Journey of the Legend © Vallin Meukam
Step into a realm where creativity defies limits and legends are reborn in vibrant digital form. From the heart of Cameroon, MEUKAM VALLIN spearheads ILLUSION HOUSE—a spirited 3D animation and VFX studio that’s shaking up the scene with its innovative storytelling. As the creative force behind the animated short film Journey of the Legend, Vallin channels passion and imagination to depict the extraordinary path of Cameroonian football icon Samuel Eto'o, drawing inspiration from the legendary Roger Milla. Fresh off winning the Best Short Film Award at the NAVY Film Festival, his work not only celebrates artistic brilliance but also fuels an unyielding drive to transform dreams into breathtaking visual narratives.
Join Fox Renderfarm, the industry’s top cloud rendering services provider and render farm, for an engaging dive into a world where every frame tells a story, and every story is a leap into the future of animation.
Fox Renderfarm: Hi, Vallin Meukam! Thank you so much for accepting our interview! Could you please introduce your team and yourself to our readers?
Vallin Meukam: Hi, my name is MEUKAM VALLIN, from Cameroon, I am the CEO and Founder of ILLUSION HOUSE and director of the animated short film: ''Journey of the Legend''. ILLUSION HOUSE is a small 3D animation and VFX studio located in Cameroon.
Journey of the Legend © Vallin Meukam
Fox Renderfarm: It's fantastic to see your work recognized with a 'Best Short Film Award’ at the NAVY Film Festival! How does it feel to be celebrated for your achievements?
Vallin Meukam: Receiving the Best Short Film Award at the NAVY Film Festival was an incredibly rewarding and inspiring experience for us at ILLUSION HOUSE. It is an honor to be recognized for our work and efforts as an animation and VFX studio. This award strengthens our confidence in our creative abilities and motivates us to continue our projects with even greater passion and determination.
Fox Renderfarm: Could you give us a brief overview of the project that won you the ‘Best Short Film Award’ at the NAVY Film Festival?
Journey of the Legend © Vallin Meukam
Vallin Meukam: Our short animated film illustrates the journey of the famous Cameroonian footballer Samuel Eto'o. We set out to depict his journey from his dream of becoming a legend, inspired by his idol Roger Milla, through the obstacles he encountered, to his achievements.
Fox Renderfarm: What inspired you to create this short film about the kid pursuing his football dream?
Vallin Meukam: We were impressed by the career of the footballer Samuel Eto'o, so we said to ourselves: "Why not make this in 3D animation?
Fox Renderfarm: Why did you choose to model the film's protagonist after the iconic Samuel Eto'o Fils?
Vallin Meukam: Samuel Eto'o is a world football legend. And because he's Cameroonian, we wanted to celebrate our legend.
Fox Renderfarm: Can you walk us through the creative process behind your work, from conceptualization to final execution? Do you have a standard working pipeline? (It would be nice if you could add some pictures of your pipeline!)
© Vallin Meukam
Vallin Meukam: We follow a standard pipeline for our work.
In pre-production, we start with the idea, then draw up a script, design the characters, make the storyboard, and research or create references for the animation.
In production, we go through sculpting, modeling, clothing design, texturing and shading, grooming, rigging, animation, clothing simulation, other simulations, layout, lighting, scene optimization, and rendering.
In post-production, we carry out compositing, color grading, and finally audiovisual editing.
Fox Renderfarm: The film’s music and sound effects play a crucial role. How did you select or create the soundtrack?
Vallin Meukam: For the music and sound effects, I worked closely with a talented composer and sound designer, DANIEL EKO EKWE, to create an original score that matched the mood and tone of the film. We discussed in detail the emotion I wanted to convey through the music and the key themes of the story. The composer was able to capture these elements and transform them into an immersive and emotional soundtrack that enriched the visual experience of the film.
Fox Renderfarm: How did you capture the emotional journey and resilience of the main character?
Vallin Meukam: We captured the main character's emotional journey by immersing ourselves in his story, understanding his underlying motivations, and exploring his reactions to events. We also analysed his interactions with other characters, his dialogue and his actions to capture his emotions throughout the story.
Fox Renderfarm: Can you elaborate on any challenges you encountered in designing and animating this short film? How did you address them?
© Vallin Meukam
Vallin Meukam: The layout of the football stadium and scenes with a lot of detail, such as the city of Douala, was not easy to do because the Maya viewport became slow at one point. We therefore opted to use Arnold's.ASS files, which solved the problem. We also encountered difficulties in the crowd simulation process. At the start of our pipeline, the idea was that all the crowds would be created in Houdini, but we had problems importing the Houdini crowd simulations into Maya. In the end, all the crowd simulations were done in Maya using the MASH function. We encountered difficulties in the clothing simulation process because it was very tedious, but in the end, it was accomplished.
Fox Renderfarm: Can you describe a particularly memorable moment or breakthrough in the project's development?
Vallin Meukam: The most memorable moment in the making of Journey of the Legend is the scene in which the protagonist is small. The successful animation of this scene was crucial in determining the feasibility of the project. It was a kind of pilot phase that was crucial to the realization of our project.
Fox Renderfarm: Are there any particular scenes in your work that you are particularly proud of or that viewers might overlook at first glance?
Vallin Meukam: I'm particularly proud of the last scene where the protagonist returns at the starting point of the film and also finds a graffiti of his image on a wall next to Roger Milla's; this in fact shows that he is now sitting at the table of legends. That scene really moved me.
Fox Renderfarm: Could you share your experience using Fox Renderfarm's cloud rendering services for your projects? In what specific ways has Fox Renderfarm helped you with your projects? Have you found it to be useful, and has it saved you significant time?
Vallin Meukam: We had the opportunity to use Fox Renderfarm's cloud rendering services for the production of our animated short Journey of the Legend. The platform offered us a practical solution for optimizing our production workflows at a very low cost. Fox Renderfarm has been an invaluable partner in providing us with impressive computing power for our renders. Their robust infrastructure and technical support have enabled us to obtain professional quality renderings in a short space of time, which has considerably improved our work processes. We found Fox Renderfarm's services extremely useful for our project, as they allowed us to increase our rendering capacity without investing in expensive hardware. By using Fox Renderfarm, we were able to meet our project deadlines more easily and save time.
In summary, using Fox Renderfarm's cloud rendering services has been a very positive experience for us, helping us to improve the efficiency of our Journey of the Legend project, achieve quality results, and save valuable time in our visual production process.
Fox Renderfarm: Are there any other projects that you are currently working on that you would like to share with us?
Vallin Meukam: We are currently working on an animated series for children called 'little kids'. This series will help children to read, sing, and have fun. We'll let you know more when the time is right.
Fox Renderfarm: Your film authentically depicted aspects of Cameroonian culture. As African animation grows, do you plan to create more works exploring diverse narratives from the continent?
Vallin Meukam: Indeed, our film strives to represent aspects of Cameroonian culture with authenticity, and we are delighted to see the evolution of African animation. We are open to the idea of creating other works exploring the diverse stories and cultures of the African continent and beyond. We believe in the richness of Africa's stories and traditions, and we're ready to explore these different worlds through our future projects.
Thanks again to Vallin Meukam for accepting our interview! Wishing new heights in you and your team’s professional career!!
Vallin Meukam’s social media:
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