Caminho das Alturas didn’t start with the script. It started with research about a real climber from 1933 that almost no one remembers. It was her story — Luzia de Freitas Caracciolo, 20 years old, the first woman to climb Dedo de Deus — that shaped every choice in the animation, long before I wrote a single line of dialogue. That’s what an award-winning short film taught me about communication: when the foundation is research, the text almost writes itself.
The problem: script before research
Most animation scripts are born from a loose idea: “a character facing a challenge”. Structure comes first, and content is filled in later. The result is predictable — and audiences can feel it.
The path I learned to use is the opposite. Before thinking about scenes or conflict, there’s a prior question: what is the true story here? For the short, the answer was a 1933 climb, a 20-year-old woman wearing a skirt over shorts because “women in trousers were called mannish women”.
The method: research → script → animation
The process moved through three layers that support each other:
1. The research. Luzia de Freitas Caracciolo was real. At 20, with a group of friends, she faced prejudice and criticism — and kept going through rain and judgment until she reached the 1,692-meter summit of Dedo de Deus on September 30, 1933, at 8 pm. All of it is in the script — not as decoration, but as the backbone.
2. The script. With the real story in hand, fiction came to dialogue with it: Ana, a 20-year-old — the same age as Luzia — climbs the same rock wall while her voice narrates the climber’s journey. The bridge between the two isn’t discourse: it’s structure. Every present-day scene echoes a fact from the past.
3. The animation. The script was born sensory. Instead of saying “she is determined”, the scene shows the hand gripping the steel cable, the face tensing with effort, rain closing in over the mountain. I drew the short to communicate through image and sound. Through texture too — never through explanation.
The communication lesson
If you’re creating anything — a corporate video, a post, a course — the most powerful question isn’t “how will I say this?”, but “what is true here?”. Research isn’t a bureaucratic step: it’s what gives authority to the message.
I made the mistake of starting from the script in older projects. It works — and the result is usually beautiful and empty. When I started from research, the text came naturally, and the visual narrative gained a depth that structure alone doesn’t deliver.
This also applies to my production pipeline: my production is mostly free software, and research — historical, technical, references — is the first stage of that flow, before any render.
If your project also deserves to start with research
I produce animation and audiovisual communication starting from research — it’s the same method behind Caminho das Alturas. Get in touch if you’d like to discuss your project.
Frequently asked questions
Is Caminho das Alturas a true story?
The protagonist Ana is fictional, but the plot is anchored in a real fact: Luzia de Freitas Caracciolo, the first woman to climb Dedo de Deus, in 1933. The fiction was created to dialogue with that story, mirroring Ana’s age to Luzia’s.
How does research influence an animation script?
It defines what is true and what is structural. In the short, the facts of the 1933 climb provided the conflict, the setting and even the visual metaphors. The script organized that foundation into scenes — it didn’t invent the content from scratch.
Do I need to research before every communication project?
Not as bureaucracy, but as a foundation. Research gives authority and specificity. Without it, the risk is producing something beautiful and generic; with it, the message becomes your own.
What sets this process apart from traditional scriptwriting?
The starting point. Instead of beginning with generic structure and conflict, it starts from a true story or a real problem, and the structure emerges from it. The result tends to be less predictable and more personal.
Where can I watch the short or learn more?
Caminho das Alturas travels through festivals and the studio’s portfolio. To understand the full process behind author-driven productions, follow the posts on visual narrative and the documented method here on the blog.
References
- Graça, R. A. B. (2026) Caminho das Alturas — original screenplay (primary source). Process: historical research → script → animation.
- Wikipedia (2026) Dedo de Deus — 1,692 m peak, Serra dos Órgãos (RJ). https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dedo_de_Deus
— Ricardo A. B. Graça · ricolandia.com