The VFX team at The Mill Paris and Quad director Bruno Aveillan wrangle point clouds and particle animation into a dreamy trip through revolutionary moments in French history and art for Renault thru agency Publicis Conseil.

Thibault Froment, copywriter at Publicis Conseil: “We wanted to create something never seen before in advertising, with a visual object that is both innovative and bold. This film is a dreamlike journey and the moving particles add a deconstructive effect to the image, symbolizing the passage of time.”

Alexis Baillia, VFX Supervisor at The Mill Paris: “The core idea was to create a genuine sense of immersion in each era, with one of the primary inspirations being the work of contemporary digital artist Benjamin Bardou. His art evokes the essence of memory from a narrative standpoint.
 

“This film is a dreamlike journey and the moving particles add a deconstructive effect to the image, symbolizing the passage of time.”

 
“We conducted an in-depth exploration of the look and feel of the particles in every sequence. For instance, in the New Wave sequence, the base particle is a dot, reflecting the grainy texture of film. Meanwhile, in the French Cancan sequence, each particle becomes a brushstroke, resulting in a visual style more closely aligned with a painterly aesthetic.

“The project culminates in an reinterpretation of Delacroix’s masterpiece Liberty Leading the People with the appearance of Marianne, a symbolic figure of the French Revolution. This final scene reinterprets the painting by incorporating figures from different revolutionary moments throughout history, bringing the journey to a climax.”
 
 

 
Client: Renault

Agency: Publicis Conseil
TV Producer: Caroline Bouillet
CD: Marcelo Vergara
Creative: Jean-Baptiste Blandin
Copywriter: Thibaut Froment

Production: Quad
Director: Bruno Aveillan
Editor: Walter Mauriot

VFX: The Mill Paris
Post-Production: Prodigious
Post Producer: Nataly Aveillan (Quad)
EP: Fabrice Damolini
VFX Producer: Stéphanie Mollet
VFX Supervisor: Mathieu Caulet, Alexis Baillia
CG Supervisor: Mathias Barday, Marouan El Bekri
Shoot Supervisor: Mathieu Caulet, Adrien Borzakian
Artistic Direction: Benjamin Bardou
Flame: Mathieu Caulet, Alexis Baillia, Stéphane Pivron, Sébastien Kremer
Modeling & Environment: Eva Rogelin, Marouan El Bekri
Matte Painting: Fabien Barrau
FX: Benjamin Lenfant, Enrique Gracia, Vincent Audineau, Balthazar Bourguignon, William Untereiner, Lazlo Trachsel
Lighting: Mathias Barday, Marouan El Bekri, Eva Rogelin, Guillaume Dadaglio
Compositing Nuke: Vivien Ebran, Kilian Roy, Tom Guéret
3D Generalist: Mickael Girod, Victoria Léger
Motion graphics: Sylvie Pham
Motion design: Michael Moercant, Jean-Yves Parent
After Effects: Julien Pinot
Colorist: Jean-Clément Soret
Planning: Sophie Mailho, Annabel Akerboom, Orlane Lusbec, Isabelle Renaud
Post-producer: Ilyes Receveur
Mastering and versioning: Etienne Lunet

The Mill Bangalore
Associate Producer: Ankita Mitra
Production coordinator: Nividita Dakua
Roto Supervisor: Sivakumar R
Roto Lead: Darshan HP
Clean up Supervisor: Prajeesh E
Clean up Lead: Mahesh Ravilla
Matchmove Supervisor: Rajnish Sharma
Matchmove Lead: Abhinav Sharma