Assassin's Creed: Lineage
Encyclopedia
Assassin's Creed: Lineage is a series of three short films based on the Assassin's Creed II
video game. The films are made by Ubisoft
and the first episode was released on October 26, 2009 on YouTube
. The films have a promotional goal for the game as well as an attempt for Ubisoft to make its first step in the film industry.
The films are directed by Canadian film director Yves Simoneau
.
. It centers on Giovanni Auditore, the father of the game's main character, Ezio Auditore da Firenze.
Giovanni is an Assassin living in 14th-century Italy
during the Renaissance
. At this dawn of a new era, a conspiracy is being plotted by one corrupt family to overthrow the powerful Medici family and destroy a unified Italy. As an Assassin, Giovanni must face this threat and bring the guilty parties to justice. The story introduces the situation before Assassin's Creed II, and the enemies of both Giovanni and his son Ezio.
In the city of Florence
in 1476, the Assassin Giovanni Auditore monologues on how, hidden behind the enlightenment of the Renaissance, corruption, betrayal and murder are rife, but that in order to preserve justice, honor and the safety of his family, he will fight. From the shadows, he quietly watches his family enjoying themselves at dinner, before departing into the moonlit streets of Florence. Outside, he ambushes a party of mercenaries led by Rodrigo Borgia as they attempt to sneak out of the city under cover of darkness. Giovanni is able to kill two of the mercenaries and incapacitate the third, but Borgia escapes in the confusion.
Giovanni brings the injured man to his master, Lorenzo de' Medici
, and warns Lorenzo that he has heard rumors of an approaching event that will trigger a shift in power. Lorenzo has the captive interrogated; under torture on the rack
, the prisoner confesses that in the city of Milan
, on the day after Christmas
, the Duke of Milan
will be assassinated during the Feast of St Stephen, when the church bell strikes for the twelfth and final time. Giovanni races to Milan and finds the Duke at Mass in church, but is unable to intervene before the Duke is killed. The murderers are swiftly dispatched by the Duke's guards and Giovanni himself; however, Giovanni's efforts to try to subdue one of the killers for interrogation fail, as the guard kills the last assassin. Giovanni searches the body of one of the killers, finding a purse of gold coins stamped with the coat of arms of Venice
.
Returning home, Giovanni watches his elder sons play chess, advising his younger son Ezio on how to become a better player. In private, he monologues that the Duke of Milan's death has robbed Medici of a powerful ally, and that even now, his enemies will be plotting their next move. However, he now knows where to find them...
Episode 2
Giovanni arrives in Venice to investigate the possibility that whoever ordered the Duke of Milan's assassination is hiding in the city. His investigations lead him to St Mark's Basilica
and the Doge's Palace, where, after killing a guard to cover his tracks, he eavesdrops on a group of men (Silvio and Marco Barbarigo) conversing in a nearby room. He sees them dispatch a courier carrying a letter for 'their master' in Rome
, insisting its delivery is of great importance. Giovanni tracks and intercepts the courier in Venice's back alleys; after a lengthy fight, Giovanni overpowers the courier and tries to interrogate him, but the courier refuses to talk, and kills himself on Giovanni's blade. Furious, Giovanni takes the letter, which bears the seal of the Barbarigo family, and returns to Florence
.
Back in Florence, Giovanni presents the letter to Lorenzo de' Medici: however, it is encrypted, written in a strange code. Lorenzo's aide, the Gonfaloniere of Justice
Uberto Alberti states it will take some time to decode, and sends Giovanni home to get some rest, promising to call him when it is done. A priest in Medici's service (Father Antonio Maffei) translates the letter and presents it to Uberto, who tells Fr. Maffei to summon Giovanni and Lorenzo, but warns him to tell no one of the letter's contents. Back at his villa, Giovanni enjoys some time with his wife and family, before being summoned by Maffei to the palace. His son Ezio is confused as to why his father must leave so late in the night, and asks to go with him, but Giovanni refuses.
At the palace, Uberto claims they were unable to translate the letter, and therefore the only way to see who it is intended for is to take it to Rome and deliver it personally. In spite of the danger, Giovanni volunteers to take it; Lorenzo instructs him to find his enemies... and show no mercy.
Back in Venice, the Barbarigos, with Rodrigo Borgia at their head, pray "May The Father of Understanding
be with us!" (confirming they are Templars
) and prepare themselves for battle, arranging their swords in a familiar symbol
.
