Canceled on Prime Video: How to animate a TV series from real footage?

Undone since the release of the first season, Undone has won over viewers and critics alike. Using the brilliant use of a rotoscope (an animation technique that transforms real-world footage into animation), the series is based on the work of its actors and uses the many possibilities of animation.

The result is a hybrid product that shapes space and time to convey a fascinating message to human imperfection by searching for the identity of its protagonist Alma. Meeting with director Hisco Hulling, actors Constance Marie (Camilla Diaz), Angelica Cabral (Becca Diaz) and showbiz stars Rafael Bob-Waxberg and Kate Perd.

AlloCiné: Hisco, how did you get involved in this project?

Hisco Hulsing: I want to emphasize that this is not my idea, this series I did not write. I’m just a director and a designer. I did everything in life: scripting, animation, sometimes I even wrote music for my products. One of the producers, Noel Bright, approached me with the idea of ​​the Undone series created by Kate Perd and Rafael Bob-Waxberg.

I could not help but laugh and cry while reading this project, page by page. I have found that this series is rich in psychology, mental illness and many other interesting topics such as perception of life. I liked this ambiguity between dream and reality. I believe we all create stories in our heads, even if we are not schizophrenic. This series shows how strange reality is sometimes.

This is the second season of this series. How is it different from the first one?

Hisco Hulsing: I think this season is more grounded in reality, without revealing too much. He talks about the traumas that are passed down from one generation to the next. This is a review of the past to determine what started the drift to stop working. And this, in order to better understand what motivates, what motivates Alma Diaz’s character.

He tries to drag Becca into his search. What emerges from this series is that what you do to change the course of your life leads to unpredictable tragedies. Our heroes seem to have superpowers, but they are not superheroes. Everyone in this family has weaknesses just like everyone else in this world. So this is to study the consequences of your actions. Sometimes in life you can not always solve everything.

Kate Perry: I think this time we spend more time exploring the concepts of time and space. As Hisco pointed out, this is also a generational trauma study. It’s amazing how the past defines our present and how it helps us better understand who we are and where we can fit into this world.

Everyone has a different perception of reality and reality, it can be said, is the sum of all these perceptions. It is like a conversation where finally no one has the ultimate truth of reality. Everything is relative. Reality comes to us when all our truths meet in dialogue, in harmony with each of us.

Rafael Bob-Waxberg: I think after watching our TV series we come out differently. It will definitely change your perception of reality, about your reality. Otherwise, what was different for us in terms of production this season was the pandemic challenge. It made us even more creative.

Constance Mayor: What is new is that we delve deeper into our heroes ’past to better understand where they come from, who they are, and what motivates them in the new season. It is also the impact of psychological suffering that affects each generation experiencing it differently.

Angelica Cabral: As for me, I am learning to live with my new superpowers and the secrets of my past. He also has the power of time travel and discovers how this can affect a better understanding of the various family conflicts he faces. These are generational traumas and it affects our emotional relationships. How do we turn the page on this past that still haunts us?

Visually speaking, what is different this time?

Hisco Hulsing: For me, the challenge is to bring together the actors who stand behind the animated scene that I have to create to get to the final product. I broke my left arm last year, thankfully this is not a law that allows me to format this very complex animation.

What has changed is the teamwork that has become so effective and efficient. I always find a way to convey to other artists what I mean in order to achieve a consensual result. The fact that each of us had to work in our own corner on Covid was also a different approach.

Constance Mayor: This is such an innovative series in terms of animation that it has not always been easy for us actors to adjust to this difficult process of filming. We need to have a great imagination in order to visually imagine in our heads the environment in which we are supposedly evolving. You also have to trust the actor you interact with after this or that scene. It is not an easy game in a world where there are neither sets nor props.

Angelica Cabral: What is liberating, however, is that the post-production process will make you look like a director. So you do not have to worry about your physical appearance and makeup. This allows you to focus on the script and your acting performance. We had no idea about the end result. But I’m amazed at what they did. Visually, this series is a creative destiny.

What is the overall vision of this series, is it a trilogy?

Rafael Bob-Waxberg: Does life have a common vision and plan for the future? (Laughs) No, we really do not have a perfect idea of ​​where we are going. Each season we approach it uniquely and independently and see where it all leads. Of course, there is still a lot to learn from this series. In fact, our hero is leading in a certain direction and we are ready to follow him.

Canceled Season 2 is available on Prime Video.