Fortiche (Arcane) interview: upcoming animated feature, ambitions, AI, and more

At Annecy Festival ‪@annecyfestival‬ we had the opportunity to speak with Fortiche Production ‪@Fortiche_Prod‬ , the French animation studio behind the cult series Arcane (season 2 coming soon!)
Fortiche provided us with more details about their upcoming project, the feature film Penelope of Sparta, an ambitious endeavor that aligns with the studio's stylized animation spirit.
Also covered in the interview were their reasons for developing their own IPs, the team's ambitions, challenges in terms of recruitment and growth, generative AI, working conditions, and their perspective on the studio's influence on the new generations of artists.
00:00 - Intro
00:30 - Penelope of Sparta
02:24 - Why create your own IPs?
02:57 - "Petit Fortiche" ("small Fortiche")
04:58 - Antique IP
06:02 - Team, hiring, animation industry crisis
08:36 - generative IA
09:48 - part time, workflow improvements
10:41 - stylized rendering & influence on young artists
X/Twitter : / 3dvf
Instagram : / 3dvfcom
Facebook : / 3dvfcg
LinkedIn : / 3dvf
#Fortiche #Arcane #PenelopeofSparta #AnnecyFestival

[@3dvfMag]

00:00 - Intro 00:30 - Penelope of Sparta 02:24 - Why create your own IPs? 02:57 - "Petit Fortiche" ("small Fortiche") 04:58 - Antique IP 06:02 - Team, hiring, animation industry crisis 08:36 - generative IA 09:48 - part time, workflow improvements 10:41 - stylized rendering & influence on young artists

[@r3m1]

Wow, they're actually saying interesting, professional stuff instead of just selling their product! That's so refreshing 😂

[@3dvfMag]

Indeed, it was really nice to have such an open discussion!

[@MoeKyorosuke]

Their take on AI is so refreshing. I am even more convinced this studio is dedicated to doing things the proper way.

[@seyff367]

Absolutely right. I hope they stay a people loving company which they seem to be in this interview

[@binyaminbass]

Amazing interview! They were so professional and inspiring. I have noticed that this seems to be safe way to grow: take on small projects for other companies, then large projects, then start developing your own IP. You can't just jump to the end.

[@MagdalenaMantler]

I really really like the attitude of this studio and how they think about what they want to do and how they involve all their employees. I think they have a very good work ethic, always checking in that people LOVE what they do and how they can make their work even better by eliminating bothersome parts etc. Having such a workspace and attitude in a company pays off in just epic, wonderful results. Rreally looking forward for Penelope!

[@Lamont4D]

I saw the Penelope of Sparta project on Linkedin a while back but I’m still SUPER interested. I’m ready for anything Fortiche puts out.

[@endertoto]

la Grèce Antique revisité - l' Odyssée - le Style Fortiche... je suis vendu!!! trop hâte de voir le projet arrivé sur grand écran!!

[@giosuemantovan7168]

they have my utmost respect, authors who know the risks and what work, art and quality are

[@fernandoquintana3675]

Can't wait for this film

[@kervala]

C'est super intéressant, merci beaucoup :) Penelope of Sparta a l'air génial, c'est des thèmes que j'adore en plus

[@orpal3362]

Hâte de voir cette nouvelle production, je suis concept artist et j'espère pouvoir un jour bosser dans ce studio!

[@3dvfMag]

Et on sera ravis de t'interviewer le moment venu, du coup ! ;-) On avait interviewé Emmanuelle Aubeau (Talent Acquisition Manager chez Fortiche) sur les questions de recrutement, au printemps 2022. Le process est assez classique, mais ça répond à certaines questions potentielles (présélections, erreurs classiques, intégration des nouveaux entrants, etc). kzbin.info/www/bejne/iYO8pZuNe7mgjck

[@orpal3362]

@@3dvfMag J'ai regardé l'interview, et c'est vraiment très intéressant et très instructif. Merci beaucoup d'avoir fait cette interview. Et j'espère qu'un jour je passerais sur votre chaine pour présenter mon métier chez fortiche :)

[@emamelemasohaha5990]

I can't wait for the new movie! As a big fan of greek mythology, this is exactly the type of story I've been waiting for!!

[@ninisky2706]

9:35 just a slight correction on the subtitle. I think says “(so that the artist) can breathe and be/feel good”. He’s talking about the artist’s wellbeing being improved with the help of AI, not the art itself (I think)

[@3dvfMag]

Indeed, the subtitle needed to be tweaked. Thanks a lot!

[@travellerinthedark]

Penelope of Sparta sounds fun, I love Greek mythology. And it will definitely be worth watching in the cinema if it has anything like the quality of animation and sound design of Arcane.

[@ninisky2706]

J’ai hâte de voir ce film !! L’affiche est tout simplement exceptionnelle !

