Bright, gaudy colours, ancient tradition and a violent dance of death – Matatoro is an beautiful animation about the art of the Bull Fight. Created by students from French school Supinfocom Mauro Carraro, Raphaël Calamote, Jérémy Pasquet, the film steers clear of the usual slick 3D approach, opting for something more textured and hand-drawn. We caught up with Mauro Carraro to find out about the inspiration behind Matatoro.
How did the matador idea come about?
The inspiration for Matatoro comes from the amazing environment in Arles (South France). It is full of colors and old traditions – like the bull fighting.

Originally the idea also came from an interview I did with a real matador. I spoke to him about his passion/work and the feeling he get during the corrida.

The textures and visual aesthetic of the film is gorgeous and also very distinctive – why did you decide to make your film this way?
We tried to respect the aesthetic’s of my original drawings as far as we could. They were done using ink, watercolor and pastel on different type of paper.
What were the biggest challenges you faced creating Matatoro?
As a director, the biggest challenge was to convey the multiple sensations we experience during a Bull fight, without being too bloody or creating too much of a caricature.

As a technician, the challenge was to think outside of the standard 3D approach. We tried to animate the movement of the characters, the clothes and the cameras in similar fashion to a traditionally animated film.

We also added vibration and a randomized feeling of textures, by redrawing the same texture several times and playing it as a loop.

I see the film was made as a project for Supinfocom – are you still at Supinfocom? What are you working on now?
Right now, I’m at the Studio Nadasdy film in Switzerland. I’m working on a new feature film about my experience on the Way of St. James and I’m also working on the film Approved For Adoption (an adaptation of a comic book of Jung Woo-sung), where I’m developing a non-photorealistic approach to the 3D rendering.

To find out more check out http://www.matatoro.fr/