With his latest tip, our editor Stijn Windig puts in the spotlight a seasoned creator, one that we could all learn so much from. You might already know his works, but just in case you don’t: meet Sylvain Despriz.
Stijn:” Sylvain Despretz is a freelance storyboard artist / concept artist / director-screenwriter, working both in the United States and in Europe.
His formative years as an illustrator were mentored by the late world-renowned artist Jean “Mœbius” Giraud.
His formative years as an illustrator were mentored by the late world-renowned artist Jean “Mœbius” Giraud.
For two decades, Sylvain has brought his unique style of storyboards and concept art to the work of film directors Roman Polanski, Tim Burton, J.J. Abrams, Mike Newell, Darren Aronofsky, and Stanley Kubrick, among notable others. His name appears in the credits of several top-grossing motion pictures, all of which lean on a full grasp of Visual Effects, with their advantages and pitfalls, notably Planet of the Apes, The Fifth Element, Harry Potter, The Fountain, Alien Resurrection, and Academy Award winners Gladiator and Black Hawk Down.
Sylvain describes his work as another level of filmmaking — a meta-level of screenwriting. “The storyboard is important regardless of the budget of the film, regardless of whether or not you have visual effects,” he says. “It’s really about premeditating the graphic story of your film.
This point is underlined again and again when studying Sylvain’s book Los ángeles, which is a huge tome chock full of fantastic boards for both well-known Hollywood blockbusters, as well as smaller films and some films that were never produced. His concept art is also stellar and very reminiscent of Moebius.
One of the things I appreciate about Sylvain Despretz is that he does not mince his words – he has an outspoken opinion, particularly about modern filmmakers, and he is not afraid to voice it.
The Los Angeles book is a must-read for anyone interested in storytelling, storyboarding and film.”