XBOX
'Ara History Untold'
The course of history has been shaped by an infinite number of choices made since the dawn of time. But that's the history we know… what about the history that could have been? In collaboration with gnet, we take viewers on a zooming journey for one of Xbox’s latest game trailers. With a dash of cinematic style, we highlight the leaders forging their way through history. Our goal was to capture the imagination of gamers by mixing contrasting elements from the past and future –Egyptian pyramids entrenched deep into an arctic landscape, a modern city celebrating the return of a Byzantine empress. In Ara, the possibilities of stories untold are limitless.
"The infinite zoom camera allowed us to move seamlessly and quickly through each beat of animation and key moment in history. Carefully choreographed moments of character animation were incorporated to guide the viewer’s eye around the frame and accentuate historical figures."
Process
"Our visual development process began with environmental keyframes that defined each vignette. We focused on cinematic lighting, sweeping terrains, and a balanced range of color palettes."
Design & Animation: Scholar
Creative Director: Chris Finn
Managing Executive Producer: Kirsten Noll
Head of Production: Nicole Smarsh
Art Director: Danni Fisher-Shin
CG Supervisor: Tim Hayward
Sr Producer: Christina Yiallouris
Associate Producer: Bella Bergeron
Storyboards: Jingjing Cao
Designer / Concept Art / Matte Painter: Tim Rodriguez
2D Animators: Susie Scheer, Andrew Tan
Model / Texture Artists: Ryan Kaplan, Eric Xu
Leg Specialists: Chaya Pictures
3D Animators: Han Hu, Stephen Van Wyk, Chris Meek, Melik Malkasian
3D Generalists: Brice Linane, Kevin Kolondinsky
Lighters: Jacques Clement, Micheal Lampe
Dynamics / FX: Tim Hayward
Comp Supervisor: Matt Lavoy
Compositors: Phil Massimino, Daniel Noren
QC: Adrianna McKinley
Agency: gnet
gnet Executive Creative Director: David Moodie
gnet Creative Director: Laurel Miller
gnet Associate Producer: Jake Kirk
gnet Senior Producer: Brandon King
gnet Head of Production: Shelby Hill
Voice Talent: Shohreh Aghdashloo
