2018 Rebrand
UEFA Champions League
Commissioned by DesignStudio, Framestore is proud to have worked on the most recent rebrand for UEFA Champions League which provides its visual identity that sets the championship’s look and feel. Tapping into talent across its advertising division, Framestore completed CG and motion graphics work for the visual refresh, on elements that will be seen by billions globally across international broadcasts.
Framestore’s remit was to provide assets for the full broadcast toolkit, delivering graphics and sequences which will be used by broadcasters for live match analysis and highlight programming. It also created the television title sequence for which the creative studio provided several roles from early previsualisation through to finessed shots.
At the heart of the rebrand sits the starball, a concept that shines a light on UEFA Champions League moments that make “the ultimate stage”. Framestore delivered the starball asset digitally at a phenomenal 30K resolution. In the title sequence, this asset is also used to dynamically “wrap” three players (Ronaldo, Dzeko and Mandzukic) and in wider shots forms a canopy over the featured stadium. Five further hero images, for extensive use across the broadcast package, were delivered at 12K.
The sequence’s stadium itself, and the surrounding sprawling environment were constructed by Framestore, taking architectural cues from the curvature of the Championship trophy. Artists took a methodical approach to the build, using principles of urban design to craft a stadium that would hold up to scrutiny for the sequence’s full four-year run.
The stadium was also carefully populated with huge crowds, generated using Massive. A sophisticated AI ensures the most natural behaviour at high resolution, once more future-proofing the work for the entirety of the broadcast cycle. The surrounding cityscape, spanning a virtual 12km area, drew on a blend of CG and digital matte painting skill.
Framestore used these hero assets to previsualise the UEFA Champions League title sequence; building 15 core, fully CG shots that would form the backbone of a delivery that totalled nearly 150 pieces of content. A base colour grade was set on the work across the board, balancing the blend of stock footage and CG elements. The colour palette of the rebrand – taking blue from the original branding, and inspired by European night skies - was then reflected in a colour treatment added in Flame, using carefully art directed light flares to further the dynamic tone set by the starball.
The multifaceted final delivery pushed Framestore to excel in a new era of broadcast entertainment, equipping broadcasters’ creative teams with the highest-quality and incredibly flexible assets for every content eventuality. In working on this project with DesignStudio, Framestore’s artists upped its game to ensure that the UEFA Champions League’s 2018-21 branding is its most ambitious, and visually advanced, to date.
