Electric Theatre Collective Serves Epic VFX Across Riyadh Season’s All-Star Tennis Trailer

‘Call Of The Kings’ promotes Riyadh Season’s ‘Six Kings Slam’, a one-of-its-kind tennis tournament.

Six tennis legends. Eight VFX worlds. ‘Call Of The Kings’ is a tennis trailer like no other. Developed by BigTime Creative Shop and directed by Los Pérez, Electric Theatre Collective undertook an epic VFX journey across the five-minute film, which follows Riyadh Season’s iconic boxing film earlier this year.

Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, Holger Rune and Jannick Sinner star, each integrated into a bespoke VFX environment which mirrors their unique skill set. Djokovic, synonymous with mental strength, uses his power to stop a hurtling ball, whilst King-of-clay-courts Nadal shatters a gigantic clay effigy to take his shot. A viking explosion on seriously choppy waters, a near-invisible robot in a sandstorm and an armour-clad roaring bear are other elements of the film, which uses just about every single VFX practice known to man. Legit.

Fire torches, crumbling rocks, exploding waves, parting oceans, creature animation, flaming tennis courts, electric rackets, avalanches (insert breath here) and other FX elements were crafted in Houdini, whilst traditional digital matte painting allowed for set extension and enhancement throughout.

With a host of celebrity talent with tight diaries shot against green screens and set builds, Electric began concepting the scenes from the early stages, gathering photographic references, utilising Midjourney and drafting concept art, whilst considering lighting and camera language and timing in pre-vis. Meanwhile, photogrammetry scans of sand dunes and cliffs helped to cement a huge scale 3D world, allowing for dynamic camera moves which are integral to the flow of the campaign.

Dean Robinson, CG creative director, commented, “This job was far bigger and broader than anything Electric has ever dealt with before. The film is almost entirely in post, like a full CG feature or a Marvel film. The project had a tight turnaround due to the players’ schedules, so we eagerly hit the ground running, working with Los Pérez to world-build eight distinct environments, each with its own VFX challenges. The end result is a true homage to visual effects and Electric’s unfaltering crew.”

Held at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, ‘Six Kings Slam’ will take place between October 16th and 19th.