From the bad weather, to controlling parents and a sexist society, every kid in London has their struggles. But in a city that’s always trying to beat you, these kids are unbeatable. Rather than complaining, these young Londoners use their hardships as fuel in an escalating battle of one-downmanship that captures all the chaotic moments they face each day. This authentic ode to the real 2018 London spans every corner, culture and class of the city, using real kids and their stories, authentic language, cult locations, iconic tracks and a supporting cast of cultural heroes and celebrities at every turn.

During the development of the campaign, London was going through a hard time - terrorist attacks, increasing numbers of acid attacks and unthinkable tragedies seemed to pop up in the news every few weeks. London needed a burst of optimism, but nothing manufactured. It had to be authentic and show the true side of London - both visually and emotionally - that doesn’t always get seen.

Making this film was a collaborative process with London’s youth. They influenced locations such as legendary chicken shop Morley’s, inspired the stories in the film and added to the script by ‘translating’ certain lines into their slang. For example, where we wrote ‘You’re talking rubbish mate!’ they said, ‘You’re begging it, fam!’.

The supporting cast of famous Londoners includes: Giggs, J Hus, Dave, AJ Tracey, Little Simz, Skepta, Jorja Smith, Michael Dapaah, Kurupt FM, Dina Asher Smith, “The Beast” Akinfenwa and Sir Mo Farah.

The VFX process very much began in the planning stage for this project. The directors are true exponents of doing as much as possible in camera however, many of these physical effects required seamless VFX to assist in the desired illusion. This included traditional VFX techniques such as rig removal, combining plates and the build and integration of photo-real 3D elements throughout. In addition, there were areas of design and animation that had to be considered as the story develops more into the surreal.

Specific scenes of note would be: the tower of CG doubles on the shoulders of the rugby player; the CG claymation-esque transition of the skinny kid to muscle man; the CG ice; simulated water and matte painting in the swimming shots.