the cover. How does Luca look when he’s surprised, nervous, or happy? Drawing these expressions helps artists shape the character’s appearance. In early sketches, Luca’s cheeks squished when artists drew him making certain faces. They decided to give Luca cheeks that moved that way—even when he was just looking straight ahead.

“The animators add the jumping, the running, the talking, and the crying,” says Warren. “But they also add smaller movements—the raise of an eyebrow or the frown of the mouth—that help you understand what a character is thinking and feeling.”

To understand how to animate a scene, animators often ask the director about the characters’ thoughts and wishes. “You would animate a character differently depending on what he or she is feeling,” says Warren.

The setting for Luca is so important that it is almost like another character in the story. Cinque Terre (CHIN-kweh TEH-reh)—a group of five charming old towns along the Italian Riviera, shown below—inspired the setting for Luca. Casarosa spent his summers exploring this region when he was a kid, and he wanted to capture its distinctive light and energy.

Members of the production team made several trips to Italy for research purposes. “On these trips, we sometimes look strange because we’re taking photos of things like a drain or corners of buildings or how the stucco is crumbling,” explains Warren. But capturing the details that make a place unique helps the designers create authentic sets for the movie.

Just as with the characters, the sets start out as simple, rough drawings on paper. For Luca, Don Shank, the art director of sets, created models of the town in paper, above. Working this way helped him figure out the buildings’ scale. It also helped him determine the right balance for the smaller details, such as how many windows each building should have.

“We want the set to be evocative of the place we’re trying to make you feel you are in,” says Warren. “But we don’t want it to distract the viewer from the main action or the emotion of the scene.” And a set that’s too busy—such as having too many windows—might end up being a distraction.

The setting for Luca is so important that it’s almost like a character in the movie. There is a group of charming old towns along the Italian coast, shown below, called Cinque Terre (CHIN-kweh TEH-reh). This region inspired the movie’s setting. When Casarosa was a kid, he spent summers exploring the towns. He wanted to capture the colorful seaside location in the movie.

Members of the production team traveled to Italy for research. “On these trips, we sometimes look strange because we’re taking photos of things like a drain or corners of buildings,” explains Warren. The team studied the details that make the place unique.

Like the characters, the sets started out as sketches. Then the art director created paper models of the town, shown above. This step helped him figure out the size of the buildings. It also helped him design smaller details, like how many windows each building should have. These details are important to make the setting seem real.

A shot is a particular moment in a movie shown from a certain angle. “For example, the scene in which Luca and Alberto jump off a cliff into the water [above] is comprised of several shots,” explains Warren. “There’s a shot of them running we cut to a side view of them running. And then we see Alberto jumping off the cliff and landing in the water.”

The layout department figures out all the shots. They decide how long a shot should last; whether the perspective for the shot should be from overhead, the side of the scene, the front, or some other angle; whether the scene should be shown from close up or far away; and much more.

“Generally, for an emotional moment, you want to be close in on the characters,” says Warren. To create excitement in a scene, animators might cut quickly from shot to shot. To create a relaxed feel, the shots might last longer.

A shot is a particular moment in a movie shown from a certain angle. “For example, the scene in which Luca and Alberto jump off a cliff into the water [above] is several shots,” explains Warren. “There’s a shot of them running down the hill toward the camera. And then we cut to a side view of them running. And then we see Alberto jumping off the cliff and landing in the water.”

The layout department works on the shots. They figure out how long a shot should last. They decide whether the perspective should be from the front of a scene, from the side, from overhead, or from another angle. They also choose whether the scene should be up close to show emotion or far away to show the setting in the background.

Lighting brings a scene to life. It creates highlights and shadows. It reveals the texture of surfaces, bouncing off smooth or shiny objects—just as light does in real life. It helps guide the audience to focus on a certain character or object. And, of course, it helps create emotion and set the mood.

The lighting in Luca helps evoke the feeling of summer—a golden, hot, sunkissed feeling. It also plays an important role in the storytelling. The carefully chosen golden palette helps give the town a sense of charm and wonder. “We wanted Luca to be really enchanted by the town,” Warren explains.

In the final stages of production, the team adds the characters’ voices, the score—or music—and the sound effects. The team takes care to make sure the details are authentic. For example, the beaches near where the film is set are covered with small pebbles rather than sand. What do waves sound like on pebbles versus sandy beaches? It’s a bit different—and the team made sure to get it right.

“Often, people focus on just the animation when thinking about an animated film,” Warren says. “But there’s so much that happens before and after that part of the process. And every step of the way, it’s about the story.”

Lighting makes a scene come to life. It creates highlights and shadows. It guides the audience to look at a character or object and can even set the mood.

The lighting in Luca is warm, like summer sun. This makes viewers feel like they’re on the Italian coast. “We wanted Luca to be really enchanted by the town,” explains Warren. The team chose golden colors to set a dazzling, summery mood.

In the final stages of production, the team adds the characters’ voices, music, and sound effects. They make sure these details are realistic. For example, the beaches near Cinque Terre are covered with small pebbles, not sand. What do waves sound like on pebbles? It’s a bit different than the sound of waves crashing on sand—the team made sure to get it right.

“Often, people focus on just the animation when thinking about an animated film,” says Warren. “But there’s so much that happens before and after that part of the process. And every step of the way, it’s about the story.”