[@melvinlecam2559]

Ce projet m'a l'air juste incroyable, très très hâte de découvrir tout ça ! Et en temps que jeune animateur 3D, j'espère un jour participer à un de leurs projets !

[@agapmilla3345]

Mais tout les jours je vois ce film au cinéma à sa sortie. Il est incroyable ce studio

[@jobyebye2237]

Comme pour Dontnod avec les jeux videos je suivrai tous leur projet, à ce studio Mega hypée pour ce qui arrive

[@Cezako]

Super interview merci

[@motionbeer7716]

Merci !

[@kilaposhi]

J'ai hâte bordel

[@notcha8080]

i'll follow any work this studio puts out. they're unlike anything i've ever seen

[@vilhelm-]

Nice to see that they aren't restricting themself to RIOT's IP.

[@Hadoken.]

Sounds like an interesting project. The only issue I find from the description is that it seems they used classic Greece as the blueprint, what with Athens dominating and the schools etc. However the Homeric poems are describing a quasi historical quasi mythical version of the Mycenaean age which was very different to classical Greece, and I think had that been used as a basis it would have been much more interesting, liberating from a creative perspective and the mythological element much more relatable. A lost opportunity, but an interesting project nonetheless.

[@xanderman55]

The film sounds interesting but I wonder what the distribution will be for the film? If it is theatrical what does the localization look like and who is distributing? Still a lot of questions but I am excited to check it out.

[@3dvfMag]

There is no information at this stage, but we'll follow this closely!

[@jkoo6528]

I wouldn't be surprised, if it would be a Netflix streaming only exclusive, as they already have that relationship with them. Or if not Netflix exclusive, but a streaming only with some festival screenings (and later DVD/BRD, if the collector demand is there).

[@binyaminbass]

@@jkoo6528 I don't know. They were talking about making it epic to for the big screen. Sounds like a real theater release.

[@bowwing333]

The more you save time, the less time you have to spend and the weaker your artistic muscles get as they won't get exercised in these ways. Don't learn this the hard way. Take your time always and let it cook. Do it the hard way always. Beat yourself into color, sweat and bleed through the process. Never look back. A runner doesn't start picking easier and quicker pathways, a climber doesn't look for smaller and smaller mountains, and artists don't look for shortcuts. It's robbery and the smooth, fun and exciting slide all the way down to the bottom of the Zaun Junkheap with the rest of the shimmerheads looking for greatness, quick and cheap.

[@joelpicksel9880]

Le problème de l'IA, c'est que tout va devenir générique. Le jour où un film un jeu fait entièrement en IA qui rapportera des millions lors de sa sortie là on pourra dire que l'artiste sera fini. C'est une question de temps 😢

[@ryanmatthews3609]

5:19 so there no longer interested in making shows based on existing ips anymore?

[@3dvfMag]

Yes, they are. It might not be 100% clear here, but they explained us during the "Studio Focus" conference just before the interview that the goal was to do work on existing IPs (both with Riot and other partners), as well as create new IPs. And they want to release something every year (an animated feature, a new series season, a short film, etc). This will take time, of course, but that's the end goal.

[@ryanmatthews3609]

@@3dvfMag what about shows based on comic series/titles?

[@fernandoquintana3675]

Excellent ​but that means they are no longer a small studio. I imagine that their goal is to reach the level of Ilimination, Dreamworks, etc. @@3dvfMag

[@kolerick]

@@ryanmatthews3609 hmmm, sure the Fortiche style could do well for an adaptation Black moon chronicles...

[@ryanmatthews3609]

@@kolerick i meant comic book adaptations in general.

[@grayfox8904]

Subtitles go way too fast, please add better timing.

[@3dvfMag]

Thanks for the feedback! Did you have issues during the whole video or for a specific section of the interview (if so, when)? We could also try to fuse short subtitles to create longer subtitles but that would remain on screen longer: would this help?

[@grayfox8904]

@@3dvfMag Hello there! It would be better if we had whole sentences instead of trying to translate individual and short parts that come and go very fast. Sometimes we cannot even pause the video and have to constantly rewind some seconds back. It is mostly near the end.

[@3dvfMag]

@@grayfox8904 Thanks! We just edited the subtitles (looks like KZbin decided to split subtitles that weren't supposed to be split), especially at the end, but we also checked the whole video to fuse parts that were too short. Let us know if this helps! We'll keep it in mind for our upcoming interviews when they are not in English (by the way, we have a couple of conferences in French only on the way, as they are very long and really aimed at French artists, but we also have interviews with Disney, Wacom, Keytales on the way, among other things. These three will be in English, so no subtitles required on your end. 🙂).

[@grayfox8904]

@@3dvfMag Thank you very much! :-)

[@SamSam-ds9ny]

Studio know for pushing back against AI…. Not anymore ? Yikes.

[@ryanmatthews3609]

those traitors.

