Sliced Studio’s Total War: Honing History and Humour

The Total War documentary series was masterminded by Sliced in collaboration with games studio, Creative Assembly. It’s a really interesting mix of documentary, education and comedy - something you don’t come across all that often in a way that works in perfect synergy. Here, we speak to co-founders and directors of Sliced Studio, Toby Rothwell and Martin Jarrett, as well as head of production, Will Burgass. 

The team's connection with Ian Parkin of Creative assembly and former collaborator from Culture Trip, paved the way for this venture. Having previously worked together on a travel content project for Singapore Airlines, their paths converged once again when Ian moved to CA. The result? A humorous documentary series consisting of four films that coincided with the release of Total War: Rome Remastered. 

Navigating Chaos

Launching a project amidst a pandemic was no small feat. Toby recounts the whirlwind experience of crafting the series against the midst of some serious Covid-infused chaos. The production timeline was a race against the clock, but Sliced Studio’s pre-existing rapport with CA played a crucial role. The collaborative spirit fostered from the outset would prove vital as they navigated the pandemics challenges, and its impact on locations, logistics and the creative process itself. “As soon as we had Phil Wang locked in, it was all hands on deck” Toby tells us. The project ended up taking around three months to complete with some time before in pre-production where the team worked on attaining contributors to feature in each episode. Some locations were incredibly remote, making it difficult to power. The scenes were shot with the edit happening simultaneously - it was important that this could happen so the team could make deadlines. “As we were shooting episode 2, episode 1 was already being worked on back in the studio, whilst we edit-directed from the road” says Martin. 

Finding the Funny: Marrying History and Humour

The project's creative inception and implementation was a harmonious one between the ideas of Sliced and CA. The team played an integral role in shaping the narrative, with Toby himself even acting as one of the off-screen voices in the shots. The partnership granted them the creative freedom to sculpt Phil’s journey, ensuring historical accuracy whilst infusing organic comedy. “We did a workshop with Phil to see what ideas he wanted to add, which was a really good exercise in locking down the narrative. It helped us develop Phil’s character for the series and ensure we had a strong enough story arc for him throughout” says Toby. The team explained that whilst other production companies might relish the opportunity to have the client evade attending a shoot, Sliced likes to make their projects as collaborative as possible. Here, the team didn’t have the client or agency with them. It felt daunting in some ways especially given that they were making a historical (albeit a comedic one) where a huge number of facts need to be correct, as well as there being appropriate levels of reference to the game itself. The trust placed in and open communication given to them by CA was imperative in making the series creatively and factually flawless. 

Amidst the Covid restraints, there were unforeseen silver linings. Will told us that filming during lockdown necessitated a nimble approach, but it also meant unique access to locations that would otherwise typically be bustling with tourists. The authenticity of the series was bolstered by the passion of the acquired contributors, including a Roman live-action roleplay squad whose dedication to humour added a distinctive flavour.

Long-Form Gold

The Total War series is far from being just another project for Sliced. Martin notes its unique qualities, including the rarity of longer-form content in the commercial space. The extended runtime allowed for a more immersive and creatively liberating experience, where messages could be seamlessly integrated. 

For Will, finding ways to bring history to life was a challenge - “We’re not historical experts by any means so it was quite a daunting task. As soon as they started getting in touch with contributors however, “the whole historical world opened up” he says. “Their niche knowledge was absolute gold dust, steering the history away from becoming too generic whilst being very good sports when it came to Phil’s nonsense.” And believe us, there’s lots of nonsense (in the best possible way). 

The team really went all out when it came to travelling to obscure locations to ensure the series reached the standard it was capable of. Toby recalls adventuring all the way from the London Mithraeum, to Vindolanda near Hadrian's Wall and even Dunesforde vineyard in York. Martin recalls standing at the top of a mountain with cold wind bustling all around. The adventuring spirit is something that is so clear to see throughout the series. 

Creating such long form content as opposed to doing short and easily digestible content, is something few brands are doing within this space. “As much as we know that short form works well, doing longer form content opens up so many doors to create big branded moments, where you don’t have to shoehorn the message into the first two seconds,” Martin tells us. He explains that it gives the project time to breathe and be more creative, whilst allowing for more content, cut downs, bloopers and spin offs: “It really is more bang for your buck.” For Martin, the resounding feeling was organic, rather than forced fun. 

Will explains the unique nature of the project given that there were no storyboards, or pre-vis, “It was just a shoot schedule and a bare bones story-outline which allowed Phil to do his thing. For the most part, the unknowns were nice surprises.” He reflects fondly on being in a park in Surrey with a load of Roman reenactors screaming and dying whilst he ran around with an Artem smoke gun whilst dog walkers pottered by. Toby credits Will for being able to bring everything together in such a short amount of time, as well as the edit team at Sliced who understood their vision immediately and delivered tenfold. The collaborative nature of the project is something that deserves a huge amount of credence. 

Series Two?

The lessons from the first series are laying the foundations for the second, which promises new challenges and exciting narratives. Next up, the locations are very far removed from the snowy landscapes of northumberland. It’s going to be bigger scale, more fun, and according to Will, have a lot more international red tape to navigate through. “If you ever shoot in Egypt, give me a call. It’s a nightmare,” he hints. 

It seems to me that the beauty of the Total War series isn’t just about the content, but the stories that encompass its creation. It’s a reminder that with vision, collaboration, and a dash of humour, even historical recollections can be made entertaining, resonant and memorable. Perhaps the war here, was against storytelling norms. 

As viewers eagerly await the next instalment, one thing’s for certain: there are more captivating tales in the offing. So get your popcorn ready, and maybe your Nemes headdress if you have one lying around.