Splitgate Arena Warfare Season 1 Trailer

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Summer 2019

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Recording
Directing
Video Editing
VFX

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A full launch trailer for the Season 1 content patch update trailer for the game

Behind The Scenes

Being the first season the game received bringing out a large array of features, content updates and improvements to the game that the community has been anticipating for some time, the developers were looking for something a lot like the launch trailer made for the game. We shot a mixture of highly cinematic trick shots using the portals as a key selling point, and first person gameplay footage showing off what the player would see and feel playing the arena shooter.

There was lots of feedback that the developers wanted to work into the trailer that came from both their first trailers (including ones I had worked on with them), as well as feedback about the game itself, that would help push the game in a more balanced casual / esports playerbase. We used more straight forward portal play (being a huge part of the game, it was a unique point), slower editing between frags and a focus towards content and regular casual match play, rather than esports ready high octane game clips. Striking the balance between these two worlds was the core focus of this new update and the trailer had to reflect that. The shots we choreographed in the server (using Discord for comms, and recording multiple angles using in-game spectator, first person view and demos) had to be simple enough that someone who didn't know the game could see it and understand what just happened.

The soundtrack was an adaptation of the main-menu theme written and produced by both Christopher Tin and TYDI, edited in a trailer friendly fashion. It really helped lift the trailer into the light that the developers had for their game.

Scripted shots vs natural free-flowing gameplay shots add a nice balance to the trailer story

Takeaway

A lot of the shots were really to difficult to pull off using raw skill and getting people to ragdoll correctly and move naturally wasn't always feasible. A lot of the shots used were just free-roam recordings, where I'd ask the community and developers to just do their things and I'd set up a shot and wait for action to move towards it. This kept a nice balance of footage that felt real, and added a bit of contrast to some of the more finessed clips, (like the two man railgun shot in SAW Stadium that for obvious reasons, we had to get multiple takes of to get it right). 

Making use of your resources that the game has such as spectator mode and demos can go a long way to both getting a shot that looks unique and cinematic, as well as saving a bit of time for everyone involved in the shoot. Also allowing for some natural development of ideas through collaboration and free-roam gameplay can make sure the trailer doesn't feel too scripted and focused on selling a particular point far too strongly. 

You can find the website for Splitgate Arena Warfare, and visit their Discord if you want to keep up to date with the game's development. 

In the Alpha 1.0 trailer, we recorded Ians POV for the FPS shots that would otherwise be hard to capture

Credits

You can find the website for Splitgate Arena Warfare, and visit their Discord if you want to keep up to date with the game's development. You can also view the maps live on their channel and join in on the discussion!

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