Interview With Toy Designer Emiliano Santalucia

Discussion in 'Transformers News and Rumors' started by SilverOptimus, Nov 6, 2019.

  1. Dinobot Snarl

    Dinobot Snarl Well-Known Member

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    We'll find out 2020
     
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  2. VictoryLeo19

    VictoryLeo19 Well-Known Member

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    For me as a kid, it was all about how ‘mature’ the themes were. Shows where actual violence happened, characters died or sacrificed, or real love interests grew, is what I wanted to see even at a young age. I think kids do too still. Shows like Gargoyles, dragonball, pirates of dark water, jayce and the wheeled warriors, thunder cats, etc.

    Shows need connected storylines that progress forward, but for some reason the ‘flavor of the week’ type shows have succeeded for decades now.
     
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  3. ZapRowsdower

    ZapRowsdower Selling oddities in a shack. In the woods.

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    Sounds like Hasbro is really struggling with the kids...

    That does explain the sudden interest in their older audience. :rolleyes2 

    Everyone loves to talk about the TF movies making all things possible, but the reality is that the success of those awful movies allowed Hasbro to ignore the G1 continuity for at least 10 years. Only now, when the movies have lost their luster and all the casuals have moved on... now, maybe it's time to revisit the 80s. This could have happened in 2007, if not for the obsession with Bay-bots and the Bay Universe. I guess it made Hasbro enough money, but... well, relying on Summer movies to move product seems like a really risky business practice! :eek: 

    Instead, Hasbro should have put more effort into finding out what kids wanted from Transformers, and figuring out a way to really evolve the product to meet their interests. Essentially, we're talking about the elimination of toys, or reducing the "toy" aspect of the product. Media and gaming seems like a better bet, and Hasbro knows it. I mean, eventually, even G1 guys will get old and die off. Then what? Will there be anyone to carry the torch? TFs are big here, but I often wonder if this brand isn't completely niche to the mainstream.

    The solution is kind of obvious, imo: meld the brand with what's successful today. Sometimes it means FPS TFs, other times it means object-building Fortnite TFs! Certainly, I'd argue that TF Armada was unique and interesting because it tried to be exactly like the popular Pokemon series! :)  I personally prefer TF series that experiment with new ideas like that... versus the same recycled stories we get in junk like TF: RID. I didn't think RID was so bad... but then I tried listing some old figures for sale, and you would not believe how little interest there is in those figures! :banghead: 

    Oh, and Hasbro? Stop swapping characters like they have no personalities or worth. BB is not Optimus Prime, even if you think you can interchange them at will. Treat your character like unique individuals and your stories will benefit. Swap them around based on soul-less focus group tests and you will destroy that which you took so long to build.
     
  4. SilverOptimus

    SilverOptimus Movie News Monster Moderator News Staff

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    I agree with this 100%. I have a little cousin brother who, like most of his peers, moved out of toys and into mobile gaming at a very, very young age. Stopped watching cartoons as well.

    4-12 market is a lot different place than it used to be. You can put the best content out there and yet see next to nothing in return.

    As he said, Paw Patrol and Rescue Bots are for preschoolers. It's a totally different market yet exists primarily due to mobile phones. I've seen a lot of kids consuming the content via mobile media than with the TV. Hasbro knows this, Brian Goldner acknowledges this.

    Much like G.I. Joe, Transformers is on the brink of extinction. TF toys are dissapering fast from the toy stores in South East Asia. Store owners reluctant to stock. It's just not moving fast enough. Not sure how other countries are doing, but Hasbro is struggling in overseas markets other than UK, Australia etc.
     
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  5. AOEGalvatronRox

    AOEGalvatronRox Collector

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    Except the movies did breath new life into the brand and made things possible. I’d argue that, since the brand was on its last legs in the mid 2000’s, we wouldn’t have gotten the Cybertron games, Animated, Prime, NuRID, Rescue Bots, or Cyberverse. The only reason the brand is where it’s at now is because parents like shoving technology in their kids faces to keep them occupied and we keep seeing the same rehashed designs on shelves almost every year. What parent, who isn’t totally familiar with Transformers, is willing to buy an Optimus Prime figure for their kid for Christmas that looks like the one they just got them sometime ago? I’d even argue that collectors are also getting tired of seeing the same stuff. The folks on this website weren’t exactly throwing a giant celebration when it was revealed that Earthrise was going to simply be more G1.

