Bringing to life historical characters is a very difficult task for an actor... there is a big risk of falling into clichès or culturally-nourished preconceptions. Leonardo Da Vinci, as I introduced him in this story, is far from being the one we can take as reference by reading an encyclopedia, so I needed an actor with a great improvising ability, somebody that could stamp a strong vivid tone in the character. I called Freddy Virgolini, with whom I worked with in my first feature film, and I’m very pleased with the results: I think he brought the character some nuances I did not consider when I first wrote the script.The role of Lisa required a very special sense of magic: my conception of the character made her a muse, an ethereal but strong being... and I think Tamara Arias possesses all those qualities.The performances of Robert González as Salai and Joan Mallofre as Mateo, contribute  a strong stage presence and complement the work of the other actors.

The exhaustive production work of Carolina Barco, and the technical assistance in lights, sound and miscellaneous of Gabriel Bos and Bernardo Casali, allowed us to finish the 17 scenes of the script in just 2 days.

CHARACTERS

WORKING TEAM

TECHNIQUE

The story is a succession of feverish flashbacks that take place in Leonardo´s deathbed. This is a very interesting aesthetic concept that allows me to change the style and the technique in each flashback according to the sense and sensibility of each scene.

I feel inclined towards working with a technique that involves a mixture, a collage of line drawing, photographic textures and real organic material such as dust, smoke and rain.

From the beginning I wanted to work on a Mockup because I intended to achieve moods that only arise from acting and improvisation, even if it is an animated short film. That is why I thought it was necessary to shoot a mockup using as a reference the storyboard I had created for the story.

I used the mockup to experience editing, photography, rhythm, and even (why not?) to retouch up the original script.

We shot in Rubí, a small town near Barcelona. The only source of light we used was the one coming through the window, therefore, the stage and the actors had to keep rotating in order to adapt to the light. The great advantage of using only one source of light was that it helped to achieve a Baroque look very similar to the one in Caravaggio´s paintings.

MOCKUP

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