Ryse: Son of Rome “Path of Vengeance” from H.K. McCANN on Vimeo.
Twofifteenmccann’s new campaign for Xbox One exclusive “Ryse: Son of Rome” is cinematic in approach and scope.
At the heart of the campaign is the 60 second TV spot “Path of Vengeance” (featured above) which sees the game’s protagonist, Marius, “fight his way from the wilds of the Roman frontier in Brittania, across the Coliseum floor and into the Imperial Palace itself.” In one of the spot’s more interesting touches, the action is accompanied by whispers from Roman citizens spreading his legend. Twofifteen wanted to represent how in ancient Rome “deeds of epic heroism were quickly spread by word of mouth, and the story changed based on who was doing the telling,” which they mimicked with the differing accounts of Marius in the spot. It’s a nice, immersive little detail that’s telling of the overall approach to the campaign.
In addition to the TV spot, Twofifteenmccann, in conjunction with production company Smuggler, created a web series featured on Machinima. Entitled “The Fall,” the series features four, five-minute mini-epics detailing Marius’ backstory, history and motives. The agency claims that each installment is a “mini epic film unto itself.” While that may be overstating a point, this is a very large-scale approach to market the game, and “The Fall” is a solid accomplishment in its own right. It also succeeds quite well at making the game look badass, with what appears to be a pretty compelling story. You can check out the first installment of “The Fall” after the break, along with campaign credits.
Credits:
TV/Cinema: “Path of Vengeance”
Film Series: “Funeral”
“Spirit of Vengeance”
“For the Love of Death”
“Palatine Hill”
Agency: twofifteenmccann
Creatives: James Robinson, Scott Duchon, Joe Rose, Steve Couture
Senior Producer: Hannah Murray
Senior Producer: Brandon Romer
Director of Integrated Production: Alex Spahr
Business Director: Peter Goldstein
Management Supervisor: Nathan Shamban
Account Executive: Niko DeMordaunt
Business Affairs Director: Mary Beth Barney
Production Company: Smuggler
Director: Brian Beletic
Director of Photography: Mihai Malaimare
Production Designer: David Lee
Line Producer: Malachy McAnenny
Partner: Brian Carmody
Chief Operating Officer: Lisa Rich
Bidding Producer: Lisa Tauscher
Editorial Company: Rock Paper Scissors
Editor: Biff Butler
Assistant Editor: Dan deWinter
Producer: Joanna Hall
Executive Producer: CL Weaver
VFX Studio: MPC
Creative Director: Paul O’Shea
VFX Supervisor: Ryan Knowles
CG Supervisor: Ross Denner
Deputy Head of Production: Mike Wigart
VFX Producer (“Funeral”): Phil Whalley
Production Coordinator: Summer McCloskey
Executive Producer: Asher Edwards, Lexi Stearn
Managing Director: Andrew Bell
Films Title Sequence: Prologue
Music Company Content Films: Andy Huckvale (“Funeral”, “Spirit of Vengeance”, “For the Love of Death”) and Human (“Palatine Hill”)
Music Company “Path of Vengeance”: Human
Sound Design: Brian Emrich
Mixing Studio: Lime Studios
Mixer: Rohan Young
Assistant: Jeff Malen