Episode 3
Giovanni arrives in Rome and delivers the letter as ordered, which is passed through the crowd until it reaches Borgia; Borgia goes straight to the Vatican
, where he delivers the letter to Pope Sixtus IV
. The pair discuss the fact that Lorenzo de' Medici is unwilling to bend to the Pope's authority; when Borgia suggests he could use force, the Pope agrees to lend his spiritual support and military aid to an endeavour to restore order in Florence.
When Borgia leaves, he is followed by Giovanni, but he manages to give Giovanni the slip, and disappears into St Peter's Basilica. As Giovanni investigates inside, he is confronted by Borgia, who addresses him by name and remarks that what follows next is of his making. He appreciates that Giovanni's skills would be of much use to the Templar cause, and that if Giovanni joins them, he will live to see 'a new world'. When Giovanni refuses, and remarks the only way this will end is with an Assassin's blade in Borgia's throat, Borgia sneers "We shall see!", and orders his men to attack. Giovanni fights bravely and defeats his attackers, but is struck in the chest with a throwing knife
by Borgia, and his hidden blade is broken. Though he survives, Borgia uses the distraction to escape.
Badly wounded, Giovanni returns home to Florence, where his wife tends to his wounds. He confesses to her his fear that the Duke of Milan's assassination was merely the start of a conspiracy, and that the next blow will strike Florence; he fears for the safety of de'Medici, his allies and himself.
Suddenly, Father Antonio Maffei, along with some armed men of the city guard, arrive at the house, asking for Giovanni. Giovanni has his elder son Federico tell the guards he has already left, then escapes through a hidden passage.
Back in Rome, Borgia and his fellow Templars agree that the main threat to their plans is Giovanni; however, Borgia says he has a plan to deal with the Assassin, and that with him gone, nothing will stand in their way.
Back in Florence, Giovanni prowls the streets (pausing to muse when he sees Ezio flirting with his girlfriend in the street), monologuing that dark days are approaching Florence and time is running out; the final battle is about to begin. He remarks that no matter what happens, he and his sons are "the Auditore da Firenze, and we are Assassins!"
The film concludes with the message "The conclusion... is in your hands", setting the scene for Assassin's Creed II
.
(for narrative sequences), their faces have been scanned and their voices have been recorded for the video game.
(just like Hybride Technologies, participating in the production, did with 300
, Sin City
and Avatar) which was then replaced by the game's environment extracted from the engine to XSI (half of those assets were re-worked on the texture and geometrical levels before being exported to be used in the film).
About 50% of the costumes that appear in Lineage were authentic period re-creations leased from Italy, the rest of the costumes were designed and crafted by a 3rd party design studio on behalf of Ubisoft and assembled by a group of Montreal, Quebec costume specialists.
Corey May
, the writer of Assassin's Creed II, worked closely with the Assassin's Creed: Lineage scriptwriter, William Reymond
, in order to make sure both stories were linked to the original story.
, unlike Assassin's Creed IIs soundtrack, which was scored by Jesper Kyd
.
VFX
studio Hybride Technologies based in Montreal
as part of the game company's strategy to extend its brands to other media and to converge gaming and filming entertainment.
A year later, during a press conference held at the E3 2009
, Ubisoft revealed the making of short films based on the universe of Assassin's Creed II using the game's engine with the participation of Hybride and Ubisoft Digital Arts. Ubisoft then released more details about the project during the 2009's Comic-Con, revealing some behind the scenes shots at the same period.
Ubisoft held a special press screening of the first episode at a theater in the Champs-Élysées
on October 19, 2009 and a public teaser trailer was released on the same day.
The first episode was released on YouTube
on October 26, 2009, though it was announced for the 27th, and it was showcased on YouTube homepage in eight different countries. It was also released on EuroGamerTV on November 2, 2009. The second and the third parts of the Lineage were released on YouTube on November 12, 2009. The complete film was released two days later.
Assassin's Creed: Lineage was first released on DVD in March 2010 as a bonus content in a special Lineage Edition of Assassin's Creed II
(also known as Special Film Edition). The DVD was included in the special editions of Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
: Auditore Edition (exclusive to Australia, Europe and New Zealand) and Limited Codex Edition. A North American DVD release has been announced and will be in store November 15th.
