We are Z1MT, a creative studio delivering premium consulting services, global campaigns, and top-tier productions. We empower brands to create lasting impact, reinvent, inspire and connect with audiences, leaving them with goosebumps. We're here to spice it up!

CREATIVE

The EWC came into 2024 to have their event be the biggest and most significant in the esports calendar. Together with EWC and EFG, we worked to create 3 different content pieces targeting 3 different aspects of the tournament, its structure, its participants and the character of participating teams.

WHAT IS THE CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP?

The Esports World Cup introduced the Club Championship, a new concept that had to be explained. We flew to Malta and shot a piece that both simplified and explained the format. We focused on making the visuals and look of this project synonymous with the luxurious feeling and grandeur of the event.

EYES ON THE QUALIFIERS

We covered the qualifiers in Dallas for 6 of the tournaments happening at the EWC. The task was to create an engaging and story-rich aftermovie for DreamHack, showcasing big moments of the qualifiers, building up rivalries and storylines thatwould continue to be written at the main event in Riyadh.

CREATIVE CONCEPT AND IDEA

Team Vitality approached us with the idea of creating a friendly rivalry style content piece for VCT 2024. We worked together on expanding the initial brief and adding some brand relevant flair while creating a heist / prank video staged in the Team Vitality and fellow French VCT team Gentle Mates’ offices.

PRODUCTION DESIGN 1/2

We took inspiration from a viral TikTok video series that featured someone covering his parents’ kitchen surfaces with various sticky foods. We thought this was a perfect setup for our prank which was relevant and playful. To keep on brand for Team Vitality, we decided on using honey as the sticky substance for our concept.

PRODUCTION DESIGN 2/2

We created an authentic look mixing pre-prepared and colored translucent resin and real honey on location in the Team Vitality offices. Re-dressing the Vitality kitchen and transforming the existing location into the imaginary Gentle Mates office allowed us to fit all our planned filming into one day to respect the busy schedule of the pro players.

CINEMATOGRAPHY

To fit around a tight shooting schedule, we came up with visuals that didn’t need specialist equipment. We used a retro camcorder from the 2000’s to push the ‘home-video / Y2K prank’ look, helping to put the audience in the shoes of one of the accomplices. To emphasize the ‘American’ and ‘pranky’ vibe, we used servo lenses and incorporated zooms.

CREATIVE

Z1MT was given the task of pitching and executing over 8 different projects throughout 4 weeks on-site at the EWC in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The goal was to promote the tournaments, set up storylines and expand viewership through activating professional players and worldwide-known creators attending.

PRODUCTION 1

Due to the competitive nature of the event, it was essential to have a quick turnaround on all pieces while teams were still in the tournament. We also did our best picking the protagonists representing top talent that stayed relevant throughout the whole tournament duration.

PRODUCTION 2

The time with players and talent was the scarcest resource so we had to showcase a lot of flexibility, pivot and rework some of the ideas to adapt to the nature of EWC and its packed schedule. We put a lot of effort, despite existing constraints, to still focus on visual richness and premium look.

RECEPTION

Reactions to the finished projects were extremely positive. Our Call of Duty ‘American Psycho’ inspired skit went viral in the Call of Duty community being picked up and re-posted by the Call of Duty League account and sparked the creation of new memes on X.

SIGNIFICANCE

The scope and scale of the EWC is incomparable to what the esports industry has ever seen before. For Z1MT to be picked to be one of the few external production and creative agencies working on-site is a big honor and nod to our reliability, flexibility and prowess.

THUMBNAILS AND SEO

Adam Savage’s YouTube channel TESTED carries on the Mythbusters’ torch and delivers daily content for makers and builders. Z1MT created distinctive thumbnails to drive traffic to the channel and this combined with our focused SEO optimization has amplified the channel’s reach and engagement metrics.

SHORTS

We conceptualized and produced numerous YouTube shorts, which were tailored both to resonate with Adam’s unique and already established audience, as well as appeal to the wider YouTube community. Some of our shorts subsequently went viral, with one shattering the channel’s previous record numbers for a single piece of content.

CREATIVE CONCEPT AND IDEA

Z1MT presented three original concepts and the idea ‘Empowering Dreams’ was selected. The ad tells a story of five teenagers who find each other through online gaming, form a team, and ultimately win an IEM championship using the Intel-powered hardware. Their success inspires the next generation of players

CASTING

To celebrate the Intel Extreme Masters throughout the video, we chose the locations of the players based on the 2023 IEM tour of events: Rio de Janeiro, Katowice, Dallas and Cologne. We put a lot of effort into casting authentic players from every location.

