Directors Jan Xavier and Victor Tchaba at São Paulo animation studio Histeria! lead a crew of 60 artists and animators on a rampage to promo the Valorant Champions Tour Americas Playoffs with this “Pixel Perfect” music video.

Jan Xavier: “Riot releases an insane amount of great animated video for their global e-sports events. But as insane as they are, most of them choose a somewhat similar style. We wanted to stand out in the middle of this, even working with a smaller scope, as one of the many regions.

“Each of the eight qualified esports teams is featured in the music video, in scenes alternating between real-life players and iconic Valorant agents. As the teams fight for their shot at the VCT Americas trophy, the agents bring dope action moves to the screen, facing off against their rivals.
 

“The ethos was to prioritize sick animations over complex visuals. So the trick was to make visuals that are simple but still impactful.”

 
“The 3D backgrounds created entirely in Blender set the stage for the gripping full cel animation of beloved agents, pro players and effects. More than 60 artists are behind the explosion of colors and movement.

“The ethos was to prioritize sick animations over complex visuals. So the trick was to make visuals that are simple but still impactful. That’s why we went with the simpler but highly expressive character models. Lighting was also simplified, but we developed a striking visual treatment, with strong colors and heavy post processing.

Samuel Ferrari at mdois studio: “The original music fuses Brazilian Phonk, Pop Funk, Latin Music & Hip Hop, built for tension, precision, and the competitive fire that defines VCT Americas. Our goal was to craft something authentically ‘Americas’ that you would not hear anywhere else and to build hype for the finals.”
 
 

 
Client: Riot Games

Production: Histeria!
Director: Jan Xavier, Victor Tchaba
Story: Jan Xavier, Riot Games
EP: Marcelo Moreno
Producer: Lívia Quintanilha, Laila Monobi, Tatiana Sato, Giovanna Jahjah, Marcelo Moreno
Social Media: Sibelle Lobo
Art Director: Victor Tchaba
Concept Art: Victor Tchaba and Jeff Biglia
Storyboard/Animatic: Ricardo Sasaki
Previz 3D: Jan Xavier, Gabriela Zaneti and Igor Muniz
Editing: Jan Xavier
Character Designer: Victor Tchaba, Jeff Biglia, Mateus Pitta, Mila Queiroz, Catharina Baltar, Jackson Oliveira, Mateus Costa, Marcos Kenji Uchima, Rayner Alencar, Vinícius Domingues
Character Layout: Victor Tchaba, Jeff Biglia, Mateus Pitta, Mila Queiroz, Breno Licursi, Catharina Baltar, Marcos Kenji Uchima, Rodrigo Yokota, Ton Presley, Vinícius Domingues
FX Layout: Mateus Pitta
3D Lead: Igor Muniz
3D Models: Cláudio Marques, Amanda Cristina, Jamile Bispo
3D Generalist/Background: Igor Muniz, Cláudio Marques, Jeff Biglia, Amanda Cristina, Igor Lapa, Lorena Piloreta, Luiza Brandão
2D Design: Daniel Kano
Animation Director: Jan Xavier
Animation Supervisor: Felipe Simões
2D Rough/Tiedown: Felipe Simões, Breno Licursi, Geovani Angelo, David Galindo, Felipe Almeida, Flávio dos Santos, Hannah Privett, Lena Franzz, Lucas Moraes, Maurício Castano, Robb Reis, Rodrigo Yokota, Sebastian Pfeifer, Thiago Geremias, Ton Presley, Weldner Conceição, Yohann Abdelnour
Cleanup Supervisor: Mila Queiroz
2D Clean/Color: Mila Queiroz, Andressa Taucei, Carolina Caporrino, Ester Kawai, Francine Gonzales, Giovanna Jahjah, Joana Buyo, Letícia Apolinário, Lucas Malagodi, Pedro Spaolonzi, Rafael Pires
2D FX: Mateus Pitta, Alice Tagliapietra, Jonatha dos Santos, Natália Faria, Pierre Sersour, Rafaela Gomes, Sávio Soares
Post Production/Motion Graphics Director: Gabriela Zaneti
Motion Graphics: Thais Falconi
Compositing Supervisor: Guilherme Zabu
Compositing: Gabriela Zaneti, Samantha Oda, Guilherme Zabu, Larissa Garcia, oito olhos, Tamires Campos
Render: Gabriela Zaneti, Samantha Oda

Original Music: Samuel Ferrari, Tállia, WHYTRI
Artists: analuiza, WHYTRI
Music Production: Samuel Ferrari
Film Sound Design: Glauber Coelho
Film Mix: Glauber Coelho

Audio Post Production House: mdois Studios