production, direction, color, vfx

We partnered with FOX Sports to craft the official teaser for the 2026 FIFA World Cup—setting the visual tone for a tournament rooted in the unity and diversity of its three host nations.

The challenge? Translating an AI-generated concept into a fully in-camera execution. Using colored tempura powder, squibs, and practical effects, we built a visceral, graphic world—without relying on CG or AI.

Could we have done it with 3D particle sims? Maybe.

But we would’ve lost the unpredictable, tactile magic that only happens through the lens.

We were handed an AI-generated image as our north star: surreal, painterly, and otherworldly. From the start, we knew this wouldn't be solved with one technique. We tested everything—VFX sims, compositing tricks, ink in water. But nothing felt big enough. Nothing matched the scale, texture, and weird beauty of that reference… until we broke out the air cannons and pyro.

So we went old-school.

Two Phantom cameras rolling at 2,000 fps. Air cannons. Squibs. Black powder mortars. A full day of practical pyro work. The timeline was tight. The design was ambitious. The variables? Endless.

But the final explosion had it all: scale, strangeness, shrapnel, detail. Surreal yet grounded.

Exactly what the creative demanded—and we captured it in the last two takes of the day.

The risk was high. But that’s where the unexpected reward lives.