Brief

Collaborate with Riot Games to craft a film that celebrates ten years of League of Legends with a completely original take on traditional launch announcements.

Approach

Riot Games has a unique, home-grown way of interacting with fans and therefore authenticity was key, so The Mill artists immersed themselves in the world of Riot and became an extension of their team for the duration of the project.

Impact

A captivating gift to fans that was watched by over 50 million people worldwide. It was a global trending topic, with 550 mainstream articles written about it.

Client

Riot Games

Brand

Riot Games

Production Company

The Mill

Director

Carl Addy, The Mill

Capabilities

Ideation / Direction / Design / VFX / Editorial

“Players are the foundation of the community and we knew we needed to make something incredible for them. At Riot we celebrate unity and what is possible when true collaboration takes place, and The Mill team truly were partners to us throughout the process. The Mill brought the craft and expertise required to make an undertaking like this possible. Not only are we showcasing where we’ve been, but we are giving the world an insight into where we are going; together.”
Megan Pulver, Senior Producer at Riot Games

We knew this video would be huge for the players and needed to ensure every minute lived up to the community’s expectations. This important chapter in Riot’s history ultimately required international shoots, large-scale practical on-set builds, and creative visual effects to construct the narrative. The distinctive refracted look, inspired by the League of Legends nexus, is the creative thread that runs throughout. Once the team had set the visual style, they experimented with shooting techniques utilizing two-way mirrors, reflective surfaces and glass to achieve the aesthetic; CG assets blend seamlessly with on-set practical builds. The project also required an impressive editorial approach to select the right transitions and cuts to build the emotional arc of the film. 

Following an explosive introduction, crafted by content creation studio Elastic, the 45-minute film kicks off with a celebration of ten years of League of Legends, before transitioning into an unprecedented announcement of several new games and projects from Riot Games.

“The way we integrated with the Riot Games team resulted in an exciting, high-energy and constantly evolving creative collaboration. The film is a convergence of all the biggest and most emotive memories of the past ten years. Complex on-set builds and creative transitions take the viewer from one moment to another, from one game world to another geographical location entirely”
Mill Director Carl Addy

You can view more of Carl’s work via his Creator Profile and get in contact with our Mill Direction team here.

Credits

Brand
Brand Riot Games
Senior Producer, Marketing & Communications Megan Pulver
Creative Director Dan Maxwell
Production
Production The Mill
Director Carl Addy
Executive Producer Aurelien Simon
Senior Producer Daniel Midgley
Production Designer Marcos Lutyens
Director of Photography Andrew Droz Palermo
Storyboards Mark Alan Yates
2nd Unit Director Gawain Liddiard
Senior Producer Gabriel Blanco
Producer Laura Morris
Development Producer Max Knies
Production Supervisor Jay Wintringer
Assistant Producer Supervisor Gillian Altman
Associate Producer James Morse
Opening + Sizzle Film Elastic
VFX Production
VFX Production The Mill
Executive Producer Aurelien Simon
Senior Producer Daniel Midgley
Production Coordinator Jena Bodell
Shoot Supervisors Jason Monroe, Gawain Liddiard
VFX Creative
VFX Creative The Mill
2D Lead Artist Timothy Crabtree
3D Lead Artist Jason Monroe
2D Artist Abigail Riegel, Dag Ivarsoy, Dylan Streiff, Franz Kol, Jake Albers, Karthick Anadurai, Nehal Desai, P.K Sajith, Prabakaran M, Pradeep Kumar, Rawat, Rashmi Gupta, Renjith I R, Sathya Sagar Kolli, Ajith Raj, Akash Mishra, Arun Kumar
3D Artist Bill Lu, Chris Goodrich, Daniel Soo, Danny Garcia, Dinesh B, Elizabeth Hammer, Erica Estrada, Gustavo Gonzalez, Monique Espinoza, Samiran Ghosh, Stefan Kang, Valentin Erbuke
Matte Painting Rasha Shalaby
Design Greg Rubner, Greg Park, Joakim Ekstrom, Justin Mays, Sam Zarrin, Sasha Vinogradova
Motion Graphics Greg Rubner
Set Technical Support Tawfeeq Martin
Design Support Sherry Kuo
Editorial
Editorial Cartel
Editor Ernie Gilbert
Edit Assist Mike Wolfson
Editorial The Mill
Edit Assist Natalie Wozniak
Sound Design + Mix
Audio Post Production One Thousand Birds
Sound Design + Mix Andres Velasquez
Additional Sound Design KT Pipal
Executive Producer Kira MacKnight
Producer KT Pipal
Colour
Colour The Mill
Colourist Matthew Osbourne
Executive Producer, Colour Linda Jackson
Colour Producer Blake Rice
Production Coordinator, Colour Jessica Amburgey
Colour Assist Logan Highland, Gemma Parr, Brandon Philis