PROJECT INSIGHT

Digital Domain reveal how they took the cinematic game trailer to new heights with Perfect Dark

G amers were given a welcome surprise at The Game Awards 2020 when a gripping cinematic announced the long-awaited return of Perfect Dark, the beloved first-person shooter franchise. Legendary VFX studio Digital Domain was tasked with creating the cinematic that would introduce gamers to the rebooted version of Perfect Dark, an eco sci-fi secret agent thriller set in a near-future world and developed by The Initiative. The team at Digital Domain utilised a plethora of innovative techniques to realise their vision, testing out drones and studying climate data from Nasa, ESA and more. 3D World caught up with VFX supervisor Piotr Karwas and executive producer Nicole Fina to go behind the scenes of the exciting cinematic.

How did this project come about?

Nicole Fina (NF): Digital Domain was approached by Buddha Jones, an award-winning advertising and design company in LA, to collaborate on the new Perfect Dark announcement trailer. They were familiar with our work on previous game cinematics, as well as our years of VFX work, so we were well situated for this type of project. We worked directly with Buddha and game developer The Initiative to develop the visual style of this thrilling eco sci-fi trailer. Our work on the trailer helped inform some of the visuals for the game itself.