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UFC Mexifuturism

Brief

Celebrating The Future of Mexico at the most unique sporting event in the world.

We were tasked with creating one of the pre-fight films for UFC 306 within the Sphere in Las Vegas, a landmark sporting event on Mexican Independence Day. The idea was that each of the 5 main event fights would be preceded by a 90-second film that spoke of Mexican history and culture.

Our film (which we crafted with co-production from Nexus Studios and directed by Paul Trillo) focussed on the Future of Mexico, (envisioned by Carlos Lopez Estrada & Antigravity Academy) exploring a city and civilisation evolving from it’s rich heritage. We designed an ancient cave, a flourishing corn field, a future city and Mandala.

Our story starts in a cave, drawing on Mexico’s past, and we follow our main character as she takes a leap of faith, jumping out of the shadows and flying forward towards an imagined future Mexico city. Growth and development happen all around her, as we see iconography from the past and present. The film culminates in this kaleidoscopic mandala of people throughout Mexico’s history who stand as a beacon of strength to continue moving forward.

Making

Crafting a film for the biggest screen in the world.

As always, lots of research and concepting was done for pre production which gave us lots of visual rules and guidance. We knew we had to travel across or through several different environments all within 90 seconds, and our flying lady gave us the ability to propel across large distances. Getting the height and speed right was crucial, so that the environment didn’t feel too fast within the immersive sphere and cause nausea.

Lots of fun creative challenges including character design and animation, water and smoke simulations as well as modelling large 3d environments.

Working with 180 degree square renders, meant there needed to be lots of detail, especially when seen on an 18k screen. We used a VR app developed by Nexus to make sure everything was looking right before testing on the Sphere.

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Knowing that this film was going to be seen on such a large scale with such a large audience, we really had to have an attention to detail. There was a ton of decision-making that went into every detail of this film from the character’s embroidered outfit to the subtle murals painted on the cave walls, to the immense layout of the sprawling city.

Paul Trillo
Director

RESULT

A creative and technical marvel leaving the audience awestruck.

The event blew the socks off the audience and reporting media, heralded as a huge success and a sporting event like no other.

Working with the Sphere’s unique format was a challenge and an opportunity. Creatively it’s a challenge compared to traditional film or media in that you need to tell your story in an environment rather than a window. Within a window you can do quick cuts and fast moves and the audience stays connected, within the Sphere it’s much more akin to VR, in that traditional filmmaking will make you feel pretty nauseous quickly. This project allowed us to lean into our strength in environmental storytelling, crafting a space rich with narrative and easter eggs to explore.