Garena Free Fire mobilized the globally devoted Free Fire player community with Free Fire Vengeance: an in-game event to entertain during the challenging times of the early pandemic in Summer 2020. Animation and mixed-media studio LOBO helmed the spot with co-directors Isabela Littger and Nando Cohen, who utilized an angular gritty 2D animation style paired with high-speed smash cuts to fit a backstory and lore spanning years into the span of a 3:26 video. Additionally, the pacing was meticulously boarded to match the song created for the trailer, “Reckoning” ft. singer Krigarè.
Says Isabela: “This film was a big challenge because of the restricted production time, as well as being made mostly remotely due to the COVID pandemic. We tried to find the most efficient way to tell a complex story within three and a half minutes, all while following the music track. Together with Mauricio Lobel, our 3D lead, and Tiago Calliari, our art director, we worked towards the appearance of a 2D-painted looking universe. For that, we worked with 3D characters modeled and textured to look 2D, and added them on top of 2D backgrounds. We chose the 2D-looking aesthetics to create a more crafted visual impact, focusing on creating strong compositions to give every shot an illustration quality. It was an amazing experience to work alongside so many talented artists, having the entire production done in Brazil and by Brazilian artists.”
