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For Edu Martin, starting out in CG in 90s Spain was no easy task, with the industry there being relatively undeveloped at the time. "It was difficult to specialise in any of the 3D disciplines because jobs were completed by small teams, where everyone did a bit of everything," remembers Martin. After years of working as a generalist he finally managed to specialise in lighting in 2007, when he worked on one of the most relevant animated features in Spain to date - Planet 51. From there he worked at Animal Logic and was eventually lucky enough to get hired by Pixar.

"The role of a lighting technical director at Pixar is not that different from the same position in other companies," he tells us. "It mixes the creative process of lighting and compositing the shots with the technical part of dealing with the rendering. Sometimes you have the chance to work on the key areas or master lighting, where you create a lighting setup that will later be used for the shot-lighters who will fine-tune it... You're also in charge of the technical part of that shot, paying attention to the render times, splitting extra layers if necessary, taking care of possible problems or demands that a shot needs and compositing all the different passes together."

How has the discipline of lighting evolved over the time you've been involved with it?

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