Fede Ponce, creative director on Marvel projects like Iron Man, Avengers and Thor, and currently developing and directing his own project, Sebastian: The Slumberland Odyssey, has a few words of wisdom to share on the subject.

The following is an opinion piece by guest blogger Federico Ponce – whom you’ve hopefully already been acquainted with through our series of video interviews with him. If not, go check them out. Fede is a freelance MoGraph and Visual FX artist, has worked as creative director on several Marvel project (like Iron Man, Avengers and Thor) and is currently working on his own project, Sebastian: The Slumberland Odyssey.

For the last decade or so, I have seen a shift in the way big budget movies are created. I feel compelled to share my humble opinion on the topic, because I am a film lover – and a big superhero nerd. For that same reason this is not something I say lightly, but I believe that superhero movies are damaging the core of storytelling. They have evolved into a massive, lucrative spectacle, but for those of us wanting a bit more, they unfortunately leave our palettes dry. I am convinced that art and entertainment can coexist and that the industry does not need to dumb something down in order to make it marketable and memorable.

That’s why, when I heard the rumor that George Miller was potentially going to direct Man of Steel 2, I was sold. Let me tell you why.

Mad Max: Fury Road was a $100 million dollar gamble that paid off handsomely. It became a massive box office success as well as one of the highest rated movies by critics and audiences alike. I say gamble, because in the world of big films nothing is a guarantee. Whoever had the vision to hire the director responsible for Happy Feet and have him dig up his own post-apocalyptic, high octane, testosterone driven re-make was on to something.

But George Miller didn’t stop there; he took the entire hero myth and flipped it on its head, giving us a brand new vision of what action movies could be. He did so facing a market that prefers massive tent pole franchises that focus on being “popular” rather than breaking ground.

I love going to the theater and having a public experience with the audience, but in this particular case I avoided the hype and waited a few months to see it at home; I was looking for a more intimate experience and boy did I get my money’s worth with Mad Max: Fury Road.

SPOILERS AHEAD: please stop reading if you have not seen the film yet.

From a technical standpoint, this movie shines in every single department. The visual effects are incredible, flawless and in a sense painterly and stylized without being distracting. The practical effects are equally impressive. There is a stunning choreography between the camera work, the action and the art direction. In fact, every design and visual cue in this movie carries a lot of weight; no detail is left untouched as each piece has been carefully crafted with meticulous detail to further the story and enrich the film’s mythos. The sound design is harmonized and perfectly synchronized in tone and rhythm with the high speed pacing and staccato editing of the film. All acts and beats develop organically and the film does not stop. The pacing is perfect.

This is, at its worst, the best action film to be recorded in the last decade. At its best, it’s an industry-changing piece of art. Here is why:

Mad Max: Fury Road has a rich, deep mythology that combines the exploited patriarchal and linear warrior myth with an emerging new myth: The female creation myth. The movie is ground breaking in that it takes these two myths and dispels its gender associations. Not only that, but Miller understands metaphor perfectly, he understands iconography and language, and he interweaves them into a new fascinating world, the like of which I have not seen in an action movie before. The dialogue is not expository, it’s enticing and the performances of the actors showcase how complex these characters are.

So let’s talk about the characters.

The main vehicles of metaphor for the regeneration myth are Furiosa, Max and Nux. The secondary players are Immortan Joe’s wives and the Vuvalini (derived from vulva – origin of life). Immortan Joe carries the entire warrior myth on his shoulders and though he is aided by his race of mad underlings and very interesting goons, the bulk of this analysis will remain on Joe.

Furiosa is without a doubt the manifestation of the symbol of the ancient patriarchal warrior from the nomad tribes. She is strong, purpose driven, tough, smart and imperfect. Her quest is for redemption and in fulfilling it she will die and be re-born to a bigger, more complicated quest. She transitions from an exterior quest to the journey of the interior. She has a mechanical arm, which denotes that she is in a sense still part of the system. The mechanical, the computerized, whatever is not an organic part of the body is to be considered a symbol of systematization. Darth Vader lost his humanity to the empire and became more machine than man. Furiosa and Luke Skywalker lost a piece of themselves to the system, but where able to turn away from it. Furiosa’s catharsis reaches a climax by her willing removal of the mechanical arm. It represents her last vestige of attachment to the old world; the world of the warrior. Her shaved head hints to her origin as one the war boys; she has been stripped of her gender and began her existence as a homogenized part of that society. But she rose above the rest and became the Imperator. It signifies her psychological and physical ascension. This is why she is able to transition into the next level of her psyche; she has in a way conquered her first quest.

