New CGI Animation Studio in France

Seven execs, alums of Studio 100 Animation, have launched Hue Dada! Productions, a new CGI studio based in France.

Hue Dada! has several projects already in development. This includes Blackboard Monsters, for 3- to 5-year-olds, and a series for 8- to 12-year-olds around the theme of baking, with the participation of a famous pastry chef.

As a work-for-hire company, Hue Dada! offers production of CGI animation for all types of audiovisual projects, prototyping of CGI animation projects and production of additional CGI content bringing to life producers’ and publishers’ IPs from editorial design to broadcast on web platforms.

The company has already assisted in the production of the CGI animation of Maya the Bee for a TV commercial for Lidl Slovakia (Slovakia), in partnership with Studio 100 group. It undertook production of modules for the interstitial program Les Hoofs to be broadcast on TFOU after summer 2020. Hue Dada! has created 3D characters for a loyalty program based on a new Studio 100 IP, and produced interactive CGI animation for a major European amusement park.

The team is comprised of Quentin Auger, who spent eight years at Studio 100 Animation as a CTO, as head of innovation; Emmanuelle Chabord, COO and CFO of Studio 100 Animation for ten years, as CFO; Sophie Decroisette, whose work includes Code Lyoko and Cédric, as editorial director; Fabrice Delapierre, formerly CG supervisor and digital content director at Studio 100 Animation, as CG supervisor and director; Jonathan Giroux, an alum of both Ubisoft and Studio 100 Animation, as head of software engineering; Jérôme Mouscadet, co-president of AGraF (Auteurs Groupés de l’Animation Française), as art director and director; and Jean-François Ramos, who line-produced such series as Maya the Bee seasons one and two and Heidi season one, as producer.

Ramos commented: “In creating Hue Dada! Productions, our aim is to take up the challenge of the animation of tomorrow by proposing a way of producing and delivering CGI animation that is more flexible in terms of techniques and creativity, more agile, more collaborative. More competitive, too, but without compromising in any way on quality. The idea is not to uberise our skills, but on the contrary to give our teams more creative time through innovation. A unique offer in the world of animation.”

He added: “In France, in addition to a unique and deep talent pool, we are fortunate in having a fantastic ecosystem, notably thanks to the CNC and more specifically to the Tax Rebate for International Productions (TRIP), increasing the attractiveness of French companies in our sector. It means that we’re ready to work for international productions as from now.”

Auger said: “We are constantly investing in R&D and have set up a laboratory designed to test and industrialize recent technologies such as virtual reality or real-time. A technological adventure that has already proved itself and revolutionized our way of working.”

He added: “It’s not real-time graphics that are new, they’ve been around for a long time in our creative industries. What is new is the fact that today several people can all work together at the same time, on the same set, which is reminiscent of the methods and working configuration of live performance.”

Mouscadet said: “Being able to immerse yourself in the sets, understanding them and changing their artistic direction in situ, analyzing the distances and size relations of the characters, shooting shots using a virtual camera, are all mini-revolutions in technology facilitating work and making it easier to build better stories by limiting unnecessary mistakes.”