[@jobyebye2237]

Not AI as the stealing other ppls art aspect but as in the technical aspect (just like 2d -> 3d as they said) the artistic part will still be created by their animators

[@ryanmatthews3609]

@@jobyebye2237 who knows we'll just have to wait and see.

[@pandora7350]

If you're gonna use ai i wont watch it

[@jobyebye2237]

You know AI is not only the ‘stealing others’ part, it’s there for a while..

[@jobyebye2237]

*has been there

[@pandora7350]

@@jobyebye2237 I'm not talking about those features.

[@tartoflan]

Utiliser des outils basés sur le vol du travail d'autrui dans vos productions, vraiment? Je rappelle que les "IA génératives" dont on parle ne génèrent en fait absolument rien - elles recyclent le travail de milliers d'autres personnes, qu'on leur a donné à analyser et dont elles se servent comme base pour recracher du contenu en fonction de comment leurs structures neurales ont été "entrainées". Je conçois l'envie d'avoir des solutions pour soulager le travail d'un animateur, mais je reste persuadé qu'utiliser des IA génératives à des fins commerciales est scandaleux. Non pas que mon avis y changera grand chose, bien sûr - tant que la boite de pandore est déjà ouverte, et qu'il n'y a pas de poids légal pour empêcher leur utilisation, tous les grands studios continueront à en faire un usage intensif, et chercheront à les faire perfectionner jusqu'à ce qu'elles puissent minimiser autant que possible le besoin d'artistes humains... voir même, jusqu'à les remplacer complètement? Triste avenir.

[@kervala]

Les logiciels comme Photoshop utilisent déjà l'IA pour faciliter la vie des artistes, notamment l'inpainting :) De plus, l'IA peut aussi être utilisée pour accélérer les rendus 3D. Il n'y a qu'à voir le DLSS ou le post denoiser d'Nvidia, lorsque le rendu n'est pas encore terminé et qu'il reste des pixels à calculer, l'IA se charge de deviner la couleur des pixels manquants. Il parle bien d'IA comme outils, pas pour remplacer un artiste.

[@tomkurcz167]

Non de ce que j'en comprends l'idée c'est plutôt de développer des outils d'IA en interne, qui se basent à partir du travail déjà fait et appartement au studio. Comme c'est dit dans la vidéo, l'IA sert "d'outil" pour accélérer certaines étapes de production. D'ailleurs, les grosses entreprises ne peuvent pas toujours utiliser des logiciels externes car cela peut compromettre la protection des données (cf Chat GPT reprend les données de recherche effectuées).

[@kervala]

@@tomkurcz167 C'est vrai qu'on peut aussi créer ses modèles à partir de ses propres créations :)

[@tomkurcz167]

@@kervala Je répondais à tartoflan, et je suis d'accord avec toi :)

[@kervala]

@@tomkurcz167 Oui, je m'en doute, mais je n'avais pas pensé à ça en regardant l'interview, du coup ta remarque est judicieuse :)

[@keremgo3d]

How about growing some balls and NOT using Ai at all even as a "tool" ?! And please don't put 3D and Ai in the same sentence.

[@jobyebye2237]

But AI IS a tool for 3D animation… You know that AI itself is old af, it’s the ‘let’s use it to steal other ppl’s arts’ update that’s new and they clearly said they might consider it for the boring technical parts, not the artistic parts

[@ariochiv]

...they think Arcane is for young adults? 😵 The anime obsession with high school is one of the things that puts me off most modern anime, so I'm sorry to hear that's where they're going. I'll watch it for the Fortiche artistry, but I don't expect much from the story. And I'm sorry, but Greek mythology is not "your own IP."

[@3dvfMag]

This doesn't mean that adults don't watch Arcane, of course, but this was the target when the show was created. (and this also explains, in part, why so many animated series are focused on high school or college)

[@GarudaPSN]

Disney's Hercules. God of War. Supergiant's Hades. Lore Olympus. Saint Seiya. Countless other private IPs based on greek mythology. And yes, arcane's target audience is the young adult demographic (18-25)

[@ariochiv]

@@GarudaPSN I don't consider adaptations of mythology to be "original IP's", but it's okay if we don't agree on exactly what that means.

[@jobyebye2237]

@@ariochiv Nah they said using greek mythology and adding their own twist on will make it their own IP (the Sci-Fi elements, coming of age story etc) esp since this specific part of Odysseus hasn’t been told yet from what I understood

[@ryanmatthews3609]

arcane is full of shit.

[@gorudennagetto396]

why would you think that?

[@fernandoquintana3675]

There's always a weirdo

[@ryanmatthews3609]

@@gorudennagetto396 it's based on league of legends, it's pretentious af despite Fortiche and Ella Purnell, and it's just league propaganda made by riot. (and it's one of many streaming shows which is also a bad thing for traditional tv)

[@gorudennagetto396]

@@ryanmatthews3609 "league propaganda" is crazy lmao

[@ryanmatthews3609]

@@gorudennagetto396 or is it?