Impossible Objects Goes Interstellar for UFC in New Interstitial for Sphere Las Vegas

World-building lab and creative studio Impossible Objects helped Sphere Las Vegas kick off the venue’s first ever sporting event, Riyadh Season Noche UFC with a 90-second spot celebrating the cultural heritage of combat sports in Mexico. Co-directed by Impossible Objects co-founder Joe Sill and director Brian Tang, the otherworldly short delighted fans with a next level immersive experience.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has a legacy of engaging audiences in new and innovative ways, and bringing the octagon into the famed Las Vegas Sphere elevated the visual spectacle for fans. The UFC commissioned Academy Award-nominated director and producer Carlos Lopez Estrada (Raya and the Last Dragon, Blindspotting) and production company Nexus Studios to oversee six interstitial segments all themed around Mexican culture to play on the massive 160,000 square-foot curved LED screen inside of the sphere between matches. Impossible Objects contributed to this effort alongside director Saad Moosajee, Factory Fifteen, Basa Animation Studios, Shynola, and Paul Trillo.

“This film was an incredible collaborative opportunity to merge the richness of Mexico’s culture, UFC’s history, and Impossible Object’s love of world building into one unprecedented experience,” said Joe. “Seeing this work play out inside the epic Sphere canvas is a breathtaking view into what the future of storytelling may hold and we are thrilled to be a part of it.”

The all-CG interstitial short from Impossible Objects introduces the event and presents an intergalactic sequence featuring memorable figures and symbols merging icons of Mexican independence with celebrated UFC legends. Images take shape, emerging as statues formed from galactic dust populating a surreal galactic landscape. The celestial segment features Aztec soldiers alongside UFC greats in an intricate design that both celebrates and honours the heritage of mixed martial arts. The team at Impossible Objects brought this project to life in just four months, with a toolkit that included Autodesk Maya, SideFX Houdini, and The Foundry’s Nuke for production, and Epic Games’ Unreal Engine for previsualisation.