logo
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Cast Premieres the First 10 Minutes of the Game's Documentary at IGN Live 2025

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Cast Premieres the First 10 Minutes of the Game's Documentary at IGN Live 2025

Yahooa day ago

The cast of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 stopped by IGN Live to not only discuss the beloved new game from Sandfall Interactive, but also to exclusively premiere an over 10-minute look at the game's making-of documentary.
The exclusive clip, which you can see below, begins by putting the focus on the developers of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 on the day before launch. It then takes viewers behind the scenes of motion capture performances, including how that emotional opening scene between Gustave and Sophie came to life and another fun moment between Monoco and Verso.
While the documentary is still a work in progress and the full video may change, we were able to chat with Jennifer English (Maelle), Ben Starr (Verso), Shala Nyx (Sciel), Kirsty Rider (Lune), Rich Keeble (Monoco), and Maxence Cazorla (Esquie) about their work on Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.
"We were all really excited," English said of the time before the game launched. "We weren't as stressed as the developers were, but I was dead nervous about it because we put all our love and heart into it and hope it pays off - and thankfully it did."
"You can do whatever you do in the studio, but then it stops being yours," Starr added. "You don't know what it's going to become. There are so many circumstances that go into the release of a game, and I felt, personally, there was a huge amount of pressure. It's a game I wanted to be good for the team because they had put so much work into it, and because we didn't just come into it, we were an additional part of it."
English then went on to discuss what it was like recording for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and video games in general, and it was a fascinating glimpse behind the curtain.
"I get so lonely in the booth," English joked. "You have to pretend. It's very rare in video games that you get a playmate. I think it's happened once or twice that I've had another actor in the room, so it's a real honor when people think you were together recording. Video game acting is the Olympics of acting. If you can do good acting in video games - there is some bad acting, but not in this game – you can do anything."
Nyx then shared how many people have reached out to her about how her character, Sciel, has helped them with struggles in their own lives.
"It's so cinematic," Nyx said. "It's just so wonderful to be the voice and body of a character that is so rich and has so much emotional depth. I've had so many people reach out to me about how my character has helped them with their depression and helped them with their mental health. It's so ephemeral and every moment is so rich and that's a testament to the writing."
Lastly, Starr spoke on the emotional impact of the game and why we care so much about these pixels that became characters that mean a lot to us.
The reason you cry is because there is so much joy to be lost," Starr said. "You can't have something that's just morose all the time. If these people who are so vibrantly brought to life by these actors, if we lose them, then you lose everything."
For more, check out our Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 review and how the game sold 3.3 million copies in just 33 days.
Adam Bankhurst is a writer for IGN. You can follow him on X/Twitter @AdamBankhurst, Instagram, and TikTok, and listen to his show, Talking Disney Magic.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Lawmakers get theatrical at annual ‘Will on the Hill' show
Lawmakers get theatrical at annual ‘Will on the Hill' show

Yahoo

time30 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Lawmakers get theatrical at annual ‘Will on the Hill' show

Several lawmakers took a break from debating legislation on Capitol Hill to instead recite William Shakespeare at Harman Hall on Tuesday evening. The Shakespeare Theatre Company (STC) hosted its annual 'Will on the Hill,' welcoming members of Congress, journalists and students to perform popular Shakespeare scenes to fund its youth arts education programs, which reach nearly 20,000 students and teachers across the region. The more than 20-year long tradition also seeks to promote bipartisanship, bringing together lawmakers and political strategists from across the aisle to bolster support for theatre and the arts. Rep. Dina Titus's (D-Nev.) performance of the last scene of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' was the hit of the night. Her interpretation of old-English Shakespeare, which included a Southern accent, made the crowd roar in laughter. Another notable performance was the standoff between the Capulets and Montagues, two enemy families, in the opening scene of 'Romeo and Juliet.' As Atlantic journalist Steve Clemons, Republican political strategist Grover Norquist, Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Calif.) and Fox News correspondent Rich Edson bit their thumbs at each other on stage, the producers noted that giving them foam swords was the safest amid a tense political climate. The crowd then commended Sen. Chris Coons's (D-Del.) impersonation of Brutus plotting the assassination of Julius Caesar in the Shakespeare play of the same name. With political tensions rattling the country, seeing lawmakers fumbling over their words and trying to remember their lines proved to be refreshing entertainment. The elected officials were accompanied on stage by Holly Twyford, a pillar of D.C. theatre, and Renea Brown, an award winning actor. The show also included a stage combat demonstration by STC students. An elementary school student brilliantly played King Oberon in 'A Midsummer Night's Dream,' and two high school students performed 'All's Well That Ends Well.' STC Executive Director Angela Lee Gieras praised the event as an opportunity for children to express themselves, highlighting the courage it takes to perform in front of an audience. This year's performance was presented by Michael Evans, former Democratic chief counsel and deputy staff director for the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, who is an avid Shakespeare enthusiast. Samantha Wyer Bello, STC's senior director of learning, returned to direct her sixth production of 'Will on the Hill.' The STC also honored the memory of the late Democratic Reps. Gerry Connolly (Va.) and Charles Rangel (N.Y.) for their dedication to public service and their year-after-year support of 'Will on the Hill.' Other notable cast members included Rep. Gabe Amo (D-RI), D.C. Council chairman Phil Mendelson, DC councilmember Brooke Pinto, D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities executive director Aaron Myers, Washington Post columnist James Hohmann and Politico journalist Olivia Beavers. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Fun to Do: Summer concert series begins, psychic Theresa Caputo, Juneteenth and more
Fun to Do: Summer concert series begins, psychic Theresa Caputo, Juneteenth and more

