Raid – Shadow Legends

Plarium wanted an action-packed commercial for Raid: Shadow Legends starring Ronda Rousey. In the spot, a disgruntled Ronda storms Raid HQ to confront the lead game designer, demanding to be put in the game. He leads her to an underground laboratory where she dons weapons and leaps into a portal, becoming a playable character.

The production needed to feel like four distinct real-world locations: Ronda’s living room, the Raid offices in San Francisco, the boss’s penthouse, and a fictional underground lab full of exotic in-game weaponry.

Ronda Rousey was only available for 10 hours. The spot required four visually distinct locations. A company move between practical locations would have consumed half the day in travel and setup alone. Building all four sets on a single soundstage would have required three to four times the available budget. Neither option was viable.

Synapse kept the entire production in one physical location, a 55-foot cylindrical LED volume. Using Unreal Engine, the team built all four virtual locations. A practical art department added targeted set dressing and props to sell the real-world illusion in each environment.

Because every location change was a virtual environment swap taking only a few minutes, the production moved efficiently through the day without travel, resets, or budget overruns.

The production shot 36 setups in a single day, staying on schedule and on budget. A clear example of how virtual production solves complex logistical filmmaking challenges while remaining cost-effective.