April 24, 2021

Intervista a Vincenzo Nisco

Rainbow Academy inaugura la nuova rubrica The Way of Success, una serie di interviste per permettere ai tanti appassionati di computer grafica di conoscere più da vicino i grandi talenti e artisti dell’Animazione, Visual Effects e Videogames di casa Rainbow, oggi infatti intervisteremo Vincenzo Nisco.

A new appointment that intends to be a meeting point for enthusiasts and professionals, where they can compare, recognize and at the same time always find new inspiration. In fact, we have chosen to give voice to great protagonists such as the Directors and Supervisors of Rainbow CGI Productions teachers of our Masters and Courses and at the same time also to those who started from their passion, studying in Rainbow Academy and who then spread their wings managing to become established professionals.

A valuable opportunity to be able to better understand how many and which professional figures populate the very rich and varied world of computer graphics and at the same time to nurture one's passion by learning from the experiences of those who have made it.

Inauguriamo The Way of Success con la prima intervista che ci permetterà di conoscere meglio Vincenzo Nisco, Art Director di Rainbow CGI e Direttore Artistico di Rainbow Academy.

Hi Vincenzo, how did your passion for comics and animation come about?

Let's say that first my passion for drawing was born. As a child I preferred to play with pencils and paper rather than with toys as most of my peers did. The 1970s saw the invasion of newsstands by Marvel Superheroes! That was the first approach to the passion for comics.

What were the masters you were inspired by? Have you been influenced by them artistically in your professional choices?

Yes... definitely the style, the technique of the artists I preferred, they influenced me a lot. Alex Raymond for example with Gordon, Rip Kirby ...! John Buscema and Neal Adams with Marvel. Then the great Italian masters, Battaglia, Tacconi, Breccia.

Many young people dream of pursuing this career and creating the most famous characters in the history of cinema, for them you are a reference point, a role model. Can you tell us how your career started and how you landed in Rainbow?

My career has been extremely intense, artistically 360°. Comics and advertising in the 70s-80s, first experiments in animation with the advent of private TV, then abroad with various experiences between Asia, the United States and Australia, and then the decision to return to Italy to put my international experience at the disposal of Italian animation cinema!

For many years you worked at Disney in Sydney, Australia, collaborating on as many as 12 sequels to well-known animated features. Can you tell us something about that experience? What is the main difference with the Italian animation reality?

Disney is first and foremost a school, where when you join the team, it's as if you were thrown into another world....resetting what you had done up until then. Nothing was left to chance.... I studied the behavior of the many trained dogs, free in the "Studios" when I worked on films like Lilli and the Tramp, days on vintage vessels when I worked on Peter Pan, as well as the engagement in extemporaneous drawing in the Australian woods when I worked on Bambi or the many drawings of gorillas in the beautiful Sydney Zoological Park. These kinds of artistic-productive realities, become difficult to project into an Italian reality, this because of the amount of investment/budget dictated by the obvious differences between the American and European markets.

What are the elements that you think are essential in defining a successful character or setting that sticks in the viewer's memory?

The two should not be separated, let's say that it is the fusion of two important elements that give rise to what is the most important basis from which we start, that is, the story, the originality of the latter, the idea!

You are currently Art Director of Rainbow CGI - Animation Studios, what does the job of Art Director for a 3D Production company consist of?

Follow productions from start to finish, making sure that quality and continuity of style is maintained through the steps in the various production steps.

What is the production you have been most passionate about? What are the biggest challenges faced and the biggest achievement you are satisfied with?

Tarzan 2 and Bambi 2 for sharing these experiences with artists such as Glenn Keane and Andreas Dejas, holy monsters of Disney animation. For Bambi also the satisfaction of having taken an Award as "The best layout artist." Then next Winx 1 with Rainbow CGI, a great artistic and production challenge in producing the first Italian feature film in 3D.

Your role leads you to manage and mediate between many creative, passionate and at the same time very different minds such as those of artists, technicians and Production. How do you reconcile the different needs while never neglecting the focus on the artistic aspect?

These are challenges that are carried out as a team, all having the same goals. Since we are all professionals in the field, artistic-character compromises based on each other's needs are the basis for a successful project.

In 2006 you were awarded the title of Knight of Merit of the Republic by President Napolitano for extraordinary international merit. Tell us what you thought when you heard about it and how does it feel to receive such a prestigious award?

It was certainly an 'unexpected and obviously gratifying surprise. I was in Sydney and was called to a meeting with the Italian Consul who informed me of the appointment conferred through our Foreign Ministry.

What is your advice to young people who feel great creativity within themselves, who have a strong passion for drawing and who decide to cultivate and invest in their talent. In other words, what would you say to those kids who want to do this work?

Of forcing one's abilities, passions, will every day, watching and studying the work done by one's "masters," working hard and aiming for those goals that can only be achieved by believing in oneself and what one is doing.

Ringraziamo Vincenzo Nisco per l’intervista