    So this brand is hanging on a thread because of nostalgia? Kind of makes me wonder what’s gonna happen when collectors have eventually had heir fill of the constant G1 rehashes.
     
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  6. Shepard Prime

    Shepard Prime 1st Cybertronian Spectre of the Galactic Council

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    There are outliers but true, the trend does tend these days to go more flavor of the week (on channels like CN, Nick etc).

    Oth, kids these days watch Netflix as well so I'm really curious if Hasbro will give us at least a Dreamworks Voltron level TFs show given that they don't have to bend to Network demands. Then Hasbro will finally have the chain completed (Rescue Bots small kids/Cyberverse a bit older/Netflix teens and us) and maybe we can get a new crop of fans.

    As a kid in the 80s, like VictoryLeo, I gravitated towards good animation and cartoons that didn't hold my hand and advanced the story and basically had consequences (so I ended up watching a ton of anime with a few really good US shows sprinkled in) . It didn't have to be excessive or even violent (tho I was a kid so if bloody dismemberment was on the menu...well, I didn't exactly pass up that meal), just have...weight. To the story and narrative. Make me care. And I don't neccessarily think that flavor of the week obstructs that as you can do a lot of innovation within that structure. It's all in the writing.

    I do hope since this is on Netflix that Hasbro threw some dough at the animation dept and didn't cheap out.

    What I currently want (based off of past examples of TFs shows) is something written like Prime and Animated tonally (or--preparing to run away--Unicron trilogy) but animated like RiD15. That cell/shaded, vector graphics-lite look was (to me) a massive improvement over Prime. Yeah yeah, I know, "the textures and surfaces in Prime looked so real" but they moved so. Freaking. Sluggish. Not to mention apparently three fourths of the Earth were Snapped in Prime given how sparsely populated the planet seemed to be. :D . And that's not getting into the cast itself, which was rather small given how expensive it is to create the CG models and animate them.

    Animation wise, what I'd really love is to get Cowboy Bebop or Macross Frontier/Gundam:Unicorn levels of animation (Hasbro will never give that kind of budget but maybe if I speak it out loud enough it'll happen). :D 

    Bit of both of your comments for me. I'm constantly amazed by how far Transformers have come, both in design and ability, from when I had the small collection I had as a kid in the 80s. So having always wanted a giant scaled Trypticon and Metroplex for instance (neither of which I owned as a kid) Titan Tryps, Metro and Fort Max had me literally like a kid at xmas.

    It helps massively that I missed so many lines growing up later in life because when I started my own collection as an adult, I had no idea they'd advanced so far away from the bricks. To this day, I'm still going back looking for cool figs while buying new lines as well. So there is a bit of wish fullfillment of getting the ones I never got to as a kid along with ones that were never made/never made how I wanted them.
     
  7. Terradives

    Terradives Well-Known Member

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    Still waiting for an honest to god g1 update that is planned and funded. I’ve been waiting 20+ years.
     
  8. kaijuguy19

    kaijuguy19 Keyblade Wielder

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    To the people who are thinking that the brand will be doomed on the collector front once the G1 nostalgia train ends there's always the eras that came afterwards such as Beast Wars,Beast Machines,RID01 Unicron Trilogy etc to keep them float at least in that regard but only if Hasbro finally decides to give the other eras a chance after using nearly nothing but G1 for so long. So at least in the collector front the brand will live on.

    As for the kids in that department I also wonder if the reason for that is because Hasbro hasn't yet figured out how to effective take the TF brand to the next level to entice them to notice Transformers more with new ideas,gimmicks,characters,themes, etc. Like how in the 90's the brand was willing to switch to organic Beast modes for the time being. Sure that's going to be a risk but last time I checked,taking risks were a big reason why the brand was able to survive in the first place. Sooner or later if Hasbro wants Transformers to survive it's going to need to do that again whatever they want to let go of appeasing G1 nostalgia or not.
     
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  9. orangeitis

    orangeitis All orange, all the time. Looks infectious.

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    @Blam320 knows what they're talking about. Children aren't stupid(well, most of them anyway), and treating them like they are won't get you many views or toy sales. It's bad enough that Hasbro decided that every figure in the "kiddie lines" have transformation steps in the single digits(that's hyperbole, don't @ me). It has been getting ridiculous.
     
