Dan Trachtenberg (10 Cloverfield Lane, Black Mirror) directs a stunning new cinematic trailer for Warframe, a free-to-play cooperative action video game. Unveiled at Warframe’s own gaming convention, Tennocon, on Saturday 6th July, the mind-blowing new film will act as both the trailer and the opening cinematic in the highly-anticipated updated expansion of the game.
Produced by Great Guns, the six-minute film takes viewers on a captivating journey through the game’s fantastical universe, which is set in the far future amidst a devastating war waged by militarized human clones. Through the eyes of a young woman seeking refuge from the destruction, we see her discover shrines dedicated to a race of ancient warriors. Action-packed flashbacks show the warriors performing spectacular airborne manoeuvres – caught in a mixture of hyper-kinetic and glorious slo-mo in dazzling detail.
Director Dan Trachtenberg, repped globally by Great Guns, co-wrote and directed the breath-taking film, which draws on influences including Star Wars, Dune, and the films of Akira Kurosawa. The director comments: “Being a huge fan, I tweeted about my love for Warframe – which was noticed by the makers of the game and we ended up geeking out together. In all of its six years, Warframe has never had an opening cinematic. Though we initially discussed making a live action one, we decided to go full CG when I expressed my excitement to work in the medium. My love for video games is equal to my love for movies, so this was a wonderful first foray into that world. I was able to storyboard this with my buddy, Brad Arnold, who is actually responsible for getting me hooked on Warframe – we’ve played the game for over 200 hours together. It was pretty amazing to unite on this project.”
This latest film expands Dan’s repertoire in more ways than one; in addition to being his first foray into directing video game cinematics and working in full CG, this was also the perfect opportunity to explore fresh genres and filming techniques.
Great Guns brought animation company Digic on board to help realise the film.
The film was unveiled at gaming convention, Tennocon, in Ontario, Canada, on Saturday 6th July.
