Anđelka Janković, Kristina Bojanić i Marija Jelušić čine fantastičnu trojku koja je, zajedno sa brojnim članovima ekipe, udahnula život planetarno popularnom dečjem (i ne samo dečjem) animiranom serijalu Puffins Impossible.
Anđelka, Kristina and Marija form a great trio that, along with several team members, breathed life into the globally popular children's (and not only children's) animated series Puffins Impossible.
Iako su njihove pozicije u ILBE studiju, koji je tvorac ovog ostvarenja, različite, sve tri su pronašle veliko zadovoljstvo radeći na ovom zahtevnom poduhvatu. Anđelka, Kristina i Marija bile su gošće uspešno završenog Novi Sad film festivala, i to u okviru Industry selekcije koja je publici pružila priliku da se upozna sa liderima iz oblasti filmske industrije, animacije i savremenih tehnologija, a sa nama su podelile svoja razmišljanja o izuzetnom uspehu koje su postigle zajedničkim projektom, o svojim dosadašnjim iskustvima, spoju animacije i umetnosti, pa i o samom Festivalu koji ocenjuju kao savršenu priliku za domaće i inostrane filmadžije.
Anđelka, u kojoj meri ti je na trenutnoj poziciji direktorke marketinga ILBE studija pomoglo iskustvo u marketingu u oblastima kulture i koji su bili tvoji najveći poslovni izazovi kada je u pitanju serijal Puffins Impossible?
Anđelka: Mislim da je u mom slučaju, pri upoznavanju sa Andreom Jervolinom i Piterom Nalijem, bilo presudno baš moje iskustvo, pre svega u distribuciji nezavisnih filmova, ali i studijskih filmova iz Diznija i Warner Brosa, kao i iskustvo rada u kulturi i umetnosti, sa umetnicima. Mislim da se pristup filmu, ali i umetnicima koje je trebalo zaposliti u početku, mnogo razlikuje i to mi je zasigurno dalo diferencijalnu prednost i sigurnost da znam šta bi trebalo da radim.
Želela sam da na naš nezavisni serijal preslikam holivudski model, odnosno model distribucije Diznijevih filmova, jer mi je to do sada uvek davalo odlične rezultate. Izazov mi je bio to što se nismo spremali za bioskopsku distribuciju već za streaming platforme, i to van granica naše zemlje. To je za mene bio novi model rada jer sam iz uloge distributera prešla u ulogu kreatora koji želi da se „naših ruku delo” prikaže i promoviše na najbolji mogući način.
Zajedno smo na tom putu mnogo učili, a bilo je veliko zadovoljstvo napraviti originalan font, plakat, trejler za serijal, sa mojim sjajnim koleginicama i kolegama i velika je odgovornost to predstaviti domaćem i milionskom internacionalnom auditorijumu.
Mogu reći da mnogo učim o trendovima i načinima promocije kratkih serijala u eri hiperprodukcije sadržaja. Kratke forme i naša pažnja kao i entertainment tech, kroz rad na serijalu i u studiju, postali su nešto što me je zainteresovalo za dalje izučavanje.
Dolaskom u ILBE Studios bavila sam se mnogo čime pre nego što je došlo do bavljenja serijalom, i zato mi je drago što imam priliku da sa koleginicama umetnicama podelim intervju. Važno mi je da predstavim i druga zanimanja producentkinja, kontent kreatora/ki, marketing supervizora/ki, dizajnera/ki, montažera/ki, internih komunikacija, social media menadžera/ki i slično jer su u jednom ovakvom studiju potrebna i druga zanimanja koja kreiraju i rekreiraju sadržaj u saradnji sa kolegama i koleginicama iz produkcije.
Po vokaciji sam producentkinja, i zato sam jako ponosna na svoj tim koji svakoga dana producira sadržaj kako bi rad naših kolega učinio vidljivim i dopadljivim publici, tako ona bira da gleda baš njega, odlućuje se da radi kod nas, ili prati naš sadržaj.
