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ApplyMaking of the Graduation Film "Madame Yvette"
Discover the making of “Madame Yvette”, the graduation film by Laetitia MERLENI, Loup VIAL, Léa LACOMBE, and Camille GOURNAY, graduates of the Class of 2025 from the 3D Animation filmmaking program.
Loup – Hi! We're in our fifth year at MoPA, and we're going to take you behind the scenes of our graduation film.
Léa – Our film tells the story of an elderly lady named Yvette, who embarks on a rather unusual train journey. Along the way, she's helped by a ticket inspector who goes far beyond the duties of a typical conductor.
Camille – Our film features two main characters. The first is Madame Yvette, an elderly woman who, at the beginning of the story, is rather bitter. Through her body language, we wanted to portray someone who has withdrawn into herself, someone who is unhappy and constantly annoyed by this ticket inspector. That inspector is called Elios, and he is her complete opposite. We deliberately designed the two characters to contrast with one another. Elios is warm and radiant—his name actually refers to the sun. He's welcoming, incredibly kind, almost a little eccentric, and above all, genuinely happy. The film explores travel therapy, an initiative that helps people living with neurodegenerative diseases rediscover their enjoyment of life, encouraging them to eat again, drink again, and reconnect with the simple pleasures they had gradually lost. Travel therapy involves recreating train journeys inside nursing homes by installing realistic train carriages, allowing residents to relive memories or simply enjoy a pleasant moment through the experience of travelling. Working on this film helped me develop valuable expertise, from animating 3D characters and rigging them to working in an environment that operates like a professional animation studio. At our scale, we really became a small studio. To study at MoPA, you need to love storytelling because, whatever your future specialization may be—modeling, texturing, or lighting—everything ultimately serves the story you're trying to tell. My greatest hope for Madame Yvette is simply that it reaches as many people as possible, because it highlights an important yet still little-known subject: travel therapy. More than anything, I hope this humanitarian message continues to live on through the film.
Contents
Discover the making of the graduation film “Madame Yvette”
The making of “Madame Yvette”, a graduation film created by four fifth-year students from MoPA's 3D Animation Filmmaking program, takes you behind the scenes of a project combining emotion, storytelling and technical excellence. Through the team's testimony, discover how this touching story came to life, how its characters were designed and which artistic and technical skills were brought together to create this 3D animated film.
Madame Yvette follows the journey of an elderly woman who embarks on an unusual train ride. Along the way, she meets Elios, a warm-hearted and radiant ticket inspector who accompanies her far beyond his official role. Behind this fictional story lies a moving reflection on memory, human connection and the power of shared experiences.
In this making of, the young graduates look back on the creation of their graduation film, explain the artistic choices that shaped the project and reveal what it is like to produce a film in an environment that closely mirrors a professional animation studio. A fascinating insight into the work of tomorrow's animation filmmakers.
A 3D animated film inspired by travel therapy
The story of “Madame Yvette” is inspired by a real initiative that remains largely unknown to the general public: travel therapy. Introduced in some nursing homes, this approach recreates the atmosphere of a train journey to stimulate memories, emotions and social interaction among people living with neurodegenerative diseases.
Inside these realistic train carriages, landscapes roll by outside the windows, station announcements echo through the speakers and passengers experience the sensations of a genuine railway journey. For many residents, these immersive experiences help revive cherished memories, encourage conversations and simply bring moments of joy and serenity.
Rather than focusing on illness itself, the students chose to highlight the emotional impact of travel, the importance of human relationships and the remarkable ability of memories to resurface. In “Madame Yvette”, the train becomes a metaphor for an inner journey filled with hope and rediscovery.
With “Madame Yvette”, the students also hope to raise awareness of travel therapy, while demonstrating that 3D animation filmmaking can be a powerful way to explore meaningful social issues with sensitivity and poetry.
Two contrasting characters at the heart of the story
The emotional strength of the film lies above all in the relationship between two characters whose personalities are complete opposites.
Madame Yvette is introduced as an elderly woman who has withdrawn into herself. Her posture is tense, her gestures are restrained and her facial expressions reveal a certain weariness. Every aspect of her body language was carefully crafted to portray someone who has gradually become disconnected from the world around her.
In contrast, Elios, the ticket inspector, embodies warmth, optimism and kindness. His name is inspired by the sun, reflecting his bright and welcoming personality. Cheerful, attentive and slightly eccentric, he accompanies Madame Yvette with unwavering compassion. The contrast between these two characters drives the emotional journey of the film.
