INTRODUCTION

The Formula 1 STC Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Kicks off on the 17th-19th March 2023 and we were more than excited when asked to create a full on animated cinematic section for the main promo video and social campaigns for the event.
The only caveat was that all the animation had to be created in UNREAL ENGINE
So of course, we jumped at the opportunity to make this project because it embraces our love for all things motor sport and would draw upon our extensive experience creating all types of content in Realtime interactive 3D software’s.

THE BRIEF

We were given pretty much free rein with regards to what we created whilst working with our friends at Paradox who provided the master vision which was to create a film that takes the viewer into the future of Jeddah, beginning from where it all starts: the Formula 1 track at JCC. Through the eyes of a young girl, the 2023 SAGP film breaks stereotypes and bonds together universal interests intertwined by Saudi culture and tradition. And this was to be portrayed as a cutting edge fast paced film in the style of Overwatch/Fortnite to appeal that younger generation. We were involved across all the areas of the production from initial concept creations to final audio. Working in our usual collaborative way to bring together some of the best creatives to deliver this epic animation from ideation to final out in just 14 weeks.
The fineal deliverables included:
1 x Hero animated section of video 1 Min 20 Sec in duration
6 x Social media videos
1 x Cinema Poster

THE FINISHED PRODUCTION

Check it out, we hope you like it

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THE FINISHED SOCIAL MEDIA VIDEOS

Check them out, we hope you like them

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HERO VIDEO

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FLAG OFFICIAL VIDEO

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GRID GIRLS VIDEO

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GROUP VIDEO

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FIRE MARSHAL VIDEO

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PIT GUY VIDEO

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SPARKS VIDEO

THE FINISHED PROMO VISUALS

Check them out, we hope you like them

THE TECHNOLOGY

The project employed some of the most innovative digital production techniques being used now from AI text to image to create initial character concept designs to bespoke pipelines we have been developing withing UNREAL Engine to allow us to create a metaverse of characters, vehicles and environments that would feature throughout this video. Which meant we could overdeliver on the original 45” requested by doubling it to 1:20” within a very short deadline (the story was just too fun that we didn’t want to stop or cut corners while telling the story but would have been impossible to achieve in standard CGI)
What this project allowed us to do is speed up parts of the approval process and work in a more efficient way whilst trying put ideas without the bloat of a traditional CG pipeline, which would have severely hampered a project with the sheer volume of assets that needed to be created. If we didn’t like a shot, it was quick to drop in another camera and export out what we saw through it pretty much instantaneously which really helped us get critical sign offs along the way.
Even though the project was mostly created in Unreal we did still need to create model assets in Maya and texture in substance painter before importing them into Unreal to start building the final scenes.

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PROJECT BREAKDOWN

1.CHARACTER DESIGN

The characters were initially created in Midjourney and then adjusted by hand in photoshop to incorporate in specific client feedback.

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THE HERO

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THE DRIVERS

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PIT GUY

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FIRE MARSHAL

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FLAG OFFICIAL

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THE GRID GIRLS

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GRID GIRL 1

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GRID GIRL 2

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GRID GIRL 3

2.CAR DEVELOPMENT

We were supplied with digital 3D models of the F1 cars, these racing cars had to be faithful to the current 2023 season's design, even though the environment they were set in was in the future. We needed to remodel much of the car model so that they were usable inside UNREAL Engine. We further had to rig each of the models to make them move inside the scenes and make some subtle design adjustments to the cars which related to each of the drivers unique ‘superpower’ and the cars unique features.

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THE HERO CAR

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RED COMPETITOR CAR

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WHITE COMPETITOR CAR

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YELLOW COMPETITOR CAR

3.ENVIRONMENT DESIGN

The Environments were initially drawn by hand and then finished in photoshop.

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4.STORYBOARDS AND BOARDOMATICS

Were rough sketched by hand for speed because working in UNREAL allowed us to provide a very quick method to make previz animations (one of the key benefits of working in UNREAL)

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5.MODELLING

The modelling was created in a standard CG method and build in Maya

6.TEXTURING

The models were textured using substance painter and Photoshop

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7.LIGHTING

The lighting was done natively inside UNREAL

8.ANIMATION

All the animation was created in Unreal and Meta humans combining Motion capture for the characters.

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9.SPECIAL EFFECTS

The special effect were created natively inside UNREAL

10.COMPOSOTING

The scenes came straight out of UNREAL

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11.EDITING

The editing was completed in Adobe After Effects and Adobe Premiere Pro.

CREDITS

A production by GTV Media Group in co-production with Paradox Studios

Executive Producer:

Tewe Pannier

Production Supervision:

Talal Dakhakhni from Saudi Motorsport Company

Production Supervision:

Jana Schumacher

Project Manager:

Krish Acharya

Script:

Gerry Blaksley, Lucas French and Krish Acharya

Development:

Noura Abou Zeinab

Accountant:

Sheela Flores

CG Production Company:

Imaginar in Partnership with Engine House

CG Producer:

Richard Watkins

CG Head of Production:

Natasha Price

CG Creative Director:

Mike Ritcher

Live action producer:

Philip Moeller

Live action director:

Ian D Murphy

Live action 1st AD:

Georges Cassab

Live action service production:

Two Tales

Main actress:

Linda Al Faisal

Steadicam operator:

Dani Dagher

Production Designer:

Sunny on Set

Wardrobe:

Windy Ishak

Production Assistants/DIT:

Fred Clemson Logan

Editing Director:

Krish Acharya

Film edit:

Karim Najjar

Music:

Holla Sonic

Sound Design:

Richard House

Final Sound Mix:

Khaled Hamdy

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