Kristina, ti si imala jedinstvenu priliku da budeš scenaristkinja prvog animiranog serijala proizvedenog u Srbiji, koji je planetarno popularan. Šta je prethodilo tvojoj saradnji sa ILBE studijom i kako si se odlučila za pisanje scenarija namenjenog najmlađoj i najzahtevnijoj publici?
Kristina: Pre dolaska u ILBE Studios primetila sam da su scenariji za decu polje u kom plivam kao riba u vodi. Moj posao je da se igram i po prirodi sam kao i deca za koju pišem. Verujem u priče koje pričam, zaljubljujem se u likove o kojima pišem i ponosim se dok gledam kako od toga nastaju animirani filmovi. Za mene je dolazak u ILBE Studios značio da sam napokon stigla kući.
Marija, s obzirom na tvoje iskustvo sa dokumentarnim formama i igranim filmovima, koliko se proces montaže animiranog serijala razlikuje od ostalih?
Marija: Dolaskom u ILBE Studios počela sam da se upoznajem sa svetom montaže u animaciji, koji mi je do tada bio nepoznat. Ono što bih izdvojila kao najveću razliku je redosled radnji u procesu stvaranja animiranog serijala. U praksi, mi montiramo animatik pre nego što se on animira.
To znači da, zajedno sa storyboard artistima i rediteljima, imamo mnogo veću kontrolu nad sadržajem, formom i unutrašnjim ritmom kadra, i težimo ka tome da animatik bude precizan nacrt po kome će animator da animira. Ako bih montažu dokumentarnog filma slikovito objasnila kao slaganje slagalice, montaža animiranog serijala bi bilo kreiranje slagalice, gde istražujemo naše analitičke i kreativne veštine na jedan nov način.
Anđelka, šta smatraš ključnim faktorom koji je zaslužan za komercijalni uspeh serijala Puffins Impossible?
Anđelka: U početku sam mislila da će to biti saradnja sa Džonijem Depom, koji je pozajmio glas i karakter glavnom junaku Džoniju Pafu. Međutim, kako je isti glumac istom karakteru pozajmio glas u serijalu Puffins, čiji su Puffins Impossible spin off, a koji je prevazišao rezultate i gledanost svog serijala prethodnika, mislim da je u pitanju kvalitet izvedbe kome doprinose naši umetnici pod supervizorom i show runner-om serijala, Piterom Nalijem.
Mnogo pažnje uloženo je u kreiranje pipeline-a, estetike i priče, i u tome se nije odustajalo ni u produkciji materijala za promociju. Težimo savršenstvu. Naši lokalni umetnici su izvanredni storiteleri, kao i izvanredni crtači, animatori, generalisti, kompozitori, montažeri. Jednostavno, naša škola, talenat, strast prema poslu, spremnost da učimo i da se usavršavamo, kao i posvećenost onome što radimo u svakom segmentu dali su taj finalni tač i bili borovnica na vrhu torte koja nam je obezbedila veliki uspeh serijala. Bila sam mnogo ponosna da na vašem festivalu konačno vidim sva naša imena na velikom platnu! Hvala vam na tome.
Kristina i Marija, koliko je, prema vašem iskustvu, animacija bliska umetnosti i šta je to što vidite kao njene glavne prednosti u odnosu na druge izraze?
Kristina: Fantastično je to što svaka umetnost može da nađe svoje mesto u animaciji, jer mi pisci ne prežemo da nekom liku u scenariju damo priliku da pleše, glumi u malom pozorištu, svira gitaru, snima film… Animirani filmovi u čoveku čuvaju dete, a u detetu razvijaju čoveka, inspirišu nas da budemo ono što jesmo, ili ono što želimo biti.
Kako objedinjuju druge umetnosti, animirani filmovi tako objedinjuju i tim ljudi koji u procesu rada postaje porodica koja samo zajedno može da opstane i ispuni snove, ne samo svojih članova, već da posluži kao inspiracija i motivacija širokom auditorijumu.
