Jérôme Combe & Franck Samuel - Animation Production Day Part I

In Search of Excellence

Jérôme Combe – Fortiche
Masterclass from the studio behind the Netflix success Arcane, and how its founders have managed on setting Fortiche as a reference as an animation studio at a global level, since its creation in 2009.

Show me the Money

Franck Samuel – La Station Animation
Masterclass from one of the most prolific producers in France. How do French film and TV projects get financed? Learn everything about financing opportunities in France.

The Production Day is organized by Animasjon Norge, a subdivision of Virke Produsentforeningen with Frank Mosvold and Thomas Malmonte as project managers, and in collaboration with Fredrikstad Animation Festival. This event is supported by The Norwegian Film Institute, Virke Produsentforeningen and Viken Filmsenter.

Tickets

Participants

Jérôme Combe

Jérôme Combe studied industrial design and graduated in 1991, he decided to buy a computer and learn 3D by himself. As a fan of the game Another World and Eric Chahi’s work, he asked Chahi to collaborate on his future project, Heart of Darkness (Amazing Studio, 1998).

Thereafter, Combe multiplied his professional experiences as cinematic director and character designer on various video game projects. At the beginning of 2000, he started to develop a 2D/3D mix (cell shading) with the idea of creating an aesthetic, a unique “look development”. His ambition is to make a difference with traditional animation for children and to target a more adult audience. Combe therefore alternated between musical video with his own style that won numerous awards (Respire for Mickey 3D and Thomas Fersen: awarded at the Victoires de la musique 2004). In parallel, he directed commercials and did some advertising campaigns with Nexus London. As he was commissioned to co-direct commercials with Pascal Charrue and Arnaud Delord, the three of them decided to create their own studio, Fortiche Production.

This internationally renowned animation studio, located in Paris, is also known for its collaborations with big names of the video games’ industry such as: Ubisoft, Carbine Studios and Riot Games. They have an eclectic culture that reflects their vision and way of working. They have developed a unique graphic style mixing 2D and 3D media, combined with an ambitious staging inspired by cinema. The combination of this visual style and their narrative ambitions make Fortiche’s signature instantly recognizable in the industry. In 2012, the studio produced and directed a music video for the French band Limousine, called La Gaviota, which was noticed by Riot Games. Then, Riot came to them in 2013 to direct and produce the Get jinxed video. This started a long partnership between the two companies and with Christian Linke, showrunner of Arcane.

The studio has produced projects such as League of Legends – Rise, League of Legends – K/DA – POP/STARS, League of Legends – Warriors, Coldplay and Gorillaz music videos and the Rocket & Groot series for Marvel Studios. In 2021, the Arcane series was released, marking another milestone for the studio and the team. The show, acclaimed by the critics and the audience, received several Emmys.

Franck Samuel

Franck Samuel graduated with a B.A. in business studies from East London University and an M.A. in media management from KEDGE Business School. He began his career in audiovisual by joining MK2 in 2007, then continued his experience at TF1 Studio in 2009 where he learned the workings of SVOD. With these two experiences, he turned to production by integrating two production companies: La Station Animation and Las Niñas Pictures where he developed and produced animated and live-action series and films for several years. In 2015, he invested full-time in La Station Animation and became an associate producer. Since 2016, Franck Samuel has also worked at the ISCPA school where he teaches animation production.