Working with Partizan director Antoine Bardou-Jacquet, Paris studio Mathematic layer up live-action, VFX, and comic book-inspired animation in this rousing short film marking the 70th anniversary of French automotive brand Alpine.

Produced through agency BETC Étoile Rouge and backed by an emotional soundtrack from Paris audio house Start Rec, the three-minute film spotlights highlights in the history of the brand and its mantra that “lightness is a strength”.

Jéhan Bouazza and Yann Aldabe, VFX supervisors at Mathematic: “The Alpine project brought together the full range of VFX expertise, from integration into live-action footage, to full CGI sequences, and even a phase of traditional 2D animation. The diversity of techniques and approaches made it both a rich and exciting production.
 

“The graphic style was designed to evolve throughout the narrative, following a visual progression that supports the storytelling.”

 
“One of the main challenges was to faithfully capture the iconic visual language of the comic books we grew up with — all within just six weeks of production. This required a significant amount of image analysis to understand what gives comic book imagery its strength and, at times, its deceptive simplicity.

“Based on this research, we collaborated from the very start of production with talented illustrators to develop precise visual concepts for each sequence. The graphic style was designed to evolve throughout the narrative, following a visual progression that supports the storytelling.

“Once the 3D sequences were completed, our 2D animation team stepped in, redrawing each frame by hand and adding stylized 2D FX — just as a traditional illustrator would have done. This hand-crafted touch is what gives the project its emotional depth, authenticity, and human feel.”

Watch the VFX break-down reel:
 

 
 

 
Client: Alpine
Team: Antonino Labate, Arnaud Belloni, Alexandra Madiot-Gasse, Patrick Fourniol, Cecile Ousset

Agency: BETC Etoile Rouge
ECD: Nicolas Lautier
Art Director: Eric Astorgue
Copywriter: Martin Rocaboy
Creative Resource Manager: Nina Kaufman
Producer: Arezki Ahcene, Malik Brikat, Sarah Dufief
Production Director : Isabelle Labeylie

Production: Partizan
Director: Antoine Bardou-Jacquet
Producer : Khalid Tahhar

VFX/Animation: Mathematic
Owner/EP: Guillaume Marien
Post Producer: Gouna Logan
VFX Coordinator: Camille Lorthioy
Supervisor: Jéhan Bouazza, Yann Aldabe
Shoot Supervisor: Jehan Bouazza
Previz Artist: Eballard Sébastien, Valere Amirault, Charles-Henri Maurin
Track supervisor: Adrien Delecroix
Track Artist: Eva Clerc, Jean-Baptiste Demouge
Concept Artist: Hippolyte Jacquet, Stéphane Levallois, Paul Levallois, Florian Perron, Marc Peyronen, Melody Cisinski, Paul Lacolley, Chloé Farr, Romain Bayle, Leïla Courtillon
CG Artist: Yann Glica, Lucas Benoit, Vincent Flohic, Benoît Touroude, Nathan Vidal, Léa Marie Lune Cloatre, Elia Paoli, Aurélien Geenen, Alan Baugé, François Heysen
Look Dev Artist: Emmanuel Cutillas, Charline Arnoux, Maud Cuenot, Nicolas Daegelen, Chloé Stricher, David Labelle
FX Artist: Thomas Van Maele
Animation 3D: Morgane Scionico, Léa Chervet, Xavier Caroobourg, Aline Hananel
Animation 2D: Leyla Kaddoura, Emeric Vénière, Chloé Viala, Carl Castan Euquin, Julien Lin, Anna Bolshakova, Louise Pigner Leroul, Loïck D’Argentré, Maud Lebras, Diego Hernandez Blanco
FX 2D: Frédérick Venet
Background 2D: Lia Mchedlishvili
Matte painting: Jonathan Bey
Compositing Artist: Edouard Koen, Nicolas Millot, Charly Nelly, Astrid Tessier, Fabien Delavous, Lucia Scansetti
Flame Artist: Frédéric Brandon et Samuel Roux
Assistants In&Out: René Samoel, Bilal Foot

Audio: Start Rec