Marija: Prednosti su mnoge – počev od onih praktičnih, kao što su ljudstvo, oprema i prostor, koji se u izradi animacije redukuju na udobnost našeg radnog stola i ekipu autora. U animaciji je moguće vizualizovati nešto što bi u igranom filmu bilo ili nemoguće ili preskupo, a što nam otvara vrata ka novim načinima za pričanje priče.
Anđelka, kako bi trenutno ocenila položaj žena u animaciji i IT industriji u Srbiji?
Anđelka: Teško mi je da ocenim. Ja sam veliki borac za ravnopravnost i balansirano društvo i želim društvo u kome će svako ostvariti svoje potencijale i baviti se onim što voli, bez potrebe da prebrojavamo procente. Ali dok dođemo do toga, moraće još mnogo „animacije da proteče”. Smatram da žena u ovoj industriji ima sve više i više, ali da su i dalje u velikom broju prisutne i na support pozicijama i odeljenjima.
I dalje, ako npr. idemo da ispratimo neki događaj sa rezultatima stipendija, odnos žena naspram muškaraca biće 1:10. Ima sve više žena, ali se i dalje bavimo pitanjima koliko se naš glas čuje, koliko možemo da utičemo, koliko nam je dopušteno da utičemo. Mislim da je naš položaj i te kako i dalje izazovan na svakom polju, pa i na ovom. Generalno, filmska industrija i industrija i animacije odlučujuće pripada muškarcima.
Ne mogu da tvrdim, ali mislim da su i dalje više plaćeni muškarci, i dalje se lakše dogovaraju među sobom. Takođe, mislim da žene daju ogroman doprinos i imaju veliki uticaj ne samo na produkciju, već na industriju uopšte, ali da je on nije toliko vidljiv. Ja sam uvek optimistična i trudim se da svojim radom i hrabrošću krčim put za svoje koleginice, buduće generacije i, naravno, za sebe.
Imali smo priliku da vas upoznamo na Novi Sad film festivalu, gde ste predstavile svoja specifična profesionalna isksutva. Koliko su, prema vašem mišljenju ovakvi događaji važni za umetničke projekte i njihove autore?
Kristina: Ovakvi događaji su od ključne važnosti, jer je za umetnički projekat neophodno da bude viđen i da se o njemu priča da bi dospeo do svoje publike. Umetnik mora da stoji čvrsto iza njega kao roditelj iza deteta, da ga podržava bez obzira na okolnosti i da ga, pre svega, od početka do kraja bezuslovno voli.
Marija: Suština našeg posla je da proizvod našeg rada ne ostane u vakuumu, stoga nam je publika neophodna kako bismo saznali da li je to što radimo dobro i da li smo na pravom putu. Bilo je divno videti ljude koji su bili zainteresovani da provedu svoje nedeljno jutro gledajući naš rad i kasnije u razgovoru sa autorskom ekipom. Nama to izuzetno znači, i od velike je važnosti da se domaća kinematografija promoviše kao i domaći autori, da se upoznamo i približimo naš rad publici.
Anđelka: Festivali su definitivno događaji koje ja obožavam i veliki deo karijere sam provela u koži organizatora filmskih festivala, medju njima je bio i Cinema City u Novom Sadu, a radila sam i na pozorišnim festivalima. Ovaj tip događaja je jedan fenomen koji, koliko je važan za publiku, toliko je važan, ako ne i važniji, za autore i stvaraoce. Ima nešto posebno u festivalima, i iskreno obožavam filmske festivale koji nekomercijalnim filmovima daju život, a kreatorima prostor za stvaranje.
Svi mi volimo ovaj posao zbog publike i volimo da budemo publika. Stoga, hvala vam što ste kreirali još jedan festival i time i nama, i drugim umetnicima dali priliku da naš rad i nas same publika upozna, ali i da se mi sretnemo sa drugim stručnjacima i podelimo iskustva i proslavimo svoja dostignuća. Želimo vam još mnogo festivalskih otvaranja i zatvaranja, i mnogo filmova i priznanja za vaš rad i doprinos.
