CHATTING AT GEMA: Emmanuelle Lacaze | Gédéon Communications

Summary

The Media Odyssey – Episode Summary

Episode: “CHATTING AT GEMA: Emmanuelle Lacaze | Gédéon Communications”

Hosts: Evan Shapiro & Marion Ranchet
Guest: Emmanuelle Lacaze (President, Gédéon Communications)
Recorded: San Sebastian, Spain | GÉMA Europe 2025
Air Date: June 17, 2025

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Episode Overview

This special on-site episode takes listeners to the heart of San Sebastian during GÉMA Europe 2025. Marion Ranchet welcomes Emmanuelle Lacaze, President of Gédéon Communications – a legendary French creative agency and production company – for a deep dive into their extensive role in visual design, branding, and motion assets for the Paris 2024 Olympics. The conversation illuminates the inner workings of high-stakes creative projects, explores the emotional highs and post-event void of such a massive spectacle, and offers rare behind-the-scenes anecdotes from the world’s most-watched live event.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Gédéon’s Unique DNA & Industry Role

• Combining Agency & Production
  • Lacaze explains Gédéon’s distinct model: both a creative agency and a production company, an approach rooted in their early TV design work. Unlike typical advertising agencies, they combine design and hands-on production.
    • “It’s a little bit specific… we immediately try to take on board all the constraints of the production and of how the people inside the company will have to manage it. So it’s another way of thinking, creativity and concept.” (A, 02:06-02:59)
• Motion as the Heartbeat
  • Motion design, historically for TV, is now essential for brands-as-media in the social era.
  • “Today brands became media. Yeah, for sure. Because of the social media.” (A, 01:58)

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2. How Gédéon Got Involved with the Paris Olympics

• The Olympic Dream
  • Gédéon, respected in the field but still relatively small, was not the emblem winner in the initial pitch but caught the Olympics boss’ eye with their creative film and assets.
  • “We… were finalist only on the emblem logo of the game… We produced like a movie about our emblem for the pitch… And [Thierry Reboul] watched it and said, wow, it’s cool… and asked us to come inside.” (A, 03:09–04:48)
• Persistence Through Public Tenders
  • Even after finishing second, Gédéon's creativity earned them confidential work on emblem animation and, through subsequent (highly competitive, transparent) public pitches, a series of projects culminating in designs and visual assets for the Opening Ceremony.
  • “We were four and we did a lot of projects with them until the end. Seven weeks before the Opening Ceremony, we won a third pitch… to imagine and produce assets for the Opening Ceremony.” (A, 05:58–06:26)

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3. Inside the Paris 2024 Olympic Opening Ceremony

• Secrecy, Pressure, and Creativity

  • The creative process was marked by strict confidentiality (no emails, hidden rooms) and time pressure: only seven weeks to conceive and deliver a 40-minute synchronized visual for the barges, plus other elements—all while rehearsals were limited due to security and secrecy.
  • “We just had seven weeks to conceive and produce all the elements… so you can do whatever you want… it had to work, right?” (A, 09:47–12:16)

• Production Challenges

  • Vast scale: “40 minutes of video… It was 6, 30 meters of screen… And there was no rehearsals in real conditions because it was along the Seine.” (A, 11:58)
  • Need for improvisation: “We had to imagine some tools in order to be able to do something synchronized without having the choreography.” (A, 12:16)
  • Collaborating with non-media creative leads (theater backgrounds) meant adapting to new workflows: “Thomas is coming from theater… so it’s not used to video and to motion… we had to come with concepts, still images, mood boards…” (A, 12:59)

• Notable Moments and Feedback

  • The “horse rider on the Seine” sequence was technically demanding and long-doubted—but resonated with the public:
    • “Everybody after the ceremony told, wow, it was amazing, this horse. But during the prep… we were like, oh, my God, it’s so long.” (A, 14:10)
  • Many visual flourishes (e.g., gold trompe l’œil on La Conciergerie, drone sequences) went unseen due to rain/TV direction:
    • “We also spent a lot of time doing some trompe l’œil on La Conciergerie in Gold. At the end, you don’t see it…” (A, 14:37)

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4. The Emotional Comedown & Return to Work

• Post-Olympics Void
  • Both host and guest share the sense of “limbo” after such an immersive event:
    • “There was like a bit of a limbo… I felt it as a viewer… What are we gonna do now?” (B, 16:27)
  • For Gédéon, it was a mix of exhaustion, nostalgia, and the need to get back to normal projects.
• Reigniting Creative Passion
  • The next project: redefining the opener for Cinema de Minuit, a beloved French TV institution, showing creative excitement isn’t exclusive to mega-events.
    • “I think we still are happy to work on every project… If you want each project to be a challenge, a creative challenge, you can do it.” (A, 18:10)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the agency’s roots and creative philosophy:
  “TV is motion. And today motion is at the heart of what we are doing… motion design is really necessary for all brands, not only TV, because today brands became media.” (A, 01:00–01:58)