Nux was an amazing character for me. He symbolized the archetype of the “fool” – the man-child constantly looking for purpose, but most importantly, is always looking for approval of the father figure. His life is devoid of meaning, driven only by the thirst of survival and the promise of Valhalla. But the hero’s path of the war boys does not lead to ascension or spiritual transition; the path of the war boys is the path of the ego. They don’t yearn for spiritual transcendence, they yearn for adulation from their peers. Valhalla means nothing unless their final act is “witnessed”. In a socio-cultural context, this is extremely relevant, as we live in an age when everyone wants to have a public life on social media. It seems like we all want to be the fool – “Witness me or else I lack importance.”

The slang for chrome used in this unholy ritual is brilliant. The idea that something pure, something shiny is a man-made artifact that has been lost forever is a clever symbol that emphasizes the lack of connection with the larger natural and spiritual world that transcends the present condition. Nux’s character arch is heartfelt and he finds the mystical help in one of the life givers. She guides him through the river Stix with love and understanding. But he has to find redemption and ascension in physical death, because his psychological chasm is so great, that he would have a mental breakdown if he was to make it to the new world. Sorry, Nux. Maybe in your next life.

Max’ journey begins as one of a slave. He is not just a slave to the system, but a slave of his own fear and self-hatred. His quest is one of forgiveness and redemption. Early in the film, Max is captured and tortured, and his escape is foiled in part by his inner demons. This metaphor of slavery serves to illustrate that Max has fallen to an ultimate low within himself and he is now close to death. He is being used as a “blood bag” and been completely disposed of his humanity. He is paraded as a trophy and his psyche is not yet ready to take on the role of savior. He must die first and be reborn. It is through sparing Nux’s life, although unwillingly, that his quest for a higher purpose begins. Though Max is a fighter and a trained warrior, his mythological symbol in this tale is one of Life-giver. He replenishes life and hence follows the energy of the female myth. It is because of his life-giving blood that he allows Nux to live, but more importantly it is through his blood that Furiosa is able to be re-born as a queen. Later on, Max responds to the call of action and serves as a protector. It is a choice that empowers him to accept the higher path. He comes back now as a fully developed protector with no agenda other than to help the mothers replenish the world. That is why at the end, he walks away. He walks away from power, from the old world. Max enters the final threshold in the myth; he finally enters the inner quest.

Immortan Joe: The name should say everything to you about what is going on in Miller’s mind. This name is meticulously crafted and it is broken up like this: The combination of the words immortal and important is our first hint at a linguistic deviation that comes from a culture that cannot process two complex ideas at once, hence merging them into their own comprehensible, simple concept. Immortan represents the symbol of a mystical creature that will live forever and it is of the outmost importance to survival – followed by Joe. By adding Joe, Miller has managed to take the God in to the realm of men. Joe is everyone’s father, the man the boys look up to, the man in charge of regenerating the world.

Immortan Joe is one of the best antagonists ever written. He is relentless, flawed and strangely charismatic. He looks like a monster to those who do not belong to his world, but like a God to those who do. His breathing device and armor tell us that he has fused with the machine world; he is now the system. His quest is not for power, but to return the world to life on his own terms. We can see that he is somewhat successful, by the hints of green at the top of the mountains and his ability to pump water. But this careful balance is not without its risks, hence the unholy alliance with the Oil and War lords. Here the author again takes the time to take a quick stab at our modern day, exemplifying the corruption that exists between the systems that control most of our lives: Oil (energy), War (death) and Water (life). These are no less than forces of life and death for all human beings. Immortan Joe is the culmination of the male energy force. It is through his will that the world will come to be. The ultimate response to the female force of chaos is the male response of absolute control. And so Joe represents that force, that desire to bring order through his control. Joe is the ultimate patriarch to which all boys look upon. He manipulates the world around him and will never let go of control.

