Comparison between specific technical and conceptual aspects to understand Carlos Santa: the dark jungle and phantasmagoria

The objective of the project was to compare specific technical and conceptual aspects of the works "La Selva Oscura" (1994) and "Fantasmagoría" (2013) with the intention of understanding how short films have changed and evolved over time, and how they understand these changes both Carlos Santa and some external agents.

For many authors, the originality of the filmmaker's work comes from a strong Renaissance influence and an old tradition. Through this study, we managed to understand those plastic, literary and musical techniques and referents that allow him to maintain his conscious will to move away from fashions and aesthetics marked by the great studios; All this is seen represented in his work "The Dark Forest" where, through allegorical images and direct quotes to the texts, he makes a strong reference to The Divine Comedy, by Dante, and The Aeneid, by Virgil.

Taking this into account, we discovered that through the use of different techniques such as sand drawing on glass, painting, engraving, among others. manages to explore the plastic, poetic, choreographic and musical senses of animation. Following this idea, the materiality and the techniques used configure the universe of each work, but like the image, it is important to emphasize the plastic sound, which is vital for the animator. In "Fantasmagoría" the sound design manages to address a completely different dimension that immerses the audience in an audiovisual illusion.

We also find that the filmmaker makes use of the human body as a central tool to express states and metaphors, which from the technique manages to generate different sensations in the viewer. Finally, we navigate through the different architectures of time that the filmmaker proposes, since these not only shape how viewers understand and live the shorts, but also seeks to generate new ways of approaching different philosophical disciplines.

Authors: anny sofia uribe  & Gabriela Cartagena.