• On near-misses and resilience:
  “We wanted to get it, but we wanted it. We were second… and the one who won was my first creative director at Gédéon.” (A, 04:01–04:16)

• On the pressure and scale of the Opening Ceremony:
  “We arrived, [Thomas] explained… all the ceremony. So it was totally crazy… We just had seven weeks to conceive and produce all the elements.” (A, 09:47–10:14)

• On creating a 40-minute synchronized floor projection with almost no rehearsal:
  “It was 6, 30 meters of screen… there was no rehearsals… It had to work, right?” (A/B, 11:48–12:16)

• On the post-Olympics crash:
  “We had a strong relationship with all the people from Paris 2024… they were really, like, lost a little bit. And so, yeah, there was like a bit of a limbo.” (A, 16:00–16:27)
  “I felt it as a viewer. When the Olympics and the Paralympics were over… What are we gonna do now?” (B, 16:27)

• On forever making work a creative joy:
  “If you want each project to be a challenge, a creative challenge, you can do it. It’s just a question of seeing, as we say in France, glass half empty… So you’re a half full, kind of.” (A/B, 18:10–18:26)

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Key Timestamps for Important Segments

• Introduction & Gédéon’s history: 00:39–02:59
• Olympics involvement & the emblem story: 03:09–05:24
• Inside the Opening Ceremony process: 09:47–14:10
• Challenges during the ceremony (weather, coordination, live broadcast): 14:10–15:42
• Post-Olympics emotions and moving on: 15:55–18:35

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Final Thoughts

The episode offers an uplifting yet honest look into the world of Olympic-scale branding and broadcast creativity, framed through the lens of teamwork, adaptability, and a love for creative challenges no matter the scale. Emmanuelle Lacaze’s humility and behind-the-scenes tales brilliantly illustrate the thrill – and the comedown – of being part of global moments, while Evan Shapiro and Marion Ranchet’s rapport keeps the discussion engaging and relatable for media insiders and casual listeners alike.

Transcript

[A]

Foreign.

[B]

This week on the Media Odyssey podcast, we're traveling to San Sebastian in the Basque country, Spain, for Gamma Europe 2025. I was with an Italian. I was with a Basque. And now I'm bringing in a fellow French woman to talk about an amazing topic, the main topic of 2024. Did you guess? Did you guess the Olympics in Paris. So I'm welcoming Emmanuel Lacaz from J' a Dion. Emmanuelle, welcome.

[A]

Thank you.

[B]

Tell us a bit more about J' a Dion and then we'll get started. I want to talk about the Olympics.

[A]

Okay, okay, okay. So I will be short. So Jetion is a creative agency and production company at the same time. It's a little bit specific and I will explain maybe later. And Jillian was born in 1984. Wow.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

And yeah, and the founder, one of the founder has the. The amazing idea of. Of building a company that will do some TV design. And it was not. There was no agency doing TV design because it was a long time ago and there was just one channel in France. But he knew that there will be more in Europe and in France. So what is interesting is that Jedion was born with this as a TV design agency. And as you know, TV is motion. And today motion is at the heart of what we are doing at jdm. And I think that motion design is really necessary for all brands, not only tv, because today brands became media. Yeah, for sure. Because of the social media.

[B]

And so you're saying that it's an agency and a production company and how is that different from others in the market?

[A]

Oh, it's because of TV again, because TV channels, they are used to ask their. To ask to the same agency for their design, but also for all the communication tools and I mean all the campaigns. And so they have no agency plus production company, as it's usual to do that for advertising, for example. But I don't know why it was always like this in France, but not only in Europe also. But it's interesting because when we think about a design or a concept, we immediately try to take on board all the constraints of the production and of how the people inside the company will have to manage it. So it's another way of thinking, creativity and concept.

[B]

Okay. And so how did the Olympics land on your desk? How did you get that gig? That must have been the gig everyone wanted.

[A]

Yeah, yeah. And to be a very. We are not a big company. We are very well known in our field of TV design. But the Olympics was really a dream. And so we, we went to a pitch With Avas, it's a very big company. So we came together, but we were final, only finalists on the emblem logo of the game. So it was five years before the games, but at this time, Thierry Reboul, the big boss of the of Paris 2024, watch our. We produce like a movie about our emblem for the pitch. For the pitch.

[B]

Oh, wow.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So you have to go really far in the creative process already.