It will take a warrior, a life-giver, a fool and the keepers of seeds to challenge this formidable foe, bringing down the old world and start anew. This is one of the best narratives of the regeneration myth and the heroes that rise do not do so by virtue of super powers, but by virtue of inner growth.

The film industry has misinterpreted the meaning of hero in the literal sense. They have taken an escapist approach and equated the concept of hero with spectacle. Modern super heroes acquire physical powers that enhance the boundaries of the human body, but for all the action, comedy, special effects and drama these movies have, they do nothing to advance storytelling or to explore the human psyche through symbols and metaphors. They are so intent in the literal translation that they want to rationalize a flying man. They want to dissect the science of the Gods and in doing so they are destroying the power of myth and metaphor.

What is brilliant about Miller’s approach is that all characters have access to tap into the deep mythological archetypes of the human psyche that reside in all of us regardless of gender. Their sex and social role is not imperiled by their choice of inner quest. Miller brings back to storytelling a deep sense of metaphor and symbolism that allows us to take the movie and use it as a mirror to uncover something about ourselves and our society.

I am excited to see him turn the literal into the metaphorical and give super hero films a new meaning.

#GoMillerGo

The following is an opinion piece by guest blogger Federico Ponce – whom you’ve hopefully already been acquainted with through our series of video interviews with him. If not, go check them out. Fede is a freelance MoGraph and Visual FX artist, has worked as creative director on several Marvel project (like Iron Man, Avengers and Thor) and is currently working on his own project, Sebastian: The Slumberland Odyssey.

When I learned to ride my bike. I fell down chipped a tooth. But my parents did not take the bike away, they encouraged me to keep trying. I eventually learned and years later, I even won a few races.

By now you have probably read all about how The Fantastic Four movie tanked and how terrible it is. You’ve probably heard rumors or speculation that Josh Trank’s career is done. Throughout the commotion you have probably caught a glimpse of the director’s frustration on twitter. But through all the vitriol and unabashed passion, let’s take a breather and try to see what is going on. Because this kind of unrestrained response to a film doesn’t sit right, it goes beyond fandom, it goes beyond civil disagreement, hell it goes beyond entertainment.

Josh Trank had made a terrific film called chronicle. He brought a high concept to an established super hero genre and created relatable characters. He showed prowess and great aesthetic when dealing with visual effects. He told the story he wanted and he did so while being vigilant of a budget but most importantly, he created a world, an original intellectual property that found its ground with the younger millennials. This new film was well received with audiences and critics alike.

So far are you with me? Does Trank seem like an outlandish choice for a superhero movie directed at teens and young adults? Maybe it wasn’t the craziest of choices given that, even though he had not done a massive tent pole franchise before, plenty of  first time directors had already proven that they could transition into bigger films.  With all the rumored shortcomings, the least divergent component of this dysfunctional tetrad is Trank.

THE OTHER COMPONENT: The critics. They are “just” doing their job and we all know what that means, they get paid to dissect movies not to enjoy them and that is fine, it serves a purpose and even at that, it’s not even an objective way to measure art (yes, art).  Then we come to the bloggers. These writers are a diverse group.  Most of them are passionate journalists looking for a good story and some of them are ardent cinephiles. The majority write with their hearts and look for a way to connect. They are the bridge.

Unfortunately a small chunk of them can be signed off as digital parrots, repeating whatever will give them those oh so desired clicks, with no sense of emotional restraint or intellectual analysis or even the minimal moderation and self-censoring needed to check for facts before publishing something. They rather shoot first, damage and then apologize and re-edit. As if “undo” on their computers could be applied to a person’s career. But who cares about the life’s work of an artist, when there is a keyboard and a screen between the blogger and real life.

