In Quechua, the ancient language of the Incan Empire, 'amauta' means master and teacher. As a name for their multidisciplinary creative studio/directing collective, Amautalab founders Carlos Battilana and Martin Jalfen thought the word epitomized their intentions - to create great work, and, in the process, teach each other. As for the 'lab' in Amautalab: "We added it to give [it] edge," says Battilana.

Labwork began in 2004. Battilana, 34, who had run an animation/post company in Peru and an interactive company in LA, and Jalfen, 29, an agency creative with stints at La Comunidad and Publicis Capurro in Buenos Aires, and DDB, Argentina among others, were working together on workshops for young filmmakers in Cusco, Peru. It was dubbed the Amauta Project and produced the pair's first series of shorts, Cookies.

Working with a variety of artists in graphic design, claymation, traditional and 3D animation has allowed Battilana and Jalfen, along with Julian Montesano, who joined the Buenos Aires office in 2005 (Amautalab also has offices in Los Angeles and Lima), to stretch into the design and interactive realms. They've completed work for RESFEST, Toyota and the cover of Boards' April '07 issue.

The bulk of their broadcast work is animation, but they plan to become equally adept in live action. The majority of the work deals in boundless, youthful imagination married to deeper meanings. A video project for musician Anne Laplantine with 2D space-themed cutouts pulled through a painted paper landscape speaks to a larger theme about personal journeys. Alternately, their "Pigeons" spot for fernet brand 1882 features two pieces of costumed baguette being eaten by a tyrannical pigeon. "The challenge is to have fun," says Jalfen. "It's not about the final result, it's about the process."

Amautalab http://www.amautalab.com