Ahead of the 2019 League of Legends World Championships, Riot Games released this theme film in which players flit in and out of game play and real life.
The 2D, 3D and live-action spot is directed by Ernest Desumbila and set to the song “Phoenix” featuring Cailin Russo and Chrissy Costanza. Barcelona-based Sauvage.TV handled the animation and post-production.
In many ways, the film surrealistically echoes top players’ actual experience, considering that the intense tournament runs for five weeks—from Oct. 2 through Nov. 10—and takes place in three cities: Berlin, Madrid and Paris, with players coming from all over the world to participate. In all, twenty-four teams from 13 global regions—including China, Europe, North America, South Korea and Taiwan/Hong Kong/Macau—qualified to play.
The multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game is celebrating its 10-year anniversary this year. On Tuesday, it offered players in-game events and prizes in honor of the day. Some 100 million players play the online PC game each month.
The finals take place Nov. 10 at the AccorHotels Arena in Paris.
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CREDITS
Client: Riot Games
Production: Sauvage.tv, Riot Games
Director: Ernest Desumbila
Cinematographer: Kanamé Onoyama
Post Production: Sauvage.tv
Post Producer: Michelle Goodman
VFX supervisor: Carlos Navarro
Offline Editor: João Teixeira
Online Editor: Mafalda Aleixo
Song: “Phoenix” ft. Cailin Russo & Chrissy Costanza