Assassin's Creed II
Assassin's Creed II is a historical third-person action-adventure video game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. It is the second video game installment of the Assassin's Creed series, and is a sequel to the 2007 video...
video game. The films are made by Ubisoft
Ubisoft
Ubisoft Entertainment S.A. is a major French video game publisher and developer, with headquarters in Montreuil, France. The company has a worldwide presence with 25 studios in 17 countries and subsidiaries in 26 countries....
and the first episode was released on October 26, 2009 on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
. The films have a promotional goal for the game as well as an attempt for Ubisoft to make its first step in the film industry.
The films are directed by Canadian film director Yves Simoneau
Yves Simoneau
Yves Simoneau is a Canadian film and television director.-Recognition:His acclaimed 1987 crime drama Pouvoir intime garnered multiple Genie Awards nominations including best direction at the 8th Genie Awards...
.
Plot
The story is a prequel to the video game Assassin's Creed IIAssassin's Creed II
Assassin's Creed II is a historical third-person action-adventure video game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. It is the second video game installment of the Assassin's Creed series, and is a sequel to the 2007 video...
. It centers on Giovanni Auditore, the father of the game's main character, Ezio Auditore da Firenze.
Giovanni is an Assassin living in 14th-century Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
during the Renaissance
Italian Renaissance
The Italian Renaissance began the opening phase of the Renaissance, a period of great cultural change and achievement in Europe that spanned the period from the end of the 13th century to about 1600, marking the transition between Medieval and Early Modern Europe...
. At this dawn of a new era, a conspiracy is being plotted by one corrupt family to overthrow the powerful Medici family and destroy a unified Italy. As an Assassin, Giovanni must face this threat and bring the guilty parties to justice. The story introduces the situation before Assassin's Creed II, and the enemies of both Giovanni and his son Ezio.
Episodes
Episode 1In the city of Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
in 1476, the Assassin Giovanni Auditore monologues on how, hidden behind the enlightenment of the Renaissance, corruption, betrayal and murder are rife, but that in order to preserve justice, honor and the safety of his family, he will fight. From the shadows, he quietly watches his family enjoying themselves at dinner, before departing into the moonlit streets of Florence. Outside, he ambushes a party of mercenaries led by Rodrigo Borgia as they attempt to sneak out of the city under cover of darkness. Giovanni is able to kill two of the mercenaries and incapacitate the third, but Borgia escapes in the confusion.
Giovanni brings the injured man to his master, Lorenzo de' Medici
Lorenzo de' Medici
Lorenzo de' Medici was an Italian statesman and de facto ruler of the Florentine Republic during the Italian Renaissance. Known as Lorenzo the Magnificent by contemporary Florentines, he was a diplomat, politician and patron of scholars, artists and poets...
, and warns Lorenzo that he has heard rumors of an approaching event that will trigger a shift in power. Lorenzo has the captive interrogated; under torture on the rack
Rack (torture)
The rack is a torture device consisting of a rectangular, usually wooden frame, slightly raised from the ground, with a roller at one, or both, ends, having at one end a fixed bar to which the legs were fastened, and at the other a movable bar to which the hands were tied...
, the prisoner confesses that in the city of Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, on the day after Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
, the Duke of Milan
Galeazzo Maria Sforza
Galeazzo Maria Sforza was Duke of Milan from 1466 until his death. He was famous for being lustful, cruel and tyrannical....
will be assassinated during the Feast of St Stephen, when the church bell strikes for the twelfth and final time. Giovanni races to Milan and finds the Duke at Mass in church, but is unable to intervene before the Duke is killed. The murderers are swiftly dispatched by the Duke's guards and Giovanni himself; however, Giovanni's efforts to try to subdue one of the killers for interrogation fail, as the guard kills the last assassin. Giovanni searches the body of one of the killers, finding a purse of gold coins stamped with the coat of arms of Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
.
Returning home, Giovanni watches his elder sons play chess, advising his younger son Ezio on how to become a better player. In private, he monologues that the Duke of Milan's death has robbed Medici of a powerful ally, and that even now, his enemies will be plotting their next move. However, he now knows where to find them...
Episode 2
Giovanni arrives in Venice to investigate the possibility that whoever ordered the Duke of Milan's assassination is hiding in the city. His investigations lead him to St Mark's Basilica
St Mark's Basilica
The Patriarchal Cathedral Basilica of Saint Mark is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Venice, northern Italy. It is the most famous of the city's churches and one of the best known examples of Byzantine architecture...
and the Doge's Palace, where, after killing a guard to cover his tracks, he eavesdrops on a group of men (Silvio and Marco Barbarigo) conversing in a nearby room. He sees them dispatch a courier carrying a letter for 'their master' in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, insisting its delivery is of great importance. Giovanni tracks and intercepts the courier in Venice's back alleys; after a lengthy fight, Giovanni overpowers the courier and tries to interrogate him, but the courier refuses to talk, and kills himself on Giovanni's blade. Furious, Giovanni takes the letter, which bears the seal of the Barbarigo family, and returns to Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
.