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  10. Blam320

    Blam320 Assembly Inventor

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    IMO, how you're watching a show is irrelevant, but the content of the show is not. Being able to watch your favorite show on a mobile device is more convenience-based than anything else, and has little to do with what you put into the show itself.
     
  11. Rodimus Prime

    Rodimus Prime Sola Gratia, Sola Fide TFW2005 Supporter

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    What I find funny is the people who are always complaining about 'geewun' are usually just nostalgic for a different era.
     
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  12. AOEGalvatronRox

    AOEGalvatronRox Collector

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    Well, a lot of people in this fandom have been waiting for a lot of things.

    Honestly, I’m just nostalgic for something other than Geewun. I’m so sick of geewun, I would much rather have Beast Wars figures, and I’m not even a big fan of Beast Wars.
     
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  13. KTRBrickBot

    KTRBrickBot Korean "Transformer" afficionado

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    Limited Transformer runs is perhaps one reason it's almost dead in Korea and Hello Carbot became an absolute juggernaut in their country. No story arcs, funny fun adventures, and marketable characters and songs all for preschoolers will probably keep the brand running for +20 years and 20 seasons with a single protagonist forever in elementary school. The evergreen preschool formula for "Transformers"!
     
  14. AutobotAvalanche

    AutobotAvalanche Number One in Boogieland

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    Isn't there enough G1 media for you? And I don't mean neo-G1 either. Between the cartoon, Japanese shows, hundreds US and UK comics, various other stories and continuities, there's plenty to keep you busy. What's lacking that's kept you sitting on your hands for two decades?
     
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  15. shamanking282

    shamanking282 Well-Known Member

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    Have you watched Cyberverse? Honestly, if you can get past the first 6 or so kinda mediocre episodes, it does settle into being closer to a G1 reboot than any cartoon has before.
     
  16. AOEGalvatronRox

    AOEGalvatronRox Collector

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    That’s a good question. Quite honestly, and I say this with all due respect, even though a majority of the Transformers brand has been catering to them for a good while, most G1 fans will never be happy or satisfied.
     
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  17. AutobotAvalanche

    AutobotAvalanche Number One in Boogieland

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    I have likes and dislikes as much as the next guy, but while I'm primarily a G1 fan myself I do enjoy a lot of other things as well. Beast Wars is my favorite show from the franchise and I love the movie toys. Even if G1 is someone's strong preference I think they're missing out on a lot by just stubbornly holding out for a reboot forever. There's a lot to love and I wish we could all get along.
     
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  18. Emiliano

    Emiliano Member

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    Lol, sorry, I think they got my picture from my Facebook page :D 

    I'm sorry if you feel insulted, it was surely not my intention to insult anyone.
    But I think I need to clarify this a bit:
    First of all, this is just an extract of a longer interview that can be found here:
    Intervista con Emiliano Santalucia, toy designer dei Transformer per Hasbro | Cultura Pop
    Taken out of context, the meaning can be lost a bit. If you read it all, you will see it was part of a larger discourse the interviewer was going for.

    Also, and very important, please keep in mind I'm a freelance designer, and this are solely my opinions and my observations. I am not a Hasbro employee and I am not expressing Hasbro's opinion or speaking on their behalf, neither I'm reporting on their plans or strategies, as I don't know them.
     
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  19. Shepard Prime

    Shepard Prime 1st Cybertronian Spectre of the Galactic Council

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    For the click adverse among you, here's the interview in full via Google translate from Culturapop. I'm on my phone so I can't format it better, sorry. When I get to my PC I'll fix it.

    Interview with Emiliano Santalucia, Transformer toy designer for Hasbro
    [​IMG]
    by Anna BenedettoTuesday 5 November 2019 17:00
    More information on
    If toys are food for the mind , and we are what we eat, then we must choose well! At Lucca Comics and Games, Hasbro has presented all the news of his basket of action figures , toys like Transformers or figures of Marvel and Star Wars worlds. In the excellent panel that met the enthusiastic audience there was also Emiliano Santalucia , a freelance toy designer born in 1975 who works for Hasbro on the Transformers and Star Wars brands, but who started his career working on series like “Masters of the Universe "And" GI Joe ".

