Hands down, Phyrexia: All Will Be One is my favorite cinematic trailer I’ve ever worked on with Magic the Gathering. This was a collaboration with the very talented French studio, Unit Animation.
Elesh Norn, the featured villain in this set, is a storyteller’s dream. Visually, she is stunning. Though her armor is impractical, the extreme proportions of her design adds to her ominous screen presence. We wanted her character design to show dominance and power yet still maintain a level of beauty that doesn’t cross the line of “sexiness”. The result was a model that we described as “beautifully grotesque”.
Sound was an important element to amp up the introduction to Elesh Norn and her Phyrexian hoard. Unit understood the assignment from the start and already had this music track in mind from day 1. From there, we took a page out of the Dark Knight Rises and started to experiment with chants. I had our in-house linguists record themselves speaking the Phyrexian language. From there, I laid out a mock up of a chant along with the music. Unit’s music composer recorded their employees chanting in Phyrexian and that made the final cut. When Elesh Norn is seen standing up, you can hear the Phyrexian chant for “All will be one”. Easter egg!
Credits: Creative Director: Seth Conley | Producers: Al’n Duong & Barry Hennessey | Animation Studio: Unit Animation | Audio by Formosa Interactive Group | Voice Over Actress: Laila Berzins | Voice Over Director: Effie Loy
Pain is the sign of your imperfection. The flaw at the center of all that you are.
But your suffering is at an end.
We offer you freedom from flesh.
Your realms are diseased and we are the only cure.
You can either kneel before this throne or become a part of it.
All will be one.
