Zombie Studio director Paulo Garcia rallies a massive team and a dynamic mix of CG characters, Chinese-style ink animation, paper stop-motion, and live-action for this film that premiered before the 2023 Asian Games.

Final Frontier EP Eric Zheng: “This film is a supercharged mixed-media sporting showcase for the NetEase title Naraka: Bladepoint, featuring the game’s heroes furiously competing in eleven events, all disciplines at the real-life Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.

“Based on a concept by Shanghai agency Spark, the film enlists Naraka’s most iconic characters to do battle in the sporting arena and help shed light on familiar events like Squash, Dragon Boat, and Ju-jitsu, as well as more obscure disciplines, like Kabaddi, Kurash, and Sepaktakraw.
 

“Authenticity was key for all aspects of the project. We studied extensive references of each sport to ensure we were getting the specific actions and moves absolutely right.”

 
“The 2023 Asian Games were particularly notable for video gamers, as they are first in which e-sports have been included among the 40 disciplines, with players of the martial arts driven Naraka: Bladepoint no doubt paying special attention to the real life Wushu event.

“Authenticity was key for all aspects of the project. We studied extensive references of each sport to ensure we were getting the specific actions and moves absolutely right. Of course, Naraka is predominantly a Wushu title, so we worked particularly closely with the client to nail those scenes, sharing references, and acting out moves over video calls.

“With the Asian Games in Hangzhou, the film needed a distinct Chinese flavor. That gave us the chance to explore two traditional art styles, namely ink style, and paper cut. The latter was particularly exciting, giving us a rare opportunity to get physical and animate hand-made stop motion.”

Watch the behind the scenes video:
 

 
 

 
Client: 24 Entertainment, Netease
Executive Producers: Wu Zong, Yu Yu, Ma Xiaobo
Art Directors: Sun Jun, Qiu Min, Ma Xiaobo
Production Coordinator: Wu Zong, Xu Wenqian

Agency: Spark

Production: Final Frontier
EP: Chris Colman, Gus Karam, Julieta Zajaczkowski, Eric Zheng
Executive Creative Director: Claus Cibils
Project Manager: Ella Wang, Yeeman Lin
Head of Production: Mary Antonieta Lopez
Creative Team: Agustina Kröl, Natalia Fernandez, Sid Osna

Production: Zombie Studio
Director: Paulo Garcia
Executive Producer: Natalia Gouvea
Executive Creative Director: Daniel Salles
Producer Director: André Carvalho
Art Director: André Zendron
CGI Director: Leandro Marcelino CGI Technical Director: Wesley Oliveira
CGI Technical Consultant: Isaac Buzzola
Agenda Coordinator: Kira Nayana
Account Services: Gabriela Leal, Stephanie Wang
Storyboard and Animatic: Saulo Brito
Concept Artist: André Zendron, Anna Caiado, Katan Walker, Ricardo Riamonde
Lookdev: Claudio Junior, Giovanni Kososki, Ricardo Alves, Camilo Franco, Lélio Alves, Alexandre Trevisan
Lighting: Letícia Fagundes, Claudio Junior, Giovanni Kososki
Model: Raul Sales, Ricardo Alves, Alisson Perin, Vitor Semeguhini, Camilo Franco, Enrique Pedretti
Environment: Ale Barbosa
VFX: Gabriel Marcondes, Lucas Amaral, Marco Melantonio, Sacha Carletti
Rig: Marcos Leite 3D Animation Supervisor: Alex Ferreira Simões
Technical Animation Supervisor: Gustavo Figueiredo 3D Animation: Alex Ferreira Simões, Jeffry Syahputra, Lucas Barbosa, Leonardo Krause, Alejandro Mozqueda Torres, David Herfindahl, Nabeel Ahmed, Rodrigo Souza, Yeesang Khet, Jackson Yeoh, Benny Davis, Elena Velasco
2D Animation Director: Bruno Brasil
2D Animation: Bruno Cursino, Cris Barros, Fhilipe Marmori, Denise Bargos, Geff Silva, Filipe Emerson, Genovis Pagani Filho, Gustavo Carvalho, Hugo Takahashi, Issao Nakabachi, João Paulo, Lucas Flores, Mateuz Fernandes, Raul Vanussi, Robério Reis, Robson Vilalba, Thiago Baggins, Ulisses Jucá Composition: Letícia Fagundes, Isabela Ferrari, Leanndro Amorim, Rafael Medrado, Claudio Bueno Assembler: Alisson Perin, Enrique Pedretti, Carol Nicolletti, Matheus Lopes
Paper Art Producer: Gabriela Leal
Paper Art: Fabiana Fukui, Ligia Mie Jeon, Simone Pinheiro
Paper Art Animation: Erica Valle
Paper Art Director of Photography: André de Souza
Paper Art 1° Camera Assistant: Bruno Moya
Paper Art Logger: Juliana Charleux
Paper Art Gaffer: Hassan Shahateet
Motion Graphics: Vinicius Kahan, Felipe Frazão
Art Designer: Kaike Gouvea
Financial: Alessandra Cena
TI: Gabriel Paixão, Rodolfo Cultiz

Color Grade: Psycho N’ Look

Sound Design: Facu Capece