You're in with Scotiabank

The team at Maple Leaf Sports was also fretting the logistics. As copywriter Sameer Nasrawi explains, “It’s not unusual for a director to pitch pie in the sky ideas, not knowing client restrictions, like the limited availability of ScotiaBank Arena or gaining access to the Toronto Maple Leafs team room. But as Matty started to outline how he would combine practical locations, like the bus interior, with an XR wall and AI mixed media, it started to sound much more achievable.”

Nasrawi continues, “The most exciting part for me, aside from the huge budgetary benefits, is the seemingly endless creative potential. Matty’s approach removed traditional creative boundaries of physical locations so you’re free to go wherever your imagination takes you. It’s really exciting.”

So how exactly, did the team pull this off? “We looked at a couple of solutions and landed on screen recording Google Maps and injecting that into AI software to both create broadcast-quality imagery and add the First Person View drone feeling,” Matty adds.

“Once we were done tweaking the initial fly-over, we turned our attention to the bus. The exterior was a 3D model from the Unreal Engine marketplace; the interior was shot practically on stage. For the other shots that would have been logistically problematic, like the Arena interiors, we incorporated an XR wall into our bag of tricks.”

Nasrawi sums up the agency experience, “Fully embrace the possibilities of XR and AI. Don’t think in terms of what’s practical, think in terms of what you truly want to create. Then, test this melding of live action production and tech to tell stories. You’ll be surprised at what’s possible!”