Digital Domain and directors Neil Huxley and Vernon Wilbert of sister shop Mothership teamed with Square Enix and Airtight Games to create this :90 trailer to launch the game Murdered: Soul Suspect, which is slated for release later this year. The trailer was unveiled during E3, piquing viewers’ imaginations with a brief origin story of the game’s protagonist, Ronan, and building to a climactic reveal, designed to drive viewers to a website to learn more.
Square Enix exec producer Naoto Sugiyama said of the decision to go with Digital Domain, “We needed a team that could pull off production quality of the highest degree, tell our story in CG in a way that felt emotive and powerful–more like a film than a game, and do it all within a games marketing schedule and budget.”
To realize the stylized, movie-like piece, Huxley and co-director Vernon Wilbert used the tools and techniques of filmmaking. They began by developing a story for Ronan, which then defined the structure and limitations of his environments. For the shoot, they segmented the script and shot it in sections, like a typical feature film, instead of shot-by-shot, the more common approach for games marketing.
“By working this way we were able to help the actor stay in the moment during the shoot and capture several different camera angles, which helped us avoid re-shoots,” said Huxley.
“Digital Domain has worked with some of the biggest directors of the past 20 years and brings that film knowledge to every project,” said Wilbert. “We took things like lens flares created for the game environment and re-created them so they could work in a real world. We adapted some of the visual rules of films that inspired us, and brought their style of lighting, cameras, shooting – even the contrast ratio from color grading – into this piece because they were great metaphors for this story.”
Huxley and Wilbert also leveraged Digital Domain’s virtual production studio and team, conducting a live action stage shoot to capture the mood, tone, lighting and body/face/voice performance that drove the digital characters and assets. They tapped the studio’s advanced facial capture and animation process and pipeline used on the Academy-Award-winning movie The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, on TRON: Legacy, Jack the Giant Slayer and many other top features and commercials.
“Challengers” Earns Actor-Producer Zendaya 2024 Gothams Spotlight Tribute
Emmy Award-winner Zendaya will receive the Gotham Film & Media Institute’s Spotlight Tribute for her performance as Tashi Donaldson in the Luca Guadagnino-directed film Challengers, at the 34th edition of The Gothams, taking place live and in person on Monday, December 2, at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City.
The Spotlight Tribute was created by The Gotham in order to recognize phenomenal efforts by individuals in film and television who captivated global audiences with the biggest projects of the year. With the Spotlight Tribute, The Gotham will honor Zendaya’s remarkable work as leading-actress and producer on the Amazon MGM Studios box-office hit that broke into the cultural zeitgeist, and was celebrated by critics and audiences worldwide.
“Zendaya’s magnetic portrayal of Tashi Donaldson in Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers exemplifies the creative excellence that The Gotham celebrates,” said Jeffrey Sharp, executive director of The Gotham. “Her performances in Dune: Part One, Dune: Part Two, and Euphoria have made her one of the most captivating actors of her generation. Her multi-layered performance at the heart of Challengers earned widespread acclaim, including a nomination for Best Feature at this year’s Gothams. We look forward to honoring her work with our Spotlight Tribute.”
From Academy Award nominated visionary filmmaker Guadagnino, Challengers stars two-time Emmy winner Zendaya as Tashi Duncan (who becomes Tashi Donaldson after marrying Art Donaldson), a former tennis prodigy turned coach and a force of nature who makes no apologies for her game on and off the court. Married to Art Donaldson (BAFTA nominee Mike Faist), a champion on a losing streak,... Read More