Some “Authors” even go as far as pandering to the big studios in order to get that exclusive. It didn’t use to be this way, the blogs used to be the last bastion of diversity in opinion left on the ever commercialized and capitalized internet. But the real crux of this article is not that diverse group of bloggers, it’s the homogenized loud part of the audience. You know which one, the one that can’t stand people eating popcorn next to them because the sound distracts them from looking at the black widow’s ass.  This particular brand of beloved moviegoer has transformed from a loving fan into a horrible demanding, tantrum throwing quasi adult bent on destroying anything that does not conform to its unrealized prepubescent desires. I could write six tomes of Jungian psychology trying to define what sort of reticent feelings lay dormant on these creatures but I will spare you the horror and just bare naked the fact that perhaps most of their unrealized dreams are projected on to the comic books and movies that feed their imagination, hence acquiring paramount value in their wellbeing.  But what’s the relationship between the fandom and the film industry?

Well, the fandom holds the key. They are the consumers of the product and therein lies the entire calamity of the matter. As consumers they have been programmed to think that everything that they spend their money on is a product they can consume and discard. They have no regard for the life of the product or even its origin. Their prime objective is to satisfy their immediate desire and when that is done they move on the next, and then the next and then more. Every time their desire grows so does their lust for something bigger, sweeter, more explosions, more characters, more vfx, more story, more more, more… you get the point. When their desires and expectations are not met, they destroy. They tear apart. There is no room for reining in emotion, the world becomes either incredible or horrible. The view of absolutes take over and the consumer continues on its quest for more. If I remember correctly only the Sith see things in absolutes.

But what would happen to the entire film industry if instead of an audience of consumers, we had PATRONS. Like the ancient patrons of the Greek or Roman arts. Supporters of a craft that takes time and patience to develop. Film making is a craft that can become an art. It is one of the most complex forms of art present today and there is no reason why art and entertainment cannot be one and the same. Filmmaking is the incredible culmination of a choreographed dance between hundreds of people. It is the live example of what happens when people unite under a dream and follow their passion in order to bring that dream to fruition. Of course there is the studio side of it and the strategy and positioning, budges and the less romantic part of filmmaking but nevertheless it remains an art. To make films is to move mountains.

If the audience steps up to the plate and evolves enough to become a modern day patron it will be rewarded handsomely for it. It will not just be a passive player in the film making process. It can find a way to realize its creative potential by supporting authors and directors and having the pleasure of seeing them grow. There is no greater feeling than losing one’s self in a larger meaningful moment and what an incredible feeling it could be if the audience believed in their artists and supported them through the hard times. Maybe then the creative people wanting to make movies would not have to trade their souls to the devilish corporations and have their entire reputation rest on the fragile decisions of suits and fat cats whose only purpose is maximizing profit.

When I learned to ride my bike. I fell down and chipped a tooth and cried. But my parents did not take the bike away, they encouraged me.  So I invite the audience to give Josh Trank and any other Director who is trying to do something new and something cool another chance. I invite the audience to abandon the way of consumption and take upon the road of creators. Become Patrons of the arts and support the artists that are trying to make this place a bit more fun. Some have already taken up the journey as crowdfunders and some have ventured into creating their own projects. You don’t have to do either of these, you can just start by regulating your response to something with mild dislike or abnegation rather than full on hate.

I have personally crowdfunded a few projects and for a brief moment I felt part of something bigger than I. To see the projects come to life…well that was much better feeling than tearing down someone else’s career.

You know what the core theme of the Fanatstic Four is about? We are stronger together.  #GotrankGo

Fede Ponce has been in the entertainment industry for more than 15 years and he is humbled by having had the lucky opportunity to work on some of the biggest blockbusters to date.  Whether leading global campaigns of MAIN TITLES for MARVEL movies as Creative Director (Iron Man, Thor, Avengers) or creating a metal suit for Iron Man as a VFX supervisor, he has found himself working with some of the most creative people in entertainment. He has directed commercials and video game cinematics. However, he always dreamed of developing his own project. He received the help of Bertha Navarro, producer for Guillermo Del Toro, and has worked closely with Academy Award winning writer Zachary Sklar to ensure his project, Sebastian: The Slumberland Odyssey, is founded on an incredibly solid story.

