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o c t o b e r • n o v e m b e r • d e c e m b e r 2 0 2 1 c g w 2 7 animated musical N etflix's animated feature Vivo takes viewers on a musical adventure from Ha- vana, to Key West, to the Everglades, and on to Miami. "The story, to me, is a love letter to music," says Karl Herbst, VFX supervisor. The animated musical, from Sony Pic- tures Animation (SPA) and Imageworks, is directed by Kirk DeMicco and co-directed by Brandon Jeffords. The cast features the musical talent of Lin-Manuel Miranda (Vivo), Buena Vista Social Club's Juan de Marcos (Andres), Zoe Saldana (Rosa), Glo- ria Estefan (Marta Sandoval), and others. Vivo follows a one-of-a-kind kinkajou (a rain forest honey bear) that plays music to the crowds in a lively town square in Havana with his owner, Andres, bonding over their shared love of music. Before Vivo entered the picture, Andres had a different partner, the now-famous Marta. Despite Andres' unspoken love for Marta, he encouraged her to follow her dream in Miami when the opportunity presented itself — which she did. Now, years later, Marta sent a message to Andres asking him to join her on stage in Miami for her farewell concert. However, tragedy strikes, and Andres passes away before he can respond. Heartbroken Vivo finds an old love letter in the form of a song his owner had written years before and embarks on a mission to deliver it to Marta in Florida. Enter Gabi, an energetic tween — a budding musician with a beat all her own. When Gabi and her mother visit Cuba to say farewell to their relative Andres, Vivo stows away to the US with Gabi, unbeknownst to her or her moth- er. Aer he's discovered, Vivo shares his quest with Gabi, and the pair set out to de- liver the love letter/song to Marta — which leads to multiple journeys and adventures. Carlos Zaragoza, production designer, embraced both the musical theme as well as the travel theme that are weaved throughout the film. He started by looking at 1950s and 1960s jazz album covers and travel posters to draw inspiration, particular- ly for the Havana settings. To get a feel for the distinctive character of the environments and their color palettes, some of the creative team traveled to the locations to take in the local architecture and culture for inspiration. They also con- sulted with a team of Cuban culture and music experts to ensure the movie provided an authentic depiction of Cuban culture, music, and traditions. Some crew members who grew up in the depicted regions of the film further contributed to the flavor based on their own memories and experiences. PAINTING A GRAPHIC PICTURE Vivo reflects the recent trend in 3D ani- mation that embraces that of animation's roots, shiing from photorealism to more of an art-driven style. "Spider-Verse is a great example of that, and The Mitchells is kind of in that vein too. With Vivo, we wanted to make sure we didn't distort things too much, but we wanted to explore a kind of painterly look," says Herbst. Like Imageworks' Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and The Mitchells vs. The Ma- chines, Vivo contains 3D imagery along with a 2D painterly aesthetic for the backgrounds that was inspired by paintings from Andy Harkness, one of the film's art directors. "This style is driven off of those 1950s posters, which had simplified backgrounds that still provided a sense of place," says Herbst. Initially this look was going to be reserved just for the Havana settings, but as the artists explored it more and more, they discovered how much they also loved it for the backgrounds in the Everglades and Miami, and developed a specific flavor for each of those locations. The main method for achieving this look had artists project brushstrokes as both tex- ture and geometry onto the 3D surfaces for an enhanced "texture bombing technique," says Herbst. This was initially developed for Spider-Verse and rebuilt and re-adapted for the needs of this film. In essence, the artists stamped down brushstrokes of different siz- es, driven by the depth of field of the shot, onto the 3D surfaces, so they could take the base color of what was the actual object and mix in movements of those strokes. This broke down the edges and added the hand of the artist to the imagery. According to Herbst, the team used sets that were limited in their scope through lay- out, and then did another design path aer the camera movements were approved. Aerward, the environment team would help fill out the rest of the backgrounds based on those new designs. Depending on the camera movement, they would then de- cide how much of it would be 3D or matte paintings. "The camera was pretty dynamic, so most shots are fully 3D all the way to the background," he adds. LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION (AND CHARACTERS) Vivo contains a variety of different looks, including that of the film's four distinctive locations. The first chapter of the story takes place amid the baroque and neoclas- sical architecture of a 1950s-style Havana, as the artists brought the vibrant street culture of this ancient city to life, awash in warm, golden hues that give it a homey feel. In contrast is the cookie-cutter, kitschy sun- bleached Key West, filled with billboards and signage to give it a touristy feel. The Everglades, meanwhile, are teeming with all manner of flora and fauna, including a mangrove swamp. Lastly, the story leads to the neon city of Miami. "We've never had a big CG-animated movie that really explores the color palettes of these places," says DeMicco. "From the color of the buildings, to the sun and sky, we Vivo contains many styles that reflect the various locations, including Key West.