Dinner with Vibrato
An interview with Sébastien Laudenbach, director of Vibrato
How did you go about the visual work on the different scenes and how did you work on the transitions?
I’m not sure I quite understand your question about the scenes. I can say that starting with a pretty loose story, I went to the Palais Garnier opera house and I took a lot of photos. I knew I’d go from the basement to the roof, animating the water droplets from the bottom up, in an ascending movement which mirrored the idea of desire and went counter to the fall of the tears and rain. So it’s very much a story of direction. I then improvised the film based on my desires and my instinct. There was no precise script or storyboard, unlike what usually happens in animation.
Is the story that opens the film true? How did you come up with the idea for this short film?
The idea came from the place itself, which I think is very sensual, and from a memory I have of being inside a lodge. Seeing the Palais Garnier as a whorehouse seemed like a good way of having a different take on a place that is often considered sacred. And it’s a place of gazes, of the audience looking at the stage, but also of the audience towards each other. People size each other up, nod in approval. So the story is absolutely true…
Why were you interested in questions of mourning and sexual pleasure?
So, just like I wanted to take a cheeky look at a sparkling edifice, I also wanted to do the same for the architect whom I’ve always thought of as mischievous with his little mustache. I imagine him as a refined gentleman, a bon vivant. You can see that in the curves he drew. But I also felt that the impression would be stronger if it were suggested and not shown in the present, which is where the idea of secrecy comes from. Mourning came in almost by chance, following from my initial intention.
Were your choices at all informed by a desire to tackle the specific question of sexuality in public places?
No, they came about as a function of the place, which, as I’ve said, is already laden with a sense of eroticism.
How did you come up with the bond between the two female characters?
Those are just excuses: the young woman is there simply to share the older woman’s secrets. So, in the cemetery, I not only show the pleasure of a public figure who is ensconced in the Pantheon of great French artists, a jewel of our history, but also the memories of an aging woman.
Did you make the soundtrack yourself and how did it follow your intentions? Which came first, the soundtrack or the images?
All of the sound was done based on the images – including the music, the singing, the noises, etc. For the music, I let Olivier Mellano, the composer, have free reign. And he suggested Élise Caron for the singing and speaking voice.
What sort of freedom would you say the short format allows?
Vibrato is my eighth short film. Each of them is an experiment.
Vibrato is being shown in National Competition F8.