    Hasbro presents the latest news at Lucca Comics and Games 2019. On the right, Emiliano Santalucia
    [​IMG]

    We met him on this occasion and asked him a bit at point blank:

    "But toy designer, what job is it?"

    [​IMG]It's a very strange job. I don't know what to compare it to and we are very few at it. It means staying at home drawing like a cartoonist, but with work that changes from day to day.

    "Is there anything you are inspired by for your work?"

    [​IMG]Creativity is channeled. It means that I cannot freely inspire myself in things: what I try to do is to understand the characters I work with thoroughly and try to give them back an aspect or aspects that are consistent with themselves.

    "Do the toys you draw embrace all kinds of audiences?"

    [​IMG]Yes, depending on the type of toy. I can work on more products for collectors or children, or both. Each of these types can have differences both in how it is conceived and realized.

    Santalucia Transformer for Hasbro
    [​IMG]
    "A push towards the vintage has been going on for a long time, generally in cultural products: in practice, now that we can, we buy back the toys that mum threw us away. But how do you go about meeting new generations?"

    [​IMG]I could not answer you with certainty because at the moment we are very focused on looking back. With new things, you go to clash with the old audience because there is a fairly strong wall. With Hasbro products we look at both audiences, but each company decides if and how to make this type of bet. Looking to the past is certainly a security.

    "What kind of wall is it, this you're talking about?"

    [​IMG]It is a wall between new and old generations. The fact that the younger ones are digital natives is one of the characteristics: children play much less and for much less time with the toy. We played up to 11-12 years, now above 7 it is already difficult, and it is difficult to capture their attention and build loyalty to a brand as we could have had them as children when we followed the brand for years. Now, either you abandon it immediately, or it is difficult for a brand to live long before it innovates: the Transformers for example, for children, propose a new series every 3 years.

    Emiliano Santalucia, toy designer
    [​IMG]
    But I have the impression that there is another problem ...

    [​IMG]There are products, even entertainment, that are much more current but that find a cultural and ideological wall in people. Certain things that for those who are growing now are much more accepted, but for bigger consumers it doesn't happen. Examples are the questions about female protagonists or different ethnic groups in the Star Wars films. I see a wall there, supported by social media that give a lot of space to 'protests' of this type that hide, or rather do not hide, misogyny and racisms of various kinds.

    "So the heroines the children accept, the adults don't."

    [​IMG]It is so: up to a certain age there are no problems, while adults see it as an attack on an identity, even if it is not.

    - Moment of silent, embarrassing but shared reflections on humanity -

    "Do you feel ... how to become a toy designer?"

    [​IMG]I don't know - he answers jokingly but not too much -. The natural path of those who go to work in these companies is product design, industrial design, which provides training with respect to design and production. I don't come from that world: I was a cartoonist but fond of toys. And when I offered myself to specialized companies, they accepted my work. It was my desire to look at them, play with them, understand how they are designed and made, to make a difference. In eleven years of work, I learned everything I did not know. Drawing, I was already thinking three-dimensionally ”.

    "But, in a liquid society like the one we live in, how does the role of the toy change?"

    [​IMG]I'm trying to figure it out too. On the one hand, obviously all the big companies like Hasbro try to hybridize things, putting together new technologies and new ways of playing, so that there is physicality and virtuality, but that they communicate with each other. It is a process in progress and difficult to predict. What is certain, the window of use of the toy has shrunk and it is a pity. Not only because they are beautiful, but because I think you lose the interpretative space that a toy gives you.

    "Explain better…"

    [​IMG]Beyond the extent to which you can command a character in an already written story, with the possibility of following stages created before, there is a big difference between having a physical thing in hand and imagining what is around it to put it in a set and simulate a narrative situation. Having an action figure in your hand is the stimulus to create, guess, imagine, search and find play sets using everything from wooden pieces to product boxes ... the concept of imagining, building the world and stories with your own mind, it is important in terms of growth and education. If everything is already established and preordained .. lots bad. I'd rather the child build his stories
     
    Last edited: Nov 7, 2019
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  20. Rodimus Prime

    Rodimus Prime Sola Gratia, Sola Fide TFW2005 Supporter

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    ...are you referring to the show being made by the clowns at rooster teeth?
     
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