The main challenge in making an animated diary was concealing the use of the computer. Images courtesy of Sacrebleu Prods.

Check out more about Madagascar in the 2011 AWN Oscar Showcase at AWNtv!

Madagascar, Carnet de Voyage is a sketch-book-style journey as a European traveler confronts being a stranger in a strange land in Madagascar. As pages of his diary turn, colorful pencil sketches come to life, revealing the beautiful landscapes as well as the Famadihana customs.

Bill Desowitz: What was the experience like and how did it evolve into your film?  

Bastien Dubois: When I was 21, I traveled from Lille, in the north of France to Istanbul by hitchhiking across Italy and Greece. During this trip, each day I was sketching with water colors, pencils and paint. I wanted to do a book about my trip. When I came back to France, I started to study at Supinfocom, the 3D animation school where I learnt the techniques I used to do my short.

I made a 3D test and a drawing while I was in Italy to do my first camera map. The result was impressive and gave me the idea to do my travel diary not printed, but animated! Then I met someone from Madagascar who told me about the Famadihana [the turning of the bones dance ceremony]. When I heard about it, I knew that telling that story was my subject. Then I moved to Mada for 10 months and went to a Famadihana for the first time. When I was in Madagascar, I was all the time aware of elements, details, sounds… I was going to add to the film.

BD: Did you make this by yourself or did you have help?

BD: Most of the time I worked alone but during a couple months, four trainees helped me and an animator at the end of the production when I was exhausted. I spend a year-and-a-half looking for money and two years making this 12-minute short.

The use of embroidery and stop-motion with little cars made of steel by children were two of Dubois' favorite shots.

BD: What was the sketch-book process like? It seems so simple yet rich with possibilities.

BD: The idea came naturally in making an animated diary. The main challenge was to avoid the digital aspect. In a way, I was looking for spectacular camera movements and, at the same time, looking for a result in which you can't detect the use of computer. I did maybe 30cm high of drawings…

BD: What about all the different techniques? Watercolor, line-drawing, oil painting, charcoal?

BD: Every time I started a new shoot, I didn't know which technique I was going to use. I changed all the time depending on what I wanted to show in the shoot. There was no strategy about using a particular technique for a shot or another. I made the shots randomly, but sometimes I was using particular techniques. For example, only water techniques for the rice fields or dry techniques for the dusty part of the dance. I also used the embroidery and a stop-motion shot with little cars made of steel cans by the Madagascar children, which are two shots I like particularly.