The 3D movie No Bird’s Land: a gripping plunge into the hell of the trenches
News . 27 Mar. 2025
In the midst of the First World War, after a brutal attack in the trenches, three soldiers traverse a journey marked by fear, courage, brotherhood and resignation. This major artistic and technical challenge was brilliantly met by Léa Clastres, Thomas Coppée, Romain Ferrandez, Emélie Garcia, Coline Laclau-Pussacq, Louise Massardi, Romain Mosser, Quitterie Ortuno and Chloé Raynal, students of the 2023 ESMA Toulouse class, through their animated short film No Bird’s Land.
Revealing the memory of the Poilus
From the very first images of No Bird’s Land, the viewer is plunged headlong into the horror of the trenches. The film opens with a barrage of bombardments and deafening chaos, immediately creating a suffocating atmosphere. Meticulous image work – mixing blurring, strong contrasts and jerky movements – creates an aesthetic that oscillates between a disturbing dream and a pure nightmare. Then the three protagonists appear: Edgard, a seriously wounded first class, Jean, a soldier of the 3rd infantry regiment determined to find a doctor despite the chaos, and a last soldier, anonymous, frozen in a state of absolute astonishment.
A striking visual approach
The film dares to take a strong artistic stance by depicting the soldiers as pigeons with human anatomy. From the outset, this choice made by the directors stands out as a powerful metaphor: it embodies the contempt suffered by these men, sent into combat as mere pawns, sacrificed without consideration.
This bold decision gives the film a unique aesthetic and a striking identity. It required meticulous modeling, with particular care given to the characters’ feathers and arms, in order to offer a rendering that is fluid, realistic and immersive.
“When we designed the characters, our intention was to retain certain characteristics specific to birds, such as the beak and the legs,” explain the directors.
“Modeling the feathers was a major challenge from the start of production. We knew that they would only be on the head and hands, but we had to experiment with many techniques before achieving a convincing result.”
By depriving these birds of their ability to fly, the allegory becomes more vivid: these pigeon soldiers remain nailed to the ground, doomed to a fate from which there is no escape.
the emotion revealed by the animation
The film takes on a bold major challenge by seeking to infuse animal characters with human emotions. To achieve this, the team focused on facial expressions, giving the pigeons human eyes to create immediate empathy for their tragic fate. The play of light is also very important, as it sculpts the images and plunges the viewer further into a tormented and dark world.
Each scene has been meticulously crafted, with particular attention to the shaders and painted textures, creating a striking realism and a unique visual ambience. The viewer immediately perceives the in-depth research that has gone into this work, aimed at recreating the horror of the trenches while infusing it with a strong symbolic dimension.
Combining technical innovation and narrative force, No Bird’s Land brilliantly succeeds in offering a moving and original interpretation of the First World War, driven by bold artistic direction and remarkable attention to detail. Congratulations to all the students who contributed to this project!