Back in Florence, Giovanni presents the letter to Lorenzo de' Medici: however, it is encrypted, written in a strange code. Lorenzo's aide, the Gonfaloniere of Justice
Gonfaloniere of Justice
Gonfaloniere of Justice was a post in the government of medieval and early Renaissance Florence. Like Florence's Podestà and Priori, it was introduced in 1293 when Giano Della Bella's Ordinamenti di Giustizia came into force....
Uberto Alberti states it will take some time to decode, and sends Giovanni home to get some rest, promising to call him when it is done. A priest in Medici's service (Father Antonio Maffei) translates the letter and presents it to Uberto, who tells Fr. Maffei to summon Giovanni and Lorenzo, but warns him to tell no one of the letter's contents. Back at his villa, Giovanni enjoys some time with his wife and family, before being summoned by Maffei to the palace. His son Ezio is confused as to why his father must leave so late in the night, and asks to go with him, but Giovanni refuses.
At the palace, Uberto claims they were unable to translate the letter, and therefore the only way to see who it is intended for is to take it to Rome and deliver it personally. In spite of the danger, Giovanni volunteers to take it; Lorenzo instructs him to find his enemies... and show no mercy.
Back in Venice, the Barbarigos, with Rodrigo Borgia at their head, pray "May The Father of Understanding
Baphomet
Baphomet is an imagined pagan deity , revived in the 19th century as a figure of occultism and Satanism. It appeared as a term for a pagan idol in trial transcripts of the Inquisition of the Knights Templar in the early 14th century...
be with us!" (confirming they are Templars
Knights Templar
The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon , commonly known as the Knights Templar, the Order of the Temple or simply as Templars, were among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders...
) and prepare themselves for battle, arranging their swords in a familiar symbol
Cross pattée
A cross pattée is a type of cross which has arms narrow at the centre, and broader at the perimeter. An early English example from the start of the age of heraldry proper A cross pattée (or "cross patty", known also as "cross formée/formy") is a type of cross which has arms narrow at the...
.
Episode 3
Giovanni arrives in Rome and delivers the letter as ordered, which is passed through the crowd until it reaches Borgia; Borgia goes straight to the Vatican
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
, where he delivers the letter to Pope Sixtus IV
Pope Sixtus IV
Pope Sixtus IV , born Francesco della Rovere, was Pope from 1471 to 1484. His accomplishments as Pope included the establishment of the Sistine Chapel; the group of artists that he brought together introduced the Early Renaissance into Rome with the first masterpiece of the city's new artistic age,...
. The pair discuss the fact that Lorenzo de' Medici is unwilling to bend to the Pope's authority; when Borgia suggests he could use force, the Pope agrees to lend his spiritual support and military aid to an endeavour to restore order in Florence.
When Borgia leaves, he is followed by Giovanni, but he manages to give Giovanni the slip, and disappears into St Peter's Basilica. As Giovanni investigates inside, he is confronted by Borgia, who addresses him by name and remarks that what follows next is of his making. He appreciates that Giovanni's skills would be of much use to the Templar cause, and that if Giovanni joins them, he will live to see 'a new world'. When Giovanni refuses, and remarks the only way this will end is with an Assassin's blade in Borgia's throat, Borgia sneers "We shall see!", and orders his men to attack. Giovanni fights bravely and defeats his attackers, but is struck in the chest with a throwing knife
Throwing knife
Throwing knives are knives that are specially designed and weighted so that they can be thrown effectively. They are a distinct category from ordinary knives....
by Borgia, and his hidden blade is broken. Though he survives, Borgia uses the distraction to escape.
Badly wounded, Giovanni returns home to Florence, where his wife tends to his wounds. He confesses to her his fear that the Duke of Milan's assassination was merely the start of a conspiracy, and that the next blow will strike Florence; he fears for the safety of de'Medici, his allies and himself.
Suddenly, Father Antonio Maffei, along with some armed men of the city guard, arrive at the house, asking for Giovanni. Giovanni has his elder son Federico tell the guards he has already left, then escapes through a hidden passage.
