Today we’d like to introduce you to Luca Cioci.
Luca, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I started with painting, mostly walls, in Italy. When in high school my interest in painting, sculpture, photography and architecture lead me into traditional fine art studies which have helped to build a core historical knowledge and develop some craft.
I’ ve always been interested in traveling and wanted to study overseas. I spent my first year of college at UNG in Georgia US.
By pushing the medium of painting time and motion became important elements to me, but I barely knew what a “keyframe” was until I transferred to CalArts my sophomore year and started animating.
CalArts has been a place full of stimuli where I had the chance to try most of the animation techniques I can think of. I finally landed on Stop Motion being in my opinion close to the ultimate visual discipline, potentially able to feature any technique, still with many pros and cons.
My interest in Stop Motion Animation narrowed to cinematography and all its challenges of shooting (mostly miniatures) in camera.
After graduating I worked on animation and live-action projects for clients such as Mattel, Lego, Nintendo, Nationwide, Orbit, as well as music video projects featuring Khalid and Gucci Mane.
Early this year I had the opportunity to be part of the camera team on a few episodes of “Crossing Swords”, a new animated comedy series distributed by Sony Pictures Television. Premiering on HULU in 2020.
At the moment I am part of the Motion Control department at Laika, working on their next feature film.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I wouldn’t say that it has been smooth. Life is full of unforeseen scenarios that require to make a choice on the spot.
Experience teaches the most and working with others promotes its exchange.
I learned a lot by helping with cinematography on students’ personal projects, understanding their background, approach and respecting their vision.
Results come with passion and hard work, which in turn ask for energy and sacrifices.
At the end I think is about an individual’s priorities, to the power of commitment, plus 1/luck, good and bad.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
In my personal practice, I tend to work alone and rarely deal with a narrative story. I am interested in creating visually emotional non-sentimental scenarios such as moments of uncertainty, confusion, contradiction, realization, even more, if not stimulated directly by humans.
I try to develop and stick to a concept before thinking about how to bring it into being. I like to keep things simple and intuitive but some technicalities increase the final, much wanted, “wow” factor.
Inspiration comes often from what I see around me: living conventions, architecture and bad design.
I am interested in the work and theory of the following mix: Kandinsky, Warhol, Bergman.
I admire the visual work of Muybridge, Rybczyńsky, Thomas Wilfred, Bill Brandt, Ozu, many many more.
Italian influences include: Antonioni, Fellini, Storaro (20th century work), Paolo Gioli, Calvino, Futurism.
My Stop Motion thesis short “MEDIUM RARE” is mostly based on observation of human structural living in relation to its artificial surroundings, where aesthetics are often prioritized over functionality and consumerism shaped taste and communication.
The film focuses on the continuous, immediate shift of occupied space by anatomically similar gestures which exist in multiple environments, for different purposes.
Stop motion animation fits the film idea as its components reproduce and interact with the same real, physical space in which it is developed, on a different scale, introducing surreal elements.
Inspirations for this film include Jacque Tati, Gregory Crewdson, Pina Bausch, Chantal Akerman, Georges Schwizgebel, Starewicz, Claire Denis.
I plan to release the film later this year.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
I haven’t learned that yet. I think it depends on what the goal is, and what is considered successful.
As mentioned before I feel like priorities and dedication count a lot in the process.
Obsessions shouldn’t be repressed, however, spending time with your mind in other places keeps it sharper and heals your body, eyes included.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://vimeo.com/lucacioci
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jarfullofj/
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucacioci/
Suggest a story: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