Foto: Ilbe Studios, Vladimir Veličković
Although their positions in the ILBE Studios, which is the creator of this achievement, are different, all three found great satisfaction working on this demanding undertaking. Anđelka, Kristina and Marija were guests of the successfully finished Novi Sad Film Festival , within the INDUSTRY selection, which gave the audience the opportunity to meet leaders from the field of film industry, animation and modern technologies, and they shared with us their thoughts on the extraordinary success they achieved with the joint project, about their previous experiences, the combination of animation and art, and about the Festival itself, which they consider a perfect opportunity for domestic and foreign filmmakers.
Anđelka, to what extent did your experience in marketing in the fields of culture help you in your current position as marketing director of ILBE Studio, and what were your biggest business challenges when it comes to the Puffins Impossible series?
Anđelka: I think that in my case, when meeting Andrea Iervolino and Peter Nalli, my experience was crucial, primarily in the distribution of independent films but also studio films from Disney and Warner Bros, as well as the experience of working in culture and art with artists. I think that the approach to the film, as well as to the artists who should have been employed in the beginning, is very different, and that certainly gave me a differential advantage and the certainty that I know what I should be doing.
I wanted to copy the Hollywood model, that is, the distribution model of Disney films, for our independent series because, so far, it has always given me excellent results. The challenge for me was that we were not preparing for cinema distribution but for streaming platforms outside the borders of our country. It was a new model of work for me because I moved from the role of a distributor to the role of a creator who wants "the work of our hands" to be displayed and promoted in the best possible way.
We learned a lot together along the way, and it was a great pleasure to create an original font, poster, and trailer for the series with my great colleagues and a great responsibility to present it to a domestic and international audience of millions.
I can say that I am learning a lot about trends and ways to promote short series in an era of content hyperproduction. Short forms and our attention, as well as entertainment tech, through work on the series and in the studio, became something that interested me for further study.
Coming to ILBE Studios , I was involved in a lot of things before working on the series, and that's why I'm glad to have the opportunity to share an interview with fellow artists. It is important for me to present other occupations of producers, content creators, marketing supervisors, designers, editors, internal communications, social media managers and the like, because in a studio like this, other occupations are needed that create and recreate content in cooperation with colleagues from production.
I'm a producer by profession, and that's why I'm very proud of my team that produces content every day to make the work of our colleagues visible and appealing to the audience, so they choose to watch it, decide to work for us, or follow our content.
Kristina, you had the unique opportunity to be the screenwriter of the first animated series produced in Serbia, which is popular worldwide. What preceded your cooperation with ILBE Studios and how did you decide to write a screenplay intended for the youngest and most demanding audience?
Kristina: Before coming to ILBE Studios , I noticed that children's scripts are a field in which I swim like a fish in water. My job is to play, and I am by nature just like the children I write for. I believe in the stories I tell, I fall in love with the characters I write about, and I take pride in watching them become animated films. For me, coming to ILBE Studios is meant that I had finally arrived home.
Marija, considering your experience with documentary forms and feature films, how different is the process of editing an animated series from others?
Marija: Coming to ILBE Studios I started to get acquainted with the world of editing in animation, which was unknown to me until then. What I would single out as the biggest difference is the order of actions in the process of creating an animated series. In practice, we edit the animation before it is animated.
That means that, along with the storyboard artists and directors, we have much more control over the content, form, and internal rhythm of the frame, and we tend to make the animatics a precise blueprint for the animator to animate. If I could describe the editing of a documentary film as putting together a puzzle, the editing of an animated series would be the creation of a puzzle, where we explore our analytical and creative skills in a new way.
Anđelka, what do you consider to be the key factor responsible for the commercial success of the Puffins Impossible series?
