Mill Paris | Renault says goodbye to horse power and welcomes electric power
In this film, directed by François Rousselet, Renault highlights the evolution of clean transport by drawing a parallel between horse riding and its new electric vehicle. Like the oldest form of transportation, the 100% electric Mégane emits zero CO2 and does not create a noise disturbance. The daring scenario required the privatisation of the streets, the arrival and management of dozens of riders and their mounts on the set.
To bring this retro yet modern world to life, our talents sublimated the sets by creating several elements in matte painting, from desert landscapes, to rocky mountains, to horse graffiti. Between the rearing horses, their colours, their postures and the director’s work, the images shot in Buenos Aires were already very elegant. Our artists sublimated the entire film by harmonizing all the shots with the flame.
The film opens with a woman making her way through a crowd of horses as she attempts to get to her Renault Megane. In this fantasy piece, horses are king; there are no traffic lights or road markings. Hay bales have replaced traditional petrol stations, and garage owners no longer change tires but horseshoes.
The campaign has been broadcast on multiple steaming services and at world events, including the Roland Garros tennis tournament in Paris, where it has been viewed by millions of people globally.
“An epic shoot, with over two weeks in Buenos Aires! It's always complicated to shoot with animals. I thought it would be even more so here with so many horses: we shot in the heart of the city with 30 horses at times! Well, not at all. First of all, the stud farms in Argentina and their incredible Gauchos were a great choice for the production. Then, we rehearsed each scene beforehand, a comedy run-in, a styling that went into every detail. We went from one shot to the next during the shooting, with a sustained rhythm, but each time with meticulousness. In post-production, we continued in the same momentum. The image signed by Mathias Boucard is magnificent. We worked on almost every shot to sublimate it: changing here a sky, here a building, here a whole wall (with a horse graph drawn by us), here a crossroad, here the skyline of the countryside around Buenos Aires for the vast steppes of Patagonia. A lot of concepts and matte painting work were done by our teams, especially on the nine blue background shots in the film. It was the second time I worked with François Rousselet, but the first project I finalized with him, and I loved the experience. He is a director who leaves nothing to hazard and works on every detail; it is a pleasure to work with him. In the end, about forty shots were shot in 3 weeks with a small, close-knit team to make a magnificent film, with a director who is super involved. The type of project I love!”
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