Yahoo

timean hour ago

  • Yahoo

Fun to Do: Summer concert series begins, psychic Theresa Caputo, Juneteenth and more

Looking for something to do during the next week? Here are just a few happenings in Hampton Roads. TGIF Summer Concert Series kicks off the season with music by Good Shot Judy. 6 p.m. Friday, with the band playing from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., at Downtown Festival Park, 215 W. Washington St., Suffolk. The free series, which runs through Aug. 16, also includes performances at Bennett's Creek Park. For details, call 757-514-7250. Psychic medium Theresa Caputo brings her 'The Experience' tour live to the Oceanfront. 8 p.m. Saturday at The Dome, 400 20th St., Virginia Beach. Verified resale ticket options available. For options, visit For details on the show, visit Juneteenth in the Park, a festival of unity and freedom featuring live performances by national and local acts, food, activities and more. Noon to 10 p.m. with 9:30 p.m. fireworks Saturday at Town Point Park, Waterside Drive, Norfolk. Free. For details, visit English comedian Sarah Millican brings her 'Late Bloomer' tour to the Oceanfront. 8 p.m. Sunday at The Dome, 400 20th St., Virginia Beach. For ticket availability, visit Williamsburg Players continues with its production of 'Pippin,' winner of four Tony Awards, including Best Musical Revival in 2013, through Sunday at 200 Hubbard Lane, Williamsburg. For information, including times and tickets, visit Celebrate Juneteenth across Hampton Roads with events, ceremonies and festivals Virginia Black Film Festival runs June 19-22, featuring more than 60 films in competition, speakers, and events including a business expo. Ticketed and free events planned. Proceeds will support historically Black colleges and universities. Various hours and locations including The American Theatre, 125 E. Mellen St., Hampton. For ticket information, visit For the schedule, including film screenings, visit Events may change. Check before attending. Want more information about what's happening around Hampton Roads? Sign up for our Weekend Scoop newsletter. Patty Jenkins,

The Last of Us Creative Team on How They Crafted Season 2's Most Crucial Episodes
The Last of Us Creative Team on How They Crafted Season 2's Most Crucial Episodes

Yahoo

time2 hours ago

  • Yahoo

The Last of Us Creative Team on How They Crafted Season 2's Most Crucial Episodes

