VISUALISING THE SEABED

Sets art director Paul Abadilla explains that, “The underwater world shape language is mostly round, curvy, and organic. For example, the way vegetation is dressed around the home is motivated by wavy water currents. We don’t see rectilinear shapes until we go to Portorosso.” Beyond Luca’s abode, says Abadilla, is the meadow, which plays an important role. “The underwater meadow is really the threshold for Luca,” he says. “It symbolises him living in two worlds. Anything beyond the meadow is unknown – forbidden. So it’s like his last safe space – the rocky walls that encircle the open field of seagrass provide him a place to hide.” Building on that idea, director of photography David Bianchi’s team used only two wide-angle lenses for all underwater shots. But they still needed to convey motion in the shots, so they dove into the project – literally, creating the actual motion of the camera by tracking themselves in the Pixar pool. “We rented gear, built trackers, filmed ourselves and put it into the computer,” he says. “Two lenses and a repetitive shot pattern give way to a completely different approach when Luca emerges from the water.”