CINEMATOGRAPHY 1/2

We focused on integrating the Intel brand identity in a natural way, while creating interest and hype with an elegant emphasis to achieve the look of precision that Intel is known for. We added quick moving motion control shots delivering a sense of exactness that would otherwise be impossible.

CINEMATOGRAPHY 2/2

To get an authentic feel of a global shoot while shooting exclusively in Berlin, we harnessed the incredible power of the color science of the ARRI Alexa 35 and pushed the latitude to the limit in grading, portraying the mood of everything from dark nights in Poland to the bright and tropical Brazil.

Directing & Producing

In 4.5 years at the helm, Karina led all content efforts at G2 Esports including video, graphics and social teams. She managed planning, branding, marketing, content strategy, budgeting and staff hires. Karina actively produced and directed key pieces supported by Matt and Charles.

Consistency & Growth

During her time at G2, Karina supervised production and collaborations and maintained a unique tone as well as consistent output across platforms culminating in over 250 content pieces/year and significant growth on all distribution channels.

No Clue - Adidas x G2

Producer and G2 Esports’ production liaison: Karina

Significance: Big budget production with carefully vetted production partners, mixed actor and G2 talent team, tight recording and deadlines, multiple satellite shoots, additional 3D FX.

So Majestic – Ralph Lauren x G2

Producer Karina

Significance: Tying G2 and Ralph Lauren brands together keeping the elegance of Ralph Lauren and the humor of G2, tight recording and delivery timeline, animal actor and exclusive vintage BMW.

One Last Try – G2 Worlds 2020

Producer, Executive Producer: Karina DP/ Director: Charles Post-production Supervisor, Editor: Matt

Significance: Full-feature documentary, resource heavy recording and editing workload, extremely tight overall deadline, unique visual solutions and narrative building.

Aruni the Gatekeeper – R6 Pilot Program Commercial

Director of photography: Charles

Significance: Extremely ambitious promotional commercial for in-game digital items, creatively pushing boundaries and utilizing practical effects, e.g., fighting scenes, exploding a real car.

DHL Dota 2 Adventures Creative

Z1MT was given full control of creative and production, presenting the concept to EFG and DHL, taking the lead on scripting and coordinating it with the on-screen talent. We oversaw creating 3 new episodes for the beloved, witty and action-packed DHL Dota 2 Adventures.

Production

Initial production was planned by EFG for the DHL Leipzig Hub location, however, to increase the production quality, Z1MT organized a set of secondary locations in Berlin. Through the artistic lighting and visual variety of spaces we upped the visual value.

Cinematography 1/2

Due to security and crew count limitations at DHL Hub Leipzig we had to keep the shoot simple, so we took advantage of what was already existing in the space; lots of depth and a bright red and yellow colour palette that worked perfect with the DHL branding.

Cinematography 2/2

We contrasted images from Leipzig with stylised cinematic sequences as part of the secondary shoot on location in Berlin. That way, the overall production could retain a very high quality with contrast between the DHL Hub and the Berlin locations that supported the narrative.

Reception

The first episode aired live during the ESL One Berlin Major, generating over 500K views and overwhelmingly positive responses in Twitch chat and on YouTube. The second episode “The Last Of Dota 2” aired during DreamLeague Season 20 online on Twitch reaching over 500k views as well.

YouTube: Thumbnails, Descriptions, Titles

Kyle's successful YouTube channel delivers intriguing scientific educational content. By repurposing existing long form content into trendy short form content has given existing videos new life and unlocked new, modern and younger audiences along with refining the SEO elements for Kyle’s videos has resulted in extended reach, more traffic driven to the channel and subsequently, more views.

3D Background Scenes

We completely reinvented and elevated the look of Kyle Hill’s Facility. Z1MT was responsible for creating intricate animated 3D backgrounds, seamlessly integrating Kyle within the videos and creating an immersive experience for the viewer.

A Wave of One

Executive Producer for the campaign: Karina

Significance: The first global campaign in Team Liquid history. An over 6 month coordinated effort across Europe, North America, and Brazil, creating a brand animation video, graphical assets, and photography from 6 global photoshoots.