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32 cgw | e d i t i o n 1 , 2 0 1 8 thinner and taller than they would be in real life, so that dictated the height of the build- ings, the doors, the cars, everything around them. "These two ideas, harmony and conflict, really influenced the whole shape and style of the movie," Cardone adds. Ferdinand's inner emotions are also reflected in the choice of background locations. For instance, Ferdinand's home is depicted as a green, happy place, with lots of flowers and vegetation. But the bull ranch where he is held against his will is dry and dusty. "We were able to re-create the way light hits the fields in Spain. Our lighting and production and engineering teams really took full advantage of every- thing that was available in their tool box to bring us the look and feel of that country," says Anderson. Adds Saldanha, "We wanted the locations to express the possibilities of an animated movie but also be truthful to the art, history, and culture of Spain." As Sung explains, the group wanted to convey the natural landscapes inspired by Spain, but still had to integrate the black bull into those environments, which are under the bright, harsh Spanish sun. "When you add a black bull to the center of a naturally-lit pastoral environment, the visual contrast can look discon- nected," she says. So, adjustments were sometimes required. "For example, there is a stadium se- quence when they are doing the delicate animations of the bull running through the red cape. We carefully balanced the saturation to go with the stylized look of a very red and black graphic element in the frame," Sung says. "We had similar challenges throughout the movie with the pastoral scenes and the city of Madrid. Ferdinand is such a strong visual character, with the black and skin tone of his muzzle, that we had to carefully balance the satu- ration level of any setting he was in and be sure no other element in the scene would have a stronger value than Ferdinand, and whenever he was in frame, that was where you were supposed to look." According to Sung, Ferdinand's muzzle is more significant than one might think. The eyes are drawn to it – it's right in the center of the face and quite large. Even casting a shadow on Ferdinand's face was challenging. A significant feature is Ferdinand's horns; he is often outside and the sun is high in the sky, casting a harsh shadow above his eyes and muzzle. But having no shadow would look unnatural. So the lighters had to be sure the shadow across his face was soft enough but not distracting. HITTING THE BULL'S-EYE Blue Sky is known for pushing technological boundaries, and the studio's 12th feature, Ferdinand, is no exception. In fact, for 30 years now, the studio has been evolving its tools and making its productions look as dis- tinctive and rich as possible. And it started with a still image of a half-filled glass of wine with a glass ball beside it. "That was the start of radiosity for us, and we still look at that image and say, 'This is what we can do and achieve.' Thirty years ago that was a breakthrough image, and it still works today," says Saldanha. "Our movies have their own uniqueness, and we are constantly trying to push the boundary by upgrading our software and making it more user-friendly and accessible so we can continue to push the envelope on the movies we create." Adds Carroll, "We do not have a house style. We base the style on what the film- maker wants. Even though we may be using most of the same crew from a previous film, they need to adapt and understand the differences required for each film." Insofar as technology is important to the filmmaking process, Saldanha be- lieves that for Ferdinand, it was important to hide it behind the imagery. "The story is classic, and the character must feel endearing and warm, and we needed the technology to provide us with the tools that would capture that emotion without [the technology] taking center stage," he adds. When describing a new film to his teams of lighters, TDs, and animators, Saldanha likes to use keywords to depict the mood he wants to capture. For instance, on Rio that was "vibrancy," while for Ferdinand it was "warmth." Then the studio takes stock of its technology – what needs to be built and what can be improved. There are other words being used to de- scribe Ferdinand, these by audiences. Among them: "Delightful." Words the crew no doubt is happy to hear, especially since the film has found itself a finalist on awards lists. Karen Moltenbrey is the chief editor of CGW.