[A]

Yeah, yeah. We wanted to get it, but we wanted it. We were second.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And the one who won was my first creative director at Jedeon. It was the family.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

So, yes, we produced like a film in order to show how this emblem could be adapted everywhere in the city, on the people and all that. And so he looked at it and said, wow, it's cool. And the agency who craft the emblem that, you know, the Marianne Flame was unable to really produce assets in video and in motion. So he called us and asked us to come inside.

[B]

So you went on board?

[A]

Yeah, on board. And it was very secret.

[B]

Yeah, for sure.

[A]

There was not a lot of people knowing the emblem. And so we were in a tiny room in their office and it was very funny. And we worked during six weeks, I think, working on this emblem, to animated it, to produce a film about it, to explain why this emblem and also a lot of assets for the reveal. So it was our first job with them. And then we worked during five years

[B]

with the emblem then. So you went to pitch, you got second, but you did something so great that they still brought you on. So the one who won after that,

[A]

we had to answer another pitch.

[B]

Oh, my God.

[A]

Yeah. And we were four companies inside. It's, you know, it's public pitch, so it's very specific.

[B]

Because in the background, is it because there's France television or is it because it's the Olympic Committee or Olympic Committee? So it's a RFP of some sort. Invitation to tender. Right, so exactly. And it's very transparent.

[A]

Totally, totally, totally. And so we won. We were alone, so we were this small company, but we won. We were four and we did a lot of projects with them until the end. Seven weeks before the Opening Ceremony, we won a third pitch and it was to imagine and produce assets for the Opening Ceremony. And it was really.

[B]

Oh, my goodness, I'm so jealous. Like, I wish I was a creative person of some sorts. So fascinating. How do you work on such a high level, high profile project? So secretive also at the same time. And were you able to keep doing the rest of your job? Because you said that A lean company. How did you manage to do that with your team? I know any secrets and esos we are used to.

[A]

We are very agile. We have to because we never know if we will have, I don't know, five or 10 projects at the same time.

[B]

At the same time.

[A]

It's impossible. That's why being producer, it's interesting because when you are a producer, you know how to manage all that kind of. You go from a very small project to a big mass. So we have, we are lucky because we have a network of talents everywhere in the world. For example, when we, a long time ago we were on a pitch in Mexico and in 24 hours we are able to find someone really cool and who is born in Mexico to help us understand the culture. And so we did quite the same for the Olympic. So I keep the core of my creative team. And then we had people depending on the project because we did a lot for them and very different projects. Some were just for the look of the game, for example, it was really about creating and producing all the guidelines for the motion. So when you see the look, when the look of the game in motion, it was our job to create all this. So it was big, but it was really about motion. But when we had to to deal with all the campaigns featuring the mascot, for example, it was really advertising. So we had to work with script writers and we also make like a studio inside Jedeon with a lot of animators, voiceover and all that to produce all the films featuring the mascot. Because it was really a bigger, a

[B]

bigger, a big endeavor.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, for sure.

[B]

Okay, so you mentioned Thomas, Julie and the, the opening ceremony. Tell us about it. I mean, that's probably something that will stay with me for my, for my entire life. I don't know if you felt that way. Well, yeah, I mean, it's, it was just incredible. I, I, I don't, I, I think everyone I've spoken to have felt the same way, how innovative it was. I think no one can top, in any case, no one can top the idea of the Olympics in Paris. Yes, I'm French, but I'm not biased, I promise. But I will say that using Paris, you know, as a background scene, I mean. Yeah.

[A]

Already

[B]

you're putting the ambition this high. So tell us a bit more about what it was like what you guys did for the opening ceremony.

[A]

So we did very, very things. Again, for example, we so first to majorly he gave us a carte blanche. Really. We came. It was so. We just had seven weeks to conceive and produce all the elements. So we arrived, he explained all the ceremony. So it was totally crazy because it was really secret.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, for sure.

[A]

So we were just a few happy few to know. And we were. And it was funny because he wanted to have his team in a place only for the opening ceremony. And they choose an office that was quite the same building that the one of Jedim same street. So it was really, really easy because of course it was not allowed to send emails or, you know, it was really. So we arrived, he explained all these concepts and idea and story. But we thought that there was just seven weeks again. So we thought that he had really an idea very precise on the execute. Yeah, exactly. And then we arrived and said, okay,

[B]

so you can do whatever you want. Exactly.

[A]

And it was just. Okay, we need a 40 minutes video to put on a floor of a barge where there will be 60 dancers. And you have to imagine something about. It will be the sequence of festivity and then we will go to darkness. So you need to find something to express this idea. And it has of course to be totally synchronized with the dance. So we say, okay, can we see the dance? Or. I don't know, it's work in progress, the dance. Okay. So you can of course talk with the choreographer. Yeah, yeah. Voila. So it was really difficult because 40 minutes of video in a. It was 6, 30 meters of screen.

[B]

Oh, wow. Yeah.