Back in Rome, Borgia and his fellow Templars agree that the main threat to their plans is Giovanni; however, Borgia says he has a plan to deal with the Assassin, and that with him gone, nothing will stand in their way.
Back in Florence, Giovanni prowls the streets (pausing to muse when he sees Ezio flirting with his girlfriend in the street), monologuing that dark days are approaching Florence and time is running out; the final battle is about to begin. He remarks that no matter what happens, he and his sons are "the Auditore da Firenze, and we are Assassins!"
The film concludes with the message "The conclusion... is in your hands", setting the scene for Assassin's Creed II
Assassin's Creed II
Assassin's Creed II is a historical third-person action-adventure video game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. It is the second video game installment of the Assassin's Creed series, and is a sequel to the 2007 video...
.
Cast
The films and the game share a common cast. The actors have been mo-cappedMotion capture
Motion capture, motion tracking, or mocap are terms used to describe the process of recording movement and translating that movement on to a digital model. It is used in military, entertainment, sports, and medical applications, and for validation of computer vision and robotics...
(for narrative sequences), their faces have been scanned and their voices have been recorded for the video game.
- Romano OrzariRomano OrzariRomano Orzari is a Canadian actor. He has appeared in TV shows such as Bugs, Mutant X, Durham County, and Banshee and has appeared in films such as Punisher: War Zone, Immortals, The Last Hit Man, and One Way Out....
as Giovanni Auditore - Manuel Tadros as Rodrigo Borgia
- Claudia Ferri as Maria Auditore
- Jesse Rath as Federico Auditore
- Devon BostickDevon BostickDevon Bostick is a Canadian actor, best known for playing the lead role in the Atom Egoyan-directed film Adoration and Rodrick Heffley in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid movies.- Life and career :Bostick was born in Toronto, Ontario...
as Ezio Auditore - Alex Ivanovici as Lorenzo de' MediciLorenzo de' MediciLorenzo de' Medici was an Italian statesman and de facto ruler of the Florentine Republic during the Italian Renaissance. Known as Lorenzo the Magnificent by contemporary Florentines, he was a diplomat, politician and patron of scholars, artists and poets...
- Michel Perron as Uberto Alberti
- Roc Lafortune as Prisoner/Man #1
- Arthur GrosserArthur GrosserArthur Grosser is an actor who also works as a physical chemistry professor at McGill University, Montreal. He has done a lot of voice acting work in several animated series as well as in video games such as Splinter Cell and Assassin's Creed.-Filmography:...
as Pope Sixtus IVPope Sixtus IVPope Sixtus IV , born Francesco della Rovere, was Pope from 1471 to 1484. His accomplishments as Pope included the establishment of the Sistine Chapel; the group of artists that he brought together introduced the Early Renaissance into Rome with the first masterpiece of the city's new artistic age,... - Shawn Baichoo as Father Antonio Maffei
- Peter MillerPeter Miller (actor)Peter Miller is a Canadian actor.Miller currently appears in the centre-piece CBC TV drama MVP. He has appeared in the SRC drama Virginie since 1996. Miller recently portrayed Galeazzo Maria Sforza in the 2009 short-film series Assassin's Creed: Lineage...
as Galeazzo Maria SforzaGaleazzo Maria SforzaGaleazzo Maria Sforza was Duke of Milan from 1466 until his death. He was famous for being lustful, cruel and tyrannical.... - Harry Standjofsky as Silvio Barbarigo
- Frank Fontaine as Marco BarbarigoMarco BarbarigoMarco Barbarigo was the 73rd Doge of Venice from 1485 until 1486.His brother was Agostino Barbarigo. The two are the namesakes of the Master of the Barbarigo Reliefs, who was responsible for the creation of their tomb.-Popular culture:...
- Maxime Savaria as Courier
Production
Both film makers and game makers worked very closely to link the two titles. Live actors were filmed on green screenChroma key
Chroma key compositing is a technique for compositing two images together. A color range in the top layer is made transparent, revealing another image behind. The chroma keying technique is commonly used in video production and post-production...
(just like Hybride Technologies, participating in the production, did with 300
300 (film)
300 is a 2007 American fantasy action film based on the 1998 comic series of the same name by Frank Miller. It is a fictionalized retelling of the Battle of Thermopylae. The film was directed by Zack Snyder, while Miller served as executive producer and consultant...