Full Spoilers for The Last of Us Season 2 follow. At IGN Live today, The Last of Us Co-Creator and Executive Producer Craig Mazin was joined by several of the show's core creative team – including Ksenia Sereda (Cinematographer), Ann Foley (Costume Designer), Don Macaulay (Production Designer), Alex Wang (VFX Supervisor), Timothy Good (Editor), and David Fleming (Co-Composer) – to discuss the tremendous amount of work that went into the just-completed second season of the HBO series. As the panel began, Mazin remarked, 'The truth is that Neil [Druckmann] and I are vastly over-credited for the success of the show. We work really hard on it but these are the people that bring it to life and they deserve so much credit… All of it is necessary to make it what it is.' When the panel was asked to name their favorite episode from Season 2, nearly everyone named either episode two ("Through the Valley") or episode six ('The Price'), which made sense since they were such standouts - and segued nicely into the fact that these were the two episodes moderator Amelia Emberwing focused on for the conversation. "Through the Valley' of course had two monumental events, including the horde of infected attacking Jackson and, well… that other thing which we'll get back to. With footage of the massive attack sequence playing, Mazin noted that there were visual effects in basically every shot, saying, 'I think Alex had to touch nearly everything here.' Rewatching the attack on Jackson, Macaulay joked, 'All I can think about is the thousands of meetings we have,' saying they quite seriously probably had 10 meetings about how the barrels would be launched from the town gates into the horde. As he put it, 'Nearly every shot in this took 10-15 meetings. Craig loves meetings!' Even after all of that there was 'a lot of retrofitting on set. Lots of rooftops we weren't planning to do.' Foley said episode two was definitely the hardest part of the season for her as the costume designer because of how many actors and extras were in that episode working on multiple filming units - and that it was all taking place while they were also working on the Seraphite costumes for upcoming episodes. As she explained, this involved "65 people in three different areas.' Wang stressed that previs is crucial, and the many discussions they have about what Macaulay will build vs. what Wang will oversee being added digitally. It's a long process, with Wang noting, 'You're planning for success 6-8 months down the line' and that he's constantly in communication with Macaulay, the stunt team, and many more. Mazin joked that when he calls Wang in for one of his infamous meetings, 'His heart sinks because he knows he's about to go over budget again.' One reason the infected horde was so tricky was that it dealt with such a large army and as Wang explained, in the visual effects world, when you have a group that large 'repetition is usually okay,' since you have characters in the same costumes or creatures of the same type. Here though, Mazin wanted to sell that these were all originally different human beings who were different sizes and ages in different outfits before they were infected. As he put it, they nearly 'broke Wētā [FX]' over the specifics they asked for. Then there's Good and his crucial work as editor. He has to begin editing without the final effects in place, which can be tricky. And not just because, as he pointed out, in the early footage 'a Bloater isn't a Bloater, it's a green dot.' But after they may have cut of the episode they're happy with, 'we get the animation back and everything's changed. The motion's become faster than a human actor is able to do," so they have to re-edit to adjust. When it came to scoring the 'Through the Valley,' Fleming described it as particularly challenging, because Mazin asked him, 'How do we start this at 11 and then keep going up for the whole episode?' The idea was they were 'building up momentum so it just felt relentless relentless relentless. Then at the end, it was kind of the opposite with the pivotal scene with Joel.' When Fleming paused and said he'd been avoiding talking about how that episode ended for so long, Mazin couldn't resist chiming in: 'He died!' As Fleming explained, the original music for Joel's wrenching death scene was much busier but then 'Craig asked 'strip it back.' It was a less is more situation.' While praising the performances of Pedro Pascal, Kaitlyn Dever and Bella Ramsey, Good revealed that for Joel's death 'I actually edited it five times before I was ready to show it to Craig,' because he knew how important it was to get it right. As Joel's death scene played out, the panel couldn't help but become somber and when Mazin cracked, 'Let's talk about the golf clubs we picked out. They have lots of meaning" to release some tension, he then paused and added that actually, when it came to which exact club Abby would use to beat Joel with, 'There was a whole discussion!' The conversation then moved to episode six and its flashbacks to Joel and Ellie together set between Season 1 and 2. The sequence where Ellie climbs the dinosaur was shown and Mazin remarked, 'I love this in the game. I love that we got to do it!' He added that this was a funny situation where the actual dinosaur built for Ellie to climb 'was wobbling too much so then Alex stopped it from wobbling. But then it looked fake so we had to make it wobble [again] a little bit.' Discussing Joel and Ellie's clothes, Foley noted they did their best to match their looks in the game, though there might be slight changes occasionally for specific reasons. One such case was in the museum scene. In the game, Ellie is wearing a tank top in this sequence. However, on the show, they wanted to underline that Bella Ramsey was playing a more youthful version of Ellie in these flashback scenes, so they ended up making it a t-shirt because 'changing it from a tank to a t-shirt made it look baggier and make her look younger.' In general though, 'Joel and Ellie are in the same things they wear in the game because there's no reason to change it.' Ksenia Sereda said she was both excited and nervous about shooting the scene where Ellie and Joel go inside the space capsule, because 'the way it was done in the game was so brilliant,' including the close up on Ellie smiling, imagining going into space. Sereda joked the game provided 'the most expensive previs I've ever had to work with.' Mazin marveled how Sereda lit the screen so that all of the light changes on Ellie's face were done practically, without visual effects needed. Sereda explained how difficult it was, because 'the whole sequence is lit through this teeny tiny window on the side of the capsule. It was very challenging to find this whole look.' This sequence had particular significance to Mazin because 'This is the first thing that Neil ever showed me from the second game.' He elaborated that when he went to Naughty Dog to speak to Druckmann about turning The Last of Us into a TV show, the team were nearing the completion of The Last of Us Part II. When Druckmann showed Mazin the space capsule sequence, his response was, ''We're doing that!' In my mind, I was like, 'We need to do a good enough job for Season 1 that we're renewed [to do that].'" With Season 3 of The Last of Us now in the works, Mazin said he was eager to get back in the thick of it, turning to his fellow panelists and saying 'I can't wait to do that. I can't wait to do that with all of you.' He then proclaimed: 'Don, are we going to have meetings!!'

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store