Art of Homer Liwag

Homer Liwag has worked with David Copperfield since 1994 and his responsibilities as Co-Director/Design Director are incredibly wide-ranging. From designing illusions to filmmaking, his variety of talents and attention to detail is without equal. Everything Homer touches becomes sleek and beautiful.

When Homer agreed to direct Wonders Come to Life, we knew he would bring a combination of mystery, magic and elegance that we never could have achieved without him.

HOMER: Last June, Dan and Dave asked me if I would be available to bring their Art of Play showroom to life with a short film. I was really flattered, knowing how many filmmakers and talented people they have access to.

Having a full time “job” I am normally reluctant to take on side projects but the thought of working with puzzles, curiosities and spinning tops hooked me right away. Within a week I was shooting tests, writing scripts and storyboarding the film.

HOMER: Drawing is always a very anxious thing for me so I forced myself to draw the majority of the frames in 10 to 20 seconds max. If I had spent more time these drawings would definitely been over worked and heavy handed.

HOMER: Almost every frame is “center composition” - inspired by Director George Miller and Cinematographer John Seale’s work in Mad Max: Fury Road. They used center composition since they knew that the edits would be fast, and didn’t want the viewer to get lost searching around the frame to follow the action. I followed suit, knowing the final piece would have lots of quick cuts between unfamiliar objects. I also wanted to try a bunch of “match cuts” to emotionally link the action.

HOMER: I wanted to bring in a sense of motivation and humanity to the film while keeping it a bit abstract. There’s a sense of story without the formalities. I wanted people to feel compelled to watch the film more than once. The energy is real. The wonder is inspired.