In-génie
I had the privilege of serving as the sole Visual Effects (VFX) artist for the French television series "In-génie" for Orbite Media.
"In-génie" was nominated in the category of "Best Children's Program or Series: Entertainment" at the 37th Prix Gémeaux, which honor achievements in Canadian television and digital media that is broadcast in French; sponsored by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television.
I was initially tasked with designing the robot character (Leo) and providing a model with rigging for augmented reality integration live on set. However the AR team met with unexpected hurdles and that approach was abandoned. I was fortunate to play a role in resolving these challenges, ensuring the successful incorporation of the robot into every scene during post-production. This encompassed various responsibilities, including designing, modeling, rigging, animating, lighting, and compositing for the entire series.
My main challenge was animating Leo, who spoke French, even though I don't speak French myself. I did my best to animate Leo with emotion and understanding so he would be a convincing scene partner for the live action Sabrina.
I was also the Motion Graphic Designer for the opening titles and end credits.
The initial design request for the robot was open-ended. The primary requirement was for the robot to possess flight capabilities, rendering the need for legs unnecessary. Additionally, it was imperative for the robot to convey emotions through simple animations, as it would be pre-animated and controlled via triggers.
In the second revision round the client combined elements from the first three designs. This culminated in the creation of our protagonist robot, aptly named Leonardo, affectionately nicknamed Leo by Sabrina.
The storyboartds for the opening titles were approved pretty quickly, with only one revision round.
The end credits were a quick process as well as most of the deign work was approved in earlier stages of the project.