, Sin City
Sin City (film)
Sin City, also known as Frank Miller's Sin City, is a 2005 crime thriller film written, produced and directed by Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez...
and Avatar) which was then replaced by the game's environment extracted from the engine to XSI (half of those assets were re-worked on the texture and geometrical levels before being exported to be used in the film).
About 50% of the costumes that appear in Lineage were authentic period re-creations leased from Italy, the rest of the costumes were designed and crafted by a 3rd party design studio on behalf of Ubisoft and assembled by a group of Montreal, Quebec costume specialists.
Corey May
Corey May
Corey May is the co-founder and President of Sekretagent Productions, a production company based in Los Angeles, California working in the film, video game, and internet industries...
, the writer of Assassin's Creed II, worked closely with the Assassin's Creed: Lineage scriptwriter, William Reymond
William Reymond
William Reymond is a French writer who is famous in Europe and Canada for publishing the detailed account of Billie Sol Estes on the Kennedy assassination. Author of JFK : Le Dernier Témoin, he claims that Cliff Carter and Malcolm "Mac" Wallace were key to helping plot the murder of the US President...
, in order to make sure both stories were linked to the original story.
Soundtrack
The score of the films is composed by George S. ClintonGeorge S. Clinton
George S. Clinton is an American composer, songwriter, arranger, and session musician.Clinton was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee. His musical career began in Nashville while earning degrees in music and drama at Middle Tennessee State University...
, unlike Assassin's Creed IIs soundtrack, which was scored by Jesper Kyd
Jesper Kyd
Jesper Jakobson Kyd is a Danish video game and film score composer.Kyd combines sounds of dark ambient, electronic and symphonic music and has won many awards. He is also notable for his early work in the Amiga demoscene, where he composed a large amount of music in his teenage years, in...
.
Promotion and release
Ubisoft acquired on July 7, 2008 the post-productionPost-production
Post-production is part of filmmaking and the video production process. It occurs in the making of motion pictures, television programs, radio programs, advertising, audio recordings, photography, and digital art...
VFX
Visual effects
Visual effects are the various processes by which imagery is created and/or manipulated outside the context of a live action shoot. Visual effects involve the integration of live-action footage and generated imagery to create environments which look realistic, but would be dangerous, costly, or...
studio Hybride Technologies based in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
as part of the game company's strategy to extend its brands to other media and to converge gaming and filming entertainment.
A year later, during a press conference held at the E3 2009
Electronic Entertainment Expo 2009
The Electronic Entertainment Expo 2009, commonly known as the E3 2009, was the 15th Electronic Entertainment Expo held. The event took place on June 2, 3, and 4 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. E3 is an annual trade show for the computer and video games industry presented by the Entertainment...
, Ubisoft revealed the making of short films based on the universe of Assassin's Creed II using the game's engine with the participation of Hybride and Ubisoft Digital Arts. Ubisoft then released more details about the project during the 2009's Comic-Con, revealing some behind the scenes shots at the same period.
Ubisoft held a special press screening of the first episode at a theater in the Champs-Élysées
Champs-Élysées
The Avenue des Champs-Élysées is a prestigious avenue in Paris, France. With its cinemas, cafés, luxury specialty shops and clipped horse-chestnut trees, the Avenue des Champs-Élysées is one of the most famous streets and one of the most expensive strip of real estate in the world. The name is...
on October 19, 2009 and a public teaser trailer was released on the same day.
The first episode was released on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
on October 26, 2009, though it was announced for the 27th, and it was showcased on YouTube homepage in eight different countries. It was also released on EuroGamerTV on November 2, 2009. The second and the third parts of the Lineage were released on YouTube on November 12, 2009. The complete film was released two days later.
Assassin's Creed: Lineage was first released on DVD in March 2010 as a bonus content in a special Lineage Edition of Assassin's Creed II
Assassin's Creed II
Assassin's Creed II is a historical third-person action-adventure video game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. It is the second video game installment of the Assassin's Creed series, and is a sequel to the 2007 video...
(also known as Special Film Edition). The DVD was included in the special editions of Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood is a historical third person, stealth action-adventure video game developed by Ubisoft for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. It was released for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in November 2010, Microsoft Windows in March 2011 and Mac OS X in May 2011...
: Auditore Edition (exclusive to Australia, Europe and New Zealand) and Limited Codex Edition. A North American DVD release has been announced and will be in store November 15th.