Assassin's Creed: Lineage

"The age of Renaissance. A time considered to be the rebirth of man. Yet behind humanity's expanding consciousness, a movement was taking place. A conspiracy by one corrupt family to overthrow the powerful Medici dynasty, and destroy a unified Italy. But there are still some who fought for justice, and followed an ancient creed. And it is with them, that our story begins."

- The opening narration of Lineage - Episode one.

Assassin's Creed: Lineage is a series of three short films based on the universe of the video game Assassin's Creed. The films are made by Ubisoft, the game company itself. The first episode was released on October 26, 2009 via YouTube, and Episode 2 and Episode 3 were released on November 12, 2009 on Spike TV, later uploaded on YouTube for international viewing purposes.

Created as a bridge for Assassin's Creed and Assassin's Creed II, the film details the time of Giovanni Auditore da Firenze as an Assassin for the Medici, and how he uncovered a conspiracy that threatened the power of the ruling body in Florence.

A DVD of of the complete Lineage was later included in some of the special editions of Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood.

Plot
In the year 1476, the Assassin Giovanni Auditore skips dinner with his family to intercept Rodrigo Borgia, who was roaming the streets of Florence. Ambushing Rodrigo and his men, Giovanni subdues two of Borgia's men and keeps one alive for interrogation. As Rodrigo fled, Giovanni reports to Lorenzo de' Medici about his investigations, how an important event will affect the balance of power in Florence. The Medici, along with Uberto Alberti, then interrogate Giovanni's captive with a rack, making him reveal about the Borgia's plan: an assassination was planed for Duke Galeazzo Maria Sforza during the Feast of Saint Stephen in Milan, to be carried out by Rodrigo's allies. Medici immediately orders Giovanni to stop the assassination by going to Milan. During mass, Galeazzo Sforza pays tribute at the altar, as Giovanni Andrea Lampugnani, Gerolamo Olgiati, and Carlo Visconti, officials of the Milan court, approach him. As Giovanni hurriedly made his way to Sforza through the crowd, Lampugnani commences the assassination, which incites the church crowd. Giovanni helps subdue the assailants while Sforza's personal bodyguard chases down Lampugnani. Lampugnani was then pinned down by Sforza's bodyguard, and despite Giovanni's pleas to spare him, the guard kills Lampugnani. As the guard attends to his master's body, Giovanni inspects Lampugnani's corpse. He then founds a sack of Venetian coins in Lampugnai's satchel, which he takes as evidence.

Returning home, Giovanni would then see his sons Ezio and Federico playing chess as he and Maria watch. After giving Ezio advise on how to be a better player, Giovanni would later lament in private about the loss of the Duke of Milan, and how the Medici was depraved of a powerful ally. He would then resume his search for the conspirators, as he prepares to head for Venice.

Arriving at Venice, Giovanni heads for the Palazzo Ducale, which bore the same insignia as the coins Lampugnani possessed. Subduing a palace guard, Giovanni manages to enter the palace and eavesdrops on a meeting between a courier and an official, where the latter orders the former to deliver a letter to their "master" in Rome. Giovanni follows the courier and intercepts him in a secluded area. Though Giovanni tried to interrogate him, the courier kills himself with Giovanni's blade. Giovanni would then inspect the courier's body, and takes the letter from the officials with him back to Florence.

Back in Florence, Giovanni hands over the letter, which was encrypted, to the Medici. They give the letter Uberto Alberti, who gave the letter to his men. The Priest Antonio Maffei was able to decipher the encryption and gives it to Alberti, who disposes of the deciphered letter after telling Maffei to keep silent over the matter. He then orders Maffei to fetch Giovanni while he wakes Lorenzo. Giovanni prepares to leave as he bids goodbye to his wife, and then talking to Ezio about his business. At the Palazzo Medici, Uberto claims to have failed in the decryption of the letter. He would then follow up with a plan, stating that Giovanni should deliver the letter and track the steps of the other couriers, and follow where it leads. Giovanni, who knew where to find the other couriers, takes the letter and leaves for Rome, all the while, Rodrigo Borgia begins to plan with the House of Barbarigo and his other accomplices.

In Rome, Giovanni delivers the letter and tracks the movement of the other couriers, which leads to Rodrigo Borgia. Rodrigo would then deliver it personally to Pope Sixtus IV, who does not take the letter and denotes Borgia being turned into a simple courier. Rodrigo would then try to convince him otherwise about the subject, which was about the Medici's lack of respect for Papal authority. Rodrigo suggests that the Pope force submission onto Lorenzo, which he disapproves. However, he would later give his blessing and military aid to Rodrigo for the operation, so long as order is maintained. Rodrigo, pleased about the agreement, leaves the Pope's quarters.