Anđelka: At first, I thought it would be a collaboration with Johnny Depp, who lent his voice and character to the main character, Johnny Puff. However, since the same actor lent his voice to the same character in the series Puffins, of which the Puffins Impossible series is a spin-off and which exceeded the results and viewership of its predecessor series, I think it is a question of the quality of performance contributed by our artists under the supervisor and showrunnerof the series, Peter Nalli.
A lot of attention was put into the creation of the pipeline, aesthetics, and story, and this was not given up even in the production of promotional materials. We strive for perfection. Our local artists are outstanding directors, as well as outstanding draftsmen, animators, generalists, composers, and editors. Simply put, our school, talent, passion for work, willingness to learn and improve, as well as dedication to what we do in each segment, gave that final touch and were the icing on the cake that ensured the great success of the series. I was very proud to finally see all our names on the big screen at your festival! Thank you for that.
Kristina and Maria, in your experience, how close is animation to art, and what do you see as its main advantages over other expressions?
Kristina: It is fantastic that every art can find its place in animation, because we writers do not hesitate to give a character in the script the opportunity to dance, act in a small theater, play the guitar, make a film, etc. Animated films keep the child in humans and develop a human in a child; they inspire us to be who we are or what we want to be.
As they unite other arts, animated films also unite a team of people who, in the process of work, become a family that can only survive and fulfill the dreams of not only its members but also serve as inspiration and motivation to a wide audience.
Marija: There are many advantages, starting with the practical ones, such as manpower, equipment, and space, which in the production of animation are reduced to the comfort of our desk and the team of authors. In animation, it is possible to visualize something that would be either impossible or too expensive in a feature film, and that opens the door to new ways of telling a story.
Anđelka, how would you rate the current position of women in the animation and IT industries in Serbia?
Anđelka: It's hard for me to rate. I am a great fighter for equality and a balanced society, and I want a society where everyone will realize their potential and do what they love without the need to count percentages. But by the time we get to that, there will be a lot more "animation to flow". I believe that there are more and more women in this industry, but that they are still present in large numbers in support positions and departments.
And further, if, for example, let's go see an event with scholarship results, the ratio of women to men will be 1:10. There are more and more women, but we are still dealing with the questions of how much our voice is heard, how much we can influence, and how much we are allowed to influence. I think that our position is still challenging in every field, including this one. In general, the film and animation industries are decidedly male-dominated.
I can't say, but I think men are still paid more, and they still agree more easily among themselves. Also, I think that women make a huge contribution and have a big impact not only on production but on the industry in general, but that it is not so visible. I am always optimistic, and I try to pave the way for my colleagues, future generations, and, of course, for myself with my work and courage.
We had the opportunity to meet you at the Novi Sad Film Festival, where you presented your specific professional experiences. In your opinion, how important are such events for artistic projects and their authors?
KristinaSuch events are of crucial importance because an artistic project needs to be seen and talked about in order to reach its audience. The artist must stand firmly behind him like a parent behind a child, support him regardless of the circumstances, and, above all, love him unconditionally from beginning to end.
MarijaThe essence of our work is that the product of our work does not remain in a vacuum; therefore, it is necessary for us to find out if what we are doing is good and if we are on the right path. It was great to see people who were interested in spending their Sunday morning looking at our work and later talking to the author team. It means a lot to us, and it is of great importance that local cinematography is promoted as well as local authors so that we get to know each other and bring our work closer to the audience.
AnđelkaFestivals are definitely events that I adore, and I spent a large part of my career as an organizer of film festivals; among them was Cinema City in Novi Sad, and I also worked at theater festivals. This type of event is a phenomenon that, as important as it is for the audience, is as important, if not more important, for the authors and creators. There's something special about festivals, and I honestly love film festivals that give non-commercial films life and creators a space to create.
We all love this job because of the crowd, and we love being in the crowd. Therefore, thank you for creating another festival and thus giving us and other artists the opportunity for the audience to get to know our work and ourselves, but also for us to meet other experts, share experiences, and celebrate our achievements. We wish you many more festival openings and closings, many more films, and recognition for your work and contribution.
Foto: Ilbe Studios, Vladimir Veličković
