Maxime Baudin

A look back at your years at ESMA

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO STUDY CG ANIMATION & Master Degree?

I’ve always liked working with images. I liked drawing, dreaming, imagining, but also building things. When I learned about a course like this one, I thought that it combined both technical and artistic skills and that it would fulfill my desires. I liked the idea that behind a beautiful image could hide hours and hours of meticulous work.

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO ENROLL IN THE ESMA PROGRAM?

I discovered ESMA through the end-of-study films that the 3rd year students were making (editor’s note, now a 4-year program). I loved seeing these films, and I was very impressed to see that they were made by students. So I wanted to join the school.

WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER ABOUT YOUR TRAINING AT ESMA ? WHAT DID THE TRAINING AND THE TEACHERS BRING YOU?

This training gave me a different view of all the details that surround us. It made me more observant, more curious and more sensitive to all kinds of art. But not only that, the amount of work that had to be done taught me to manage my physical and mental energy which now serves me in moments of extreme rush in my work.

WAS THERE A SUBJECT THAT YOU LIKED IN PARTICULAR?

It wasn’t necessarily where I excelled, but I enjoyed the animation classes. There’s something magical about bringing a character to life. It takes a lot of expertise to be good at it, but I admired the beautiful animations. There’s a thrill in believing in the animation you’ve just created.

HOW WAS YOUR PROFESSIONAL IMMERSION AFTER GRADUATING FROM ESMA? AND WHAT DID YOU HOPE FOR AFTER YOUR STUDIES?

The immersion went pretty well, I felt ready to start in a studio like CG Artist. But after graduation there is a difficult choice to make, which is to find a specialization in this profession. For me it was difficult to make this choice because I liked “globally” everything. What I liked was to think of the film as a whole. But it was “necessary” to specialize. That’s when an idea started to grow in my head…

WHEN YOU LEFT SCHOOL, WHAT DID YOU DO?

Very quickly I was approached by Illumination Mac Guff to work in the Hair & Fur department. It wasn’t what I was most excited about, but I accepted because it was a big studio that interested me. I worked there for 7 months, but I realized quite quickly that I wanted to change my path. If I liked to “globally” do everything in a film and to think of it as a whole, it’s because I simply wanted to be a director. “Director” is a scary word, I didn’t feel legitimate to be one. During an interview for another studio, the recruiter said something that made me feel like a huge click: “You want to be a director? Take a 5D and go shoot on the street and make a movie. Well, okay. Challenge accepted!

So I left Illumination Mac Guff to dedicate myself to live action filmmaking. It was a world I didn’t know but that I could approach more easily with the ESMA background. I started by making a music video that cost me money. Then I made a clip for 300 €. And little by little I was trusted more and more to realize more and more ambitious projects. And now it happens to me to direct commercials with a budget of 250 000 €.

Your career path

WHAT PROJECTS ARE YOU WORKING ON TODAY?

Today I earn my living with advertising, I experiment in the clip and I develop what interests me most: the cinema.

YOU MADE THE CHOICE TO BECOME A DIRECTOR (ADVERTISING, CLIPS…). WHY THIS CHOICE ?

There is a sad reality in the director’s job, it is difficult to live only from his artistic side. Advertising is a way to make a good living and to test things with big budgets. But in the long run, I would like to stop doing commercials completely and devote my time only to cinema.

WHY DIDN’T YOU STAY IN CG AND JOIN A STUDIO?

I really like 3D, and I would like to direct it as a director. But I was a bit too busy behind my computer, I needed to see the field. Making real films allowed me to live crazy experiences and to have a carnal and spontaneous approach in the creation, something that you don’t necessarily find in animation.

DO YOU MISS THE CG UNIVERSE ? OR DO YOU MANAGE TO KEEP A FOOT IN IT ?

I find myself so much at home in my current job that I don’t really miss CG. But in my creative approach, I feel that I have kept some reflexes specific to CG that can sometimes make me stand out. I would like to integrate a little more CG in some projects but I haven’t had the opportunity for the moment. But nothing is definitive 😉

WHAT DOES DIRECTING BRING YOU ?

It allows me to express myself completely artistically and to satisfy my ego (ahah). It also brings me a lot of adventures because each film opens a new door in a new universe…

DO YOU WANT TO MAKE A FEATURE FILM ONE DAY ?

Yes, that’s the goal. I am developing several projects simultaneously to gradually take me towards the feature film. I work on short films, series, but the feature film is the perfect format for my taste. It is a unique cinematographic piece to be savored.

YOU ARE ALSO A MUSICIAN AND MUSIC COMPOSER. HOW IMPORTANT IS THIS ASPECT FOR YOU?

I have a particular affection for music, which I find as important as the image in a film. Putting music into images is very satisfying and the reverse is also true. My musical side has allowed me to build a film like a music, to think the editing as a percussive rhythm, to see the colors as a melody…

HOW DO YOU MANAGE THESE TWO ASPECTS AT THE SAME TIME ?

I alternate between directing and playing the piano. When I get bored with a film project, I go to my piano to free myself artistically, without constraint. When the music inspires me more, I concentrate on the films. But the piano remains a secondary hobby, I don’t put all my energy into it to make a career of it. My albums are mostly a personal pleasure.

YOU COMPOSED THE MUSIC FOR YOUR GRADUATION FILM, MONKEY SYMPHONY, CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT IT ? WHY DID YOU WANT TO COMPOSE THE MUSIC ?

I thought it was so cool to have the opportunity to do the music for your own movie. So I started writing Monkey Symphony around the piano, which was a subject that spoke to me. I was composing the music for the film at the same time I was writing the script. It seemed much easier to collaborate with myself on that side than to work with a composer. When there was a problem with the script, I modified the music to fix it. For a more complex music, we still called in another pianist.

HOW DO YOU FEEL WHEN YOUR PROJECTS ARE SHARED ON THE INTERNET OR DURING CONCERTS? DO YOU ATTACH IMPORTANCE TO THE FEEDBACK ?

It’s always nice to see the buzz around a finished project. I used to care a lot about that until one day when a movie really buzzed (Paris, on t’aime aussi) and reached the spheres of fachos who started to comment. I felt very sad about it, I said to myself that I had to detach myself from it if I wanted to continue creating. From now on, I make sure to keep my distance from the feedback, even if it is good, to protect myself.

DO YOU HAVE ANY INFLUENCES, AS MUCH FOR THE MUSIC AS FOR THE REALIZATION ?

Of course I do. I’m jealous of a lot of artists who inspire me all the time. The list would be too long so I’ll mention a film that gave me a slap in the face visually and musically: Koyaanisqatsi by Ron Fricke with a soundtrack by Philip Glass.

IS THERE A MAXIME BAUDIN SIGNATURE ?

It’s hard to say. I am still looking for it. But when I look at all my projects, there is finally a certain style that I think we find.

IS THERE A PROJECT YOU ARE PARTICULARLY PROUD OF OR THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE WITH US?

I had fun making a fake Nike commercial recently to test a small 360° camera. It was a very spontaneous project where I contacted some guys on Instagram who were into basketball. I filmed them for an hour and a half on the fly and I think this video is really cool.

To conclude

WHAT ARE YOUR FUTURE PROJECTS ?

3 short films, a full-length film at the embryonic stage and a purely artistic personal project. I’m taking it easy on advertising, which has been tiring me lately.

TO FINISH, A LITTLE ADVICE TO GIVE TO STUDENTS AND FUTURE STUDENTS?

Work a lot, but do it with your guts. Be open, be curious. Let speak what makes you vibrate inside of you that will make your precious particularity. Believe in yourself in all humility.

Website: maximebaudin.com