Oscar-winning film duo move into video games

The directors behind the Oscar-winning animated short "Logorama," are moving into the live-action world - but they aren't going Hollywood just yet.

Francois Alaux and Herve de Crecy will do a 20-minute live-action film for the latest installment of Ubisoft's big-ticket shooter video game "Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon," titled "Future Soldier," due out for the Christmas holidays.

The duo are working with Tim Sexton, one of the writers of "Children of Men," on what will be a prequel of sorts, setting up the story about a squad of US Special Forces.

Ubisoft has budgeted $8-10 million (£5.3-6.7 million) for the project.

"Logorama" was something of a surprise winner at the Academy Awards on Sunday, beating out the favoured Wallace & Gromit short "A Matter of Loaf and Death" by Nick Park, who has four Oscar wins under his belt.

The witty, irreverent, 16-minute "Logorama" is set in a Los Angeles where everything - from buildings to cars to animals to people - is made up of corporate logos. The story has police officers looking like Michelin Men chasing a psychopathic Ronald McDonald ("Sorry for you killing you, bro," the clown says after shooting one officer between the eyes).

The "Recon" short shows that Ubisoft is moving more into the short business as a way to promote their games. The company released its first short, the animated "Assassin's Creed - Lineage," in November.