Vikings.
FILM
Giving history a physical presence.
AI image & video direction.
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A world beyondthe battlefield.
Vikings — Des origines à la chute is a historical documentary directed by Nicolas Brénéol for RMC Découverte. The image work gives the story a physical setting: coastlines, settlements, ships and interiors, inhabited by people with distinct faces, clothes and gestures.
I developed generated images and animated sequences, working from visual references through successive versions of the shots. The challenge was to connect a wide range of scenes through a consistent approach to light, materials, framing and movement.
The film above brings together selected sequences. The images and working boards below show how the visual direction carries from an individual reference into a scene, then into an animated shot.
Nicolas Brénéol
RMC Productions
RMC Découverte
AI image & video direction
Historical documentary
00:57
The making.
A world youcan feel.
The visual language begins with a relationship between the landscape and the people inside it. Cold seas, low skies and mist give the exterior scenes their atmosphere. Wood, coarse cloth, wet skin and weathered surfaces make that environment tangible.
Interior scenes carry a different light: the monastery is built around a warm beam entering a dark space. Across these contrasts, the aim is to keep a common sense of weight, scale and texture, so a wide view of a settlement and a close view aboard a ship can belong to the same film.
These references establish choices to return to as each shot develops: the palette, the quality of the light and the amount of detail the frame needs.
Keep theperson present.
A convincing character needs more than a striking portrait. The face, silhouette, clothes and accessories become recurring references, carried into new framings and different situations. The full-length figure sets proportions and costume; the group image tests how individual faces and bodies coexist in the same space.
Each new composition asks the same questions: is the person still recognisable, does the clothing retain its weight, and does the pose make sense within the scene? Comparing versions helps identify the details that have drifted and need correction.
Continuity also involves the setting. A character, a ship and the people around them need to share the same light and perspective.
Direct thesmallest gesture.
Once the starting image is established, the action is broken into clear beats. The motion instructions specify the pace, the change of expression, the position of the body and what should remain still in the background.
The example shown here moves from a tense expression to a calmer face. The character straightens, raises an axe to the side, pauses and releases it. Describing the order of those actions gives the shot a readable intention and a defined end pose.
Start and end references help guide that movement. Successive animation passes can then be compared for stable proportions, believable timing and a clear relationship between the character and the camera.
Build theconnections.
The working boards keep references, image variations, prompts and animation passes together. Looking across a sequence makes it easier to compare the shots as a whole and see where a face, a camera angle or a lighting choice stops matching.
One of the studies follows a recurring figure through changes of costume and setting. The walking direction and framing provide a continuous thread while the world changes around him. Other boards bring several versions of the documentary scenes into a single view for comparison.
This keeps the image work connected to the edit: each shot has its own composition and action, while contributing to the rhythm and visual continuity of the sequence.