[A]

So it's very big data. So you are unable to change it at the very last time. And there was no rehearsals in real conditions because it was along the sand. Yeah. So. And it was secret, so it was impossible to do it.

[B]

So make it or break it. It had to work, right?

[A]

Yeah. So we had to imagine some. Some tools in order to be able to do something synchronized without having the choreography. Just some. It was possible to do some shoot on a car park with some of the dancers, not all the dancer, but we manage. And the other thing that it was a little bit difficult to manage is that Thomas is coming from theater. Yeah. So it's not used to video and to motion. So we had a short time. So we had to come with some concepts, still images, mood board and all that.

[B]

But you could envision this. Yeah.

[A]

So. Well, it was a big job. So we did this floor and it was really interesting because of this big constraints of lot of constraints, we also produce the film. I don't know if you remember when there is a horse rider on the sand. There was like a film on all the story of the games. And so we Did a lot. A lot of researches and we test a lot of things. We didn't know if we preferred to work with some themes of the games or being historical. So it was a very, very long process. And also this sequence of the. It's funny because the horse rider, everybody after the ceremony told, wow, it was amazing, this horse. But during the prep, Thomas and everybody in the room, we were like, oh, my God, it's so long. This horse on the Seine. And then how could we do. To make it a little bit entertainment? So we had this movie.

[B]

Yeah, the visual analysis.

[A]

But at the end, it's funny because it's the one that is really stressful. But at the end it worked.

[B]

Yeah, I remember I was watching that on French television. And after that I heard that there was a bit of a disappointment because we couldn't see all of the things that were happening. Right. So what we saw on screen is potentially half of what you guys did, because so many things were happening at the same time. Right.

[A]

We have to trap, to delay a lot of things because of the rain first. Yeah, for sure. And then we also spent a lot of time doing some trompe l' oeil on La Conciergerie in Gold. And it was very difficult to do, to be really, you know, to do the match very precisely. And at the end, you don't see it until like, wow. And there was also a sequence with Taiti that was where we. We work a lot on it. And it was. It. They were unable to do it because it was with some drones and it was impossible because of the rain. So. Yes, and there was also something difficult is that all the ceremony was along the sense, so was traveling. And I think that in terms of direction, it was not easy to. There was no rehearsals, so it was very difficult for the director, I think, to shoot it and play a lot.

[B]

And yeah, sometimes it was a bit too static even for the closing ceremony,

[A]

but for us, it was a little bit.

[B]

Yeah, but I mean, you guys did a good job. So what. What happens next for you guys? Right. Because when you work on a project like that, how do you go back to business as usual?

[A]

No. Okay. During maybe two months, September and October,

[B]

you were, like, away. Yeah.

[A]

And. And also we. We had a strong relationship with all the people from Paris 2024. Because when you leave this, it's really, really crazy and amazing and they are all like, more than je neyon. They were really, like, lost a little bit. And so, yeah, there was like a

[B]

bit of a limbo flat boy in French. I felt it as a viewer. When the Olympics and the Paralympics were over, early September, we were joking with friends. What are we gonna do now? You know, I totally agree because we spent a month, you know, doing that and having TV on all day. So. So what. What do you guys. What did you guys do next? Yeah, you gotta keep bringing Duberton es Epina. I don't know the expression in English,

[A]

but I'm very lucky as the president of Jedeon because my team is always very enthusiastic and it's really cool and small project. For example, just after that, we had to work on just an opener for an iconic program on trans television about cinema. And I think it's a twin. It didn't change for 45 years. Cinema de Minu. Yeah, but because it was cinema, because it was so iconic, because we had to work on the music and to work with the score of a very famous musician and remix it and all that, I think we still are happy to work on every project. And yes, it's suicidal. It was big scale and a very big event and I hope we will have some. We will work on other international events.

[B]

Beautiful, right? Yeah, exactly.

[A]

And I think you are always. It's always. If you. If you want each project to be a challenge, a creative challenge, you can do it. It's just a question of seeing, as we say in France, glass half empty. Half empty, exactly the same.

[B]

So you're a half full, kind of. And good for you.

[A]

We try and I know that I'm very lucky and there is always a challenge.

[B]

I love that. Thank you, Emmanuel, thank you for coming on the Media RC podcast. Thank you to Emmanuel Lacaz from Je Leung. Awesome. To speak about the Olympics. For the last 20 minutes, I felt like I was back in summer 2024. So she mentioned having felt a bit of a void afterwards, but she had to get back to business. They did that admirably. But I felt like as well, like any viewers. I'm sure you felt it too, right? After a month of an amazing Olympics session and Paralympics, we felt often. Right. But that was fantastic. Thank you so much for being here with us, guys. Now we're going on to a Q and A pint shows and more. See you soon.