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555 Lab
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18/01/2010 |
555Lab: they rock!
Dior, Thalys, RG512, Le Petit Oiseau Va Sortir, GDF, Suez, Kia… Four years only after its creation, 555Lab has already done impressive work! Interview with Cédric “Khan” Magne, Creative Director and co-founder of this “creative experimentation lab”. |
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Hi Cédric! We heard about 555Lab quite recently and we really enjoyed your artwork! 555Lab is the studio where you put your talents into practice. Who thought of founding this 2D/3D animation studio?
Hi! Basically, 555Lab was born from the ambition to meet, in a transverse and coherent way, the needs or problems related to image and communication. This led us to form a group (integrated by graphic designers, designers, film makers, musicians, photographers, web developers) and, meeting after meeting, the team grew up (12 persons). I am part of the core founders of this young company stamped with an Anglo-Saxon spirit, a way of work my associate and I find appealing. Leisure, for instance, is important to stimulate creativity and ensure good relationships. The catalyst: an arcade kiosk equipped with Garou - Mark of the Wolves for the experts. |
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You are a big LightWave fan: how have you come to use this software?
At the beginning, I was using free 3D software programs, then 3DS 4 (on DOS!). I wanted to move on and a friend whose brother was working in a video game company gave me access to this software at a time when I was planning to start using 3DS MAX. I wanted to further improve my renders and the 5.0 version of LightWave appeared to meet this need.
What appealed you the most from the start?
The transition from DOS to Windows was an evolution in itself and I liked the sober interface: 1 button = 1 function. My first F9 (render) on a lush landscape scenery left me voiceless. The render was warm and of a very good quality compared to competition. I wanted to reach quickly the same results. At that time, the tutorials were rare and the books rather expensive. I used to stay hours in the store to discover the subtleties of the software and in particular to understand why saving a scene did not save the objects. |
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How do you organize your work? You are a convinced LightWaver but do you use other software programs in your projects?
My way of working changes according to the type of project but it is mostly traditional. A written intention with images of reference so that our client may project himself mentally into the universe we are going to develop; a storyboard and a black and white animatic with a finalized and improved image to validate the final render. The remainder follows its course naturally. The post-production holds an important place to us as it brings a sharpness and a dimension rough 3D will never bring.
LightWave is very complete and I am fully satisfied with it. Moreover, its gaps are filled by the impressive community of scripts and plug-ins developers. The only other software programs directly linked to 3D (except post-prod on After Effects or Nuke) are Mudbox and Photoshop for more complex textures or modelings. |
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555 Lab |
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