Brief
Riot Games came to us with a passionate brief: to create a trailer, much like a love letter to fans that transported gamers into the next fierce and visually beautiful chapter of VALORANT.
Approach
Riot wanted to dedicate the chapter as a gift to the player universe. With creative audaciousness at the heart of Riot's philosophy, we had licence to design a global film that was gender fluid and with diversity casting. By storyboarding episodic shots and telling the story of each character, we were able to dive into the realm of VALORANT by employing our smorgasbord of creative capabilities. From top level traditional VFX production, creating otherworldly full CG cities, to rocket FX simulation and CG character integration, there were an intimidating number of scenes and transitions to develop. We had a lot of fun and colourful creative problems to solve, and these projects don’t come around that often so we relished the opportunity.
Impact
The trailer was a global masterpiece that excited fans across worldwide and generated a buzz on the VALORANT Twitch channel of 10.5 million loyal followers.
2m+
YouTube views
641
Retweets
130k
YouTube likes
We embarked on designing an intoxicating and overflowing film, with ‘eyeball breaking’ results. Collaborating directly with the visionaries at Riot was a joy, they allowed us space to express, but kept us in check to make sure that the VALORANT IP was pitch perfect and Easter egg laden. Seeing them light up with excitement as the work in progress developed really spurred us on.
Pete Hodsman, Joint Head of 2D at The Mill
Among VALORANT’S loyal fan base and avid gamer was American music producer DJ Zedd, who was one of the many influencers filmed playing the game across the globe. DJ Zedd also remixed a song for a section of the trailer featuring shadow figure Omen.
Carl stated “The film utilises all the modern technology of The Mill and its global community, with influencers shot across the world, live action being filmed in Bulgaria, written and directed in London, to being produced in LA” - a true global masterpiece.