Giovanni would later follow on Rodrigo's trail after he leaves the Vatican, and follows him to St. Peter's Basilica. Further in, Giovanni was later greeted by Rodrigo, who tries to convince him in joining their cause. Giovanni refuses, to which Rodrigo replies by sending five assailants to dispose of Giovanni. Despite the disadvantage, Giovanni was successful in subduing the assailants. However, and idle Rodrigo would throw a knife to Giovanni, which hits him in the chest. As Giovanni tries to remove the knife, Rodrigo escapes the Basilica.

Wounded, Giovanni returns to Florence, where his wife attended to his wounds. He later confides with her about the assassination of Galeazzo Sforza might go beyond Milan, fearing that the conspiracy would involve his family, the Medici and Florence. Just then, armed guards led by Antonio Maffei appear in their doorsteps, asking for Giovanni. He would then get Federico to buy him some time while he escapes, which succeeded. At an undisclosed location, Rodrigo and his other cohorts agree that Giovanni is a threat to their plan, and begins planning a way to dispose of him, so that nothing would stand in their way. Giovanni would later escape through the secret passages, and was able to see Ezio, flirting with a lady, as he left the passage and onto the streets. Fearing the worst for Florence, Giovanni tries to assure the safety of his family by stating their Assassin lineage will give them strength in the coming battles.

Cast
The films and the game share a common cast. The actors have been mo-capped (for narrative sequences), their faces have been scanned and their voices have been recorded for the video game.
 * Romano Orzari as Giovanni Auditore
 * Manuel Tadros as Rodrigo Borgia
 * Jesse Rath as Federico Auditore
 * Devon Bostick as Ezio Auditore
 * Claudia Ferri as Maria Auditore
 * Alex Ivanovici as Lorenzo de' Medici
 * Michel Perron as Uberto Alberti
 * Roc Lafortune as Prisoner/Man #1
 * Arthur Grosser as Pope Sixtus IV
 * Shawn Baichoo as Father Maffei
 * Peter Miller as Galeazzo Maria Sforza
 * Harry Standjofski as Silvio Barbarigo
 * Frank Fontaine as Marco Barbarigo
 * Maxime Savaria as Messenger

Production
Both the film makers and game makers worked very closely to link the two titles. Live actors were filmed on green screen (just like Hybride Technologies, participating in the production, did with 300 and Sin City) 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).

For the costumes, historians researched and concept artists from the game made illustrations of each costume which was then made real by a costume maker from the film team. These costumes eventually influenced the 3D models in the game.

Corey May, the writer from Assassin’s Creed II worked closely with the Assassin's Creed: Lineage scriptwriter, William Raymond, in order to make sure both stories were linked to the original story.

Soundtrack
The score of the film was composed by George S. Clinton (unlike Assassin's Creed II's soundtrack scored by Jesper Kyd).

Promotion and release
Ubisoft acquired on July 7, 2008 the post-production VFX studio Hybride Technologies based in Montreal as part of the game company's strategy to extend its brands to other medias, 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. The first episode was shown to the press during a premiere 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. The second episode premiered on Spike TV on Thursday, November 12 at 12:00 A.M., Wednesday night, and the third episode premiered in the UK on Film24 on Sunday, November 22 at 9 P.M.

Trivia

 * There are some differences in Giovanni's Assassin robes in Lineage that contrasts its appearance in Assassin's Creed II.
 * The robes in Lineage did not have the same "eagle beak" on the hood that was present in Assassin's Creed II.
 * Giovanni's short blade holster was at the side of his boot, while Ezio kept his short blade on his belt.GiovanniBlade.jpg
 * Giovanni only kept two throwing knives in his robes, while Ezio was able to keep a total of twenty five knives. Also, Giovanni kept his throwing knives on holsters on his chest, while Ezio kept them on his belt.
 * Giovanni's secret room had a mannequin prepared to hold his Assassin robes, while in Assassin's Creed II, it was kept in a chest, along with the rest of his belongings.
 * The film shows how Giovanni's hidden blade was broken, which was during the fight with the assailants in Rome.
 * In the E3 Trailer of Assassin's Creed: Revelations, Ezio also breaks one of his hidden blades, similar to his father.
 * The courier intercepted in Venice was dressed in robes similar to the thieves.
 * During the first episode, the Auditore family had a male servant attending to their needs in the dining room. In Assassin's Creed II, the only servant present from the Auditore family is Annetta.
 * In the third episode, Ezio was seen flirting with a woman as his father leaves the secret passage. Whether this was Cristina Vespucci or a different woman is yet to be confirmed.