Fortiche Production Conference

FORTICHE, A GROWING STUDIO MEETING THE NEW GENERATION OF STUDENTS

The studio Fortiche Production was born in 2009 under the impulse of its three founders: Pascal Charrue, Jérôme Combe and Arnaud Delord. Its first decade of existence is more dedicated to the animation of clips and commercials. The studio’s work quickly stood out for its unique and inimitable style. In 2012 the studio started a collaboration with Riot Games, the company behind the game League of Legends. To date, the culmination of their relationship is the excellent Arcane series, which has received unanimous critical acclaim.

Initially based in Paris, the studio has also opened two additional branches: Montpellier and Las Palmas (Canary Islands). Alexis Wanneroy, Head of Character Animation, from the Montpellier branch came to meet our fourth year students of CG Animation and FX Master Degree in Montpellier (with live broadcast for the other campuses) for a conference. He was accompanied by three former ESMA students from the same course (Ugo Masutti, Lucas Ancel et Arnaud Kupke) who have joined the Fortiche studio.

Alexis Wanneroy presented the Fortiche studio and its evolution over the years. Of course, he dedicated some time to the Arcane series. As animators (all of them), they also focused on this profession. This kind of meeting is also an opportunity for professionals to advise students on the preparation of their CV / demoreel for their next entry into the world of work, to give some advice too. At the end of the conference, the students had the opportunity to ask questions. Finally, the speakers met with the students to discuss their final film projects.

INTERVIEW WITH ALEXIS WANNEROY

ARCANE, A GLOBAL SUCCESS

Arcane hit Netflix in November 2021 and shook things up. Unanimously acclaimed by critics, Arcane imposes the unique and recognisable style of the Fortiche studio. The development of the Arcane series is part of a collaboration between Riot Games and Fortiche that has been ongoing for several years, taking it to a whole new level. This series is also an opportunity to show the world the French know-how in the field of digital images.

In a few words, the story of Arcane takes place in the world of Runeterra, the fictional universe in which the game League of Legends takes place. The viewer follows the story of two sisters, Vi and Powder, struggling in the lower city of Zaun, which lives under the yoke of the upper city Piltover; and in parallel the journey of two scientists Jayce and Viktor who are trying to revolutionize the world.

Several former ESMA students contributed to the making of this series! We met several of them who talked about their jobs and their missions on this series. You can read these interviews again:

• Julien Jamme (Animator), Lucas Ancel (Animator) & Martial André (Animator Supervisor)
• Rémy Terreaux (Animation Supervisor), Quentin Garaud (Animator), Christophe Gigot (Groom Supervisor)