Directed by Guillaume Ivernel and produced by a collective of renowned studios (Pan Animation, Maybe Movies, 2 Minutes, Belvision), the animated film The Legendaries finally hits the big screen. Adapted from the famous comic book saga by Patrick Sobral, this project is the result of seven years of dedicated work, a timeline notably marked by the challenges of the Covid crisis.
"Unlike traditional animation methods where images require hours of calculation - rendering - before being visualized, this film was created in real-time."
This specificity allows unprecedented flexibility and total immersion in the creation of the universe.
Film Summary
Inspired by the famous comic book, the film follows the adventures of The Legendaries, a group of once-admired heroes who, following a magical accident, have all reverted to childhood. In a world that has lost faith in them, they must find a way to break the spell and restore their adult appearance while fighting the forces of evil that threaten the balance of their universe.
The Interview: Kevin Bertelli and the Magic of Real-Time
Teacher at École Méliès, Kevin Bertelli brought his expertise to the film as Environment and Unreal Engine Supervisor. In his interview, he explains how this engine designed by Epic for games like Fortnite radically transformed the making of this feature film.
The film's major innovation lies in the use of the Unreal Engine game engine, enabling real-time creation. Unlike traditional methods where rendering an image takes hours, this technology offers instant visualization of modifications.
This efficiency gain not only achieves an impressive level of detail ranging from the vastness of a city to the precision of a blade of grass but also reduces the energy consumption of machines by a factor of 100. Inspired by open-world games like Red Dead Redemption, the team was able to manage epic sets with much less technical complexity than pre-rendered animation.
École Méliès Alumni in the Credits of this Landmark Film
The school's expertise is widely represented in this production with, alongside Kevin, seven alumni occupying key positions, from production management to visual effects:
- Bertrand Schulz (Class of 2002): Production Director
- Quentin Hazifou (Class of 2020): FX Artist
- Thomas Martinez (Class of 2022): Lighting Artist
- Héloïse Fournet (Class of 2023): FX Artist
- Emma Rossignol (Class of 2023): Lighting Artist
- Alaric Girardot (Class of 2024): Technical Artist
- Florie Poulet (Class of 2024): FX Artist
