Luis Canau

Background

About Luis Canau

I work in animation since the end of the 1990s, having started on a traditional paper workflow performing a wide range of tasks, using several specialised software applications. I work with Toon Boom software since 2005, starting with Opus II, in a database/server environment, later upgrading to Harmony (since version 7.8). I completed a certification (Associate level) in Harmony, at Toon Boom headquarters in Montreal, in 2012. I have been performing the role of 2D animation compositor and technical director since 2008. I have been teaching Toon Boom Harmony, from both traditional and cut-out animation perspectives, to animators, at art and technology schools, and, since 2024, at college level. Besides my studio work, which includes dozens of short-films, TV series and specials, I work regularly on freelance projects, including TV ads, explainers, and a feature-length motion comic film. I co-directed my first animated short film,"UPS!", with Galvão Bertazzi, in 2024. I also work as editor, having used Final Cut Pro, Premiere Pro, and, currently, DaVinci Resolve. My experience in film includes being a programmer for MOTELX – Lisbon International Horror Film Festival, since 2008, and writing about film, since 1997 and for a period of around 10 years, to my (defunct) website and to several Portuguese publications, such as Premiere and DVD-Review. In 2006, I spent a few months in South Korea researching local cinema under a fellowship of the Korea Foundation. I like new challenges and solving problems, but I work mostly to make sure problems will not occur.