Fortiche Shares the Human Moves Behind K/DA's FIRESTARTER

Before K/DA's animated performers take the stage in FIRESTARTER, there are real people moving in front of a camera. Fortiche has shared animation reference footage offering a look at the human performances behind the music video.

The footage, highlighted by 80 Level on November 5, adds a fresh glimpse of the production behind Riot Games' virtual pop group. A separate Fortiche making-of follows the project from early ideas to the finished sequence.

From reference to performance

The reference footage includes performers using props and treadmills, an unusually candid view of the physical material animators can draw on. It is a reminder that a polished digital performance can begin with experimentation in an ordinary room.

For another perspective on the movement, Riot also published a separate FIRESTARTER choreography video featuring Sean Bankhead and NARIA. The image above comes from that choreography listing, not from Fortiche's reference footage.

Explore Riot's official media listings

Building the runway

In Fortiche's making-of, director Marietta Ren and storyboard artists Benjamin Warnitz and Joséphine Meis discuss developing the concept into the final performance. The studio describes the video as a fashion runway imagined as a musical score.

Animation publication Stash credits Ren as director, Warnitz and Meis for storyboards, and Sean Bankhead for choreography. Its production overview describes the use of extended shots, lighting and visual effects to carry the music's rhythm.

The animated video brings Ahri, Akali, Evelynn and Kai'Sa back together. Fortiche also produced K/DA's 2018 POP/STARS video; FIRESTARTER is a new collaboration with Riot.

Read Stash's production credits