After eight years of late night nights and financial sacrifice, I share with you my personal project: Sebastian: the Slumberland Odyssey. It’s a first-of-its-kind, genre-busting series. It’s a mind bending live action/CGI episodic tale that blends Magical Realism with Science Fiction, in an unexplored new genre: SCI-FAN.

Logline: In a future ruled by AI, where disease is a choice and unauthorized dreaming is punishable by death, a young orphan risks his life by traveling into the Dreamworld in order to save his inexplicably ill grandfather.

An amazing journey you haven’t dreamed before

Thanks to an incredibly advanced A.I. humanity has been able to overcome war and poverty. Disease is now a choice. At last mankind has been united under a mission of collective prosperity. With one small price to pay: The loss of individuality.

In order for humankind to unite, people have forgone their ability to dream as well as their desire to be different. And with just cause, since unauthorized dreaming is now punishable by death.

However, there is another world beyond the reach of the A.I.: The Dreamverse – or as it is known in legend: Slumberland.  It is known as a realm made up of the entire collection of human dreams and desires. It is a vortex of chaos, fun and adventure where the remaining renegades and thought-provocateurs escape to in the middle of the night. Slumberland is a place of wonder where nothing is what it seems and the last remnants of human emotion remain pure and powerful.

There is a small house in the outskirts of the city, where the last unassimilated immigrants reside. Here two siblings thick as thieves and a few years apart, Sebastian and Mika, take turns assisting their mysteriously ill grandfather. The clock is ticking and danger looms near for neither sibling can stop themselves from dreaming. Now that the A.I. has taken note of the last dreamers, Mika inexplicably disappears leaving Sebastian and his grandfather alone. With his last breath grandpa has tasked young and fearful Sebastian to venture into the dreamworld in order to obtain a magical potion before his time runs out – or the A.I. finds him.

You can find out more about the story and the characters on the official Sebastian website here.

A story inspired by true events

The story of these two brothers and Sebastian’s journey through Slumberland was inspired by the relationship I have with my brother.  When I was young I left my hometown and came to California to develop my artistic skills. I used to visit my family often and in one of those trips, my father told me that I was going to have a baby brother. In order to make the most of the moments we spent together I created Slumberland. It’s a world in which anything could happen. It was a place that two brothers could visit together no matter how far away they were from each other.

You can find more about those stories and a recollection of my conversations, thoughts and feelings here and follow along on Facebook here.

About Federico Ponce:

Fede Ponce has been in the entertainment industry for more than 15 years and he is humbled by having had the lucky opportunity to work on some of the biggest blockbusters to date.  Whether leading global campaigns of MAIN TITLES for MARVEL movies as Creative Director (Iron Man, Thor, Avengers) or creating a metal suit for Iron Man as a VFX supervisor, he has found himself working with some of the most creative people in entertainment. He has directed commercials and video game cinematics. However, he always dreamed of developing his own project. He received the help of Bertha Navarro, producer for Guillermo Del Toro, and has worked closely with Academy Award winning writer Zachary Sklar to ensure his project, Sebastian: The Slumberland Odyssey, is founded on an incredibly solid story.

Federico Ponce may not yet be a household name outside a tight-knit Motion Graphics circle in Los Angeles, but chances are you know his work nevertheless. As a visual artist and creative director, he has designed the title art for movies like Avengers, Thor, Iron Man, District 9, The Twilight Saga and many more. He has also designed a handful of your favorite movie trailers and directed numerous commercials. And now he’s working on his narrative directorial debut, Sebastian: The Slumberland Odyssey – all of which he’ll be telling you more about in the video below.

In this video – part of a series with Federico and other filmmakers – he talks about how his elaborate Sebastian story came about – and why he decided to create a graphic novel for the story as well. Something many first-time filmmakers could take a cue from.

Fede Ponce is not only one of the nicest and most humble people you’ll meet in this business, he’s also got lots of smart things to say. So we let him do just that. Please watch below for the latest installment in our interview series with director/illustrator/creative director Fede Ponce. Having worked – as a freelancer – on high-profile and demanding projects such as Iron Man, Avengers, Thor, The Twilight Saga (the list goes on), we trust that he knows what he’s talking about.

Read Transcript

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