To make their relationship believable, the students paid particular attention to several key aspects of character animation:
- each character's unique body language;
- facial expressions and emotional performance;
- acting, allowing the story to be told without relying heavily on dialogue;
- the gradual evolution of their relationship throughout the journey.
This focus on performance highlights the importance of acting in a 3D animated film. Beyond technical expertise, it is the characters' emotions that allow audiences to connect with the story and fully experience the journey alongside them.
A graduation film with a powerful humanitarian message
Beyond its artistic qualities, “Madame Yvette” carries a genuine message of hope. By exploring the concept of travel therapy, the students wanted to shine a light on an initiative that is still little known, yet brings comfort and meaningful experiences to people living with neurodegenerative diseases.
Their ambition was not simply to create a beautiful 3D animated film, but to tell a story capable of moving audiences while introducing them to an inspiring real-life practice. As the team explains, their greatest hope is for “Madame Yvette” to continue raising awareness long after their graduation and to keep this humanitarian message alive.
At MoPA, graduation films are first and foremost about storytelling. Every project is driven by the desire to convey emotions, share ideas and offer a unique perspective on the world. Technical expertise is always placed at the service of the story.
Why choose MoPA? Learning in a real studio environment
The production of “Madame Yvette” perfectly illustrates MoPA's educational approach. Throughout their graduation film, students work in an environment that closely mirrors a professional animation studio. Each team member takes on responsibilities, collaborates with others and contributes to every major stage of the production process.
This experience allows students to develop far more than technical skills. They learn how to communicate effectively, solve production challenges, meet deadlines and bring a collaborative creative project from concept to completion before submitting it to international film festivals.
Throughout the program, students develop expertise in a wide range of areas, including:
- 3D animation and character acting;
- character and environment modeling;
- rigging, which involves creating the digital skeletons used to animate characters;
- lighting and final image rendering;
- production management and teamwork.
As the filmmakers explain, every specialization contributes to the storytelling process. Whether working in modeling, texturing, lighting or animation, every artistic decision helps strengthen the emotions experienced by the audience.
The artistic and technical challenges behind the film
Like every graduation film produced at MoPA, “Madame Yvette” required months of dedicated work and close collaboration between all members of the team. Every stage of production involved artistic, technical and storytelling decisions to create a believable and emotionally engaging world.
One of the greatest challenges was conveying the characters' emotions with authenticity. Madame Yvette's emotional transformation relies almost entirely on subtle animation choices. Her posture, facial expressions and body language gradually evolve throughout the journey, reflecting her inner transformation without the need for excessive dialogue.
Elios presented a different challenge. His optimism, warmth and expressive personality needed to contrast naturally with Madame Yvette while remaining believable. The team therefore devoted considerable attention to character acting, ensuring that each movement and expression reinforced the personalities of both characters.
Finally, the students sought the perfect balance between realism and poetry. The environments, lighting and cinematography subtly support the characters' emotions throughout the film, demonstrating the high level of artistic and technical expertise required to create a professional-quality 3D animated film at MoPA.
FAQ – Making of and Graduation Films at MoPA
Why do MoPA students create a graduation film?
The graduation film is the culmination of MoPA's 3D Animation Filmmaking program. Over the course of several months, students work together in conditions that closely resemble those of a professional animation studio. They put into practice everything they have learned throughout their studies, from storytelling and directing to modeling, animation, lighting and final rendering.
What is the travel therapy featured in “Madame Yvette”?
Travel therapy is an initiative developed in some nursing homes to support people living with neurodegenerative diseases. Realistic train environments are recreated to stimulate memories, encourage social interaction and evoke positive emotions. Through “Madame Yvette”, the students wanted to introduce audiences to this inspiring yet little-known practice through a touching and universal story.
What skills do students develop while producing a 3D animated graduation film?
Beyond mastering industry-standard software, producing a 3D animated film enables students to develop essential professional skills such as teamwork, production management, organization, artistic direction, character animation and creative problem-solving. It is an invaluable experience that prepares them for careers in leading animation studios around the world.
Through the making of of “Madame Yvette”, MoPA's graduates demonstrate that animation filmmaking is, above all, about telling meaningful stories and creating emotional connections with audiences. Behind every shot lie months of dedication, technical expertise and the collaborative spirit that defines the filmmaking process.
By exploring the theme of travel therapy, the team has created a graduation film that is both moving and socially meaningful. It perfectly reflects MoPA's philosophy: training artists who combine technical excellence, creativity and a passion for storytelling. A remarkable showcase of the talent and expertise that prepares MoPA graduates for careers in the world's leading animation studios.
If you'd like to learn how to tell stories through animation, discover MoPA's world-class program by watching the replay of our online information session!
