In this new installment of Tras La Marca de Odín we bring you an interesting interview with Manuel Rico, responsible for the special effects and the coordination of the final montage of our #DisasterSeville promotional video. In it you will be able to get to know better who this great professional is and what was the process he followed to carry out this spectacular audiovisual production. Don’t miss the spectacular images included in the interview!

1.- HELLO RICO, CAN YOU TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF, WHO IS MANUEL RICO AND WHAT HE DOES?

Hello, I am a dreamer like Xavier Marcé, pursuing a goal for a long time. I have been dedicated to digital imaging for about 16 years, focused on special effects for cinema.

SOME OF MANUEL RICO’S WORKS

I started working in video games, then television and in the end I ended up giving myself body and soul to Cinema. I founded two VFX companies in Seville: Mindfx digital S.L and Alchemy VFX S.L. Once I realized, and reluctantly accepted, that I could not continue working on my own in my country, I accepted a position that was offered to me to work at Pixomondo in the United Kingdom. Right now we are with two super Hollywood productions, which, excuse me, I am not allowed to talk about. Anyway, for those who are not clear about what I do or what my job is, take a look at my website: www.manuelricofreire.com

2.- HOW DID YOU SEE YOURSELF INVOLVED IN THE MARK OF ODIN PROJECT? WHAT DRIVEN YOU TO GET INVOLVED IN IT AS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE SPECIAL EFFECTS OF THE #DESASTRESEVILLA VIDEO?

The project caught my attention. I was initially surprised by Xavier’s originality, in applying digital effects to a book launch, something he had never seen before. The approach was forceful, and the realization, despite all its setbacks, made me fully commit myself so that the objective of the video had the expected forcefulness.

3.- EVERYONE IS IMPRESSED BY THE LEVEL OF THE SPECIAL EFFECTS, EVEN ITS REALISM HAS CAUSED CONTROVERSY IN SOME MEDIA. COULD YOU TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT THE PROCESS YOU FOLLOWED FROM THE MOMENT YOU AGREED TO GET INVOLVED IN THIS PROJECT UNTIL A FINAL VERSION OF THE VIDEO WAS REACHED?

At first, the plans were presented in a very schematic way through storyboards (made by the great Manu Nieto), trying to adjust the production times of CGI effects and composition of shots.

Once everything was shot, ideas had to be discarded, since the video had to be edited several times, with the complication that certain shots were shot with different exposures.
In fact, Manu had the arduous task of editing all the recordings (I think I remember 8 tests in total) and in the end the video was put together with 5 of them. The cuts, as you can see, are completely negligible.

The plans were finally divided into 2 parts:

• Those of the planes flying over until they exploded were prepared by Felipe Gutiérrez (both parts were tracked entirely by him)
• The plans for the destruction of the bridge and the design of the ship were made in “my handwriting.”

Once finished I had to supervise everything remotely, since it was done from different locations. To try to find the final look of the ship, I made some concepts, but in the end a more sober design was proposed for the ship and less “dark”, as you can see in the images.

Final render of the lower part of the 2012 UA ship that appears. The most complex part? Well, finish everything in record time, since render times were skyrocketing. I must say that 50% of the fact that the video had that spectacular finish, we owe it to an audio master, Pablo Domínguez, to whom I must thank the endless changes and the passion used to make everything perfect. I wouldn’t consider doing another project without him.ece in #DesastreSevilla.

4.- HAVE YOU ALREADY READ ‘THE MARK OF ODIN: THE AWAKENING’, WHAT DID YOU THINK OF AND WHAT HAS ATTRACTED YOU THE MOST?

The book is impressive, and I recommend it 100%. What is true is that it leaves us wanting to know more about this universe created by Xavier, and much more with the content that appears on the website, achievements, etc. One of the points that has attracted me is how it links our land with the fictional events of the saga, mixing a world of reality/fiction, which makes you feel much more immersed in the book.

5.- COULD YOU TELL US WHERE YOU THINK THE SAGA IS GOING TO EVOLVE? CAN YOU IMAGINE THAT NEW VIDEOS SET IN THE SAGA COULD BE MADE, OR EVEN FILMS?

The truth is that I have no idea where everything will evolve… It is a mystery that has us all on tenterhooks, and we will have to wait patiently!

In terms of generating more audiovisual material, it is clear that the story has very captureable content, and more surprises will probably appear. Xavier’s head never sleeps! If you look, one of the big problems found in movies is the lack of “good stories”, good arguments and, of course, “The Mark of Odin” has content that is very likely to be captured on celluloid. It’s a matter of time, don’t you think?