The renowned boxers Anthony Joshua and Francis Ngannou will face off on March 8th in a highly anticipated 10-round bout in Riyadh. To showcase this global event, director Romain Chassaing enlisted the VFX team at The Mill Paris to create an epic 2-minute teaser seamlessly blending the real world with visual effects. The two boxers alternate between filmed sequences and 3D doubles, adopting a Pixel Art graphic style inspired by 90s video games.
As the two champions find themselves amidst an exuberant crowd, real-life footage transforms into pixels, catapulting them into an epic battle. With numerous twists and turns, the teaser boldly heralds the eagerly anticipated fight worldwide.
This film highlights numerous disciplines and skills of The Mill Paris studio, ranging from traditional 2D animation, including Pixel Art, to 3D and motion design for creating various assets, FX effects, and numerous backgrounds.
To learn more about the behind-the-scenes of our work, our VFX Supervisor, Alexis Baillia, and our CG Supervisor, Marouan El Bekri, provide further insights below.
Alexis Baillia, VFX Supervisor said : "We were approached directly by director Romain Chassaing to craft a multitude of effects for a 2-minute film within a tight timeline of just a few weeks. Having collaborated with Romain before, I was eager to join forces again, as I hold his consistently rich and detailed imagery in high regard.Right from the start, we recognized the inherent challenges of the project: assembling a substantial and diverse team, sourcing experts in Pixel Art, and delivering effects for a 2-minute film within such a condensed timeframe.
Accompanied by CG Supervisor Marouan El Bekri, we visited the film set to anticipate any potential hurdles and to gather the necessary measurements and scans for the production team. Given the pressing time constraints, our meticulous pre-production efforts were pivotal to ensuring a smooth production process.
In terms of artistic direction, we drew inspiration primarily from the graphic style of 90s video games, as per the director's vision. This involved recruiting specialists in Pixel Art, a niche discipline practiced by few but often associated with the gaming industry. Led by Vincent Venchiarutti, our Head of Motion Design, we actively scouted for talent and we selected the right internal motion leads for the project. With such a substantial team in place, we designated discipline leads to streamline collaboration and workload distribution.
The agency afforded us complete artistic freedom, with Romain encouraging us to explore and propose a plethora of ideas. This project proved to be both original and invigorating on multiple fronts, from its visual effects to its destination and the overall quality of its execution. I am truly gratified to have played a role in this endeavor alongside the entire team at The Mill Paris, as well as our colleagues in The Mill Bangalore."
Marouan El Bekri, CG Supervisor shared "We were tasked with creating several CG elements, including characters, multiple luxury cars, and environmental features such as earth or clouds. While on set with the VFX supervisor, Alexis Baillia, we conducted scans of the various characters to later recreate their digital doubles and to manage the transition between CGI and Pixel Art. We gathered measurements and 3D scans of multiple environments for the production team. The challenge lay in seamlessly blending the aesthetics of Pixel Art and gaming with the advertising world to achieve a cohesive result that resonated with the director's artistic vision.
The artistic direction was heavily influenced by the graphic style of 90s video games, which worked to our advantage as the director, Alexis, and the Pixel Artists shared a common nostalgia for these games. This mutual understanding facilitated smooth and efficient collaboration. Alongside these creative discussions, VFX producer Stéphanie Mollet provided the necessary organizational expertise to keep the project on track.
Throughout the project, we maintained open lines of communication between team members, whether they were based in Paris or Bangalore. Trusting in the abilities of our colleagues, we worked together to craft a film that we can all take pride in today. I would like to express my gratitude to the entire team and all the artists who were able to get involved."