City Limits
A Retro-Futuristic animated venture
Set in a near-future age just down the road from our own, "City Limits" is a visually unique 2D animation on live-action production which blends, remixes, and reimagines sci-fi, pop, 1980s futurism, urban fantasy, and gritty realism to deliver a new animated series for our tech-driven times.
In the series we follow Clay, a British teenage cyborg courier who dreams of escaping a city that's become hostile towards young cyborgs like himself known as Cyber Yoots.
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2D Characters on Live Action
Clay, like many Cyber Yoots across the globe, believes upgrading himself with the latest cyber-wear will be the answer to all his problems. But the more android he becomes, the more of a plug-in commodity he is for the mega cyber-wear brand and entertainment giant Channel 22.
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Real World | Urban Fantasy
Proud and defined by his cyber-self Clay however is yet to discover this truth. And when he does, whether he has the courage to save himself, and other Cyber Yoots worldwide remains to be seen. Citywide mavericks, underground channels, and marvellous misadventures will help him along the way.
CHXXII Cyberwear
x Cyber Yoot Campaigns
Each defining what it means to be human in a cybernetic, digital world.
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More importantly, each defining for Clay, youths and fellow Cyber Yoots everywhere what it means to be young, dumb and daring in any age or future to come. Breaking through the city limits.
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The Production 01
2D Animation x Live Action 5 minute Teaser
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The Story
Title: City Limits - Unboxed.
London UK, turn of the 21st Century. And for those who dare to walk in his shoes Clay, a teenage cyborg courier, hailed as the 'New Face of the Future' has a cautionary tale to tell, where fame and misfortune come wrapped in the same shoebox.
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Real Engine
Why Unreal Engine?
City Limits: Unboxed focuses heavily on the fluid movement of our main 2D character, Clay, within a realistic and recognisably real-world environment. Unreal Engine serves as a dynamic tool for achieving this balance of 2D on Live Action, offering flexibility, experimentation, and exploration in camera angles, lighting, and texturing. Enabling us to push the boundaries of storytelling and animation in real time, while efficiently supporting collaborative work on our creative vision at the same time.
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2D Animation on Live Action
2D characters animation in Live Action environments.
Presenting a rich mixed-media approach to animation, 2D characters move within a gritty, live-action urban environment, creating a vivid visual narrative that juxtaposes the youthful adolescence of our teenage protagonist against a realistic, grown-up Brutalist reality.
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Assets Library
Production of animation and assets in Maya.
Maya is the go-to tool for our character animation. Its advanced animation and modeling tools, specialised workflows for rigging, and precise control over character movement, combined with our ability to create a library of assets derived from our concept art, seamlessly integrate with Unreal Engine, enhancing our process and overall animation production.
Creative Direction
1980's Retro-Futurism
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Brutalist Council Estate Enviroments
Building an urban fantasy
City Limits: Unboxed imagines an inner-city London landsacpe of the future, viewed through a mid-eighties and Brutalist architectural lens. Post-war council estates float above the streets, and a labyrinth of abstractly arranged apartment blocks takes the viewer into an extraordinary concrete neighborhood that's familiar yet distinctly remixed, unlike any place they've ever seen before.
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,An 80's Remix of visuals: Vapour Wave, Glitches, 8Bit
Flexibility and experimentation in Real Engine
The flexibility of crafting a retro-futuristic atmosphere in Unreal Engine is a major appeal for our production. Its vast library of post-processing effects and customisable shaders allows us to blend 1980s visual aesthetics with vibrant futuristic elements. From colour grading to glitch effects, CRT screen distortion and more, we're creating a classic sci-fi ambiance for our new brand of animation.
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1980's Film and Anime Cassette Futurism
Past present and future
Cassette Futurism, a cinematic style inspired by1980's technology and design seen in classic sci-fi films like Alien, Star Wars and anime feature Akira. It is an aesthetic City Limits: Unboxed draws heavily upon. Giving the animation it's retro-futuristic feel.
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The Audio: Spoken Word and 80s Electronic synths
Narrating a retro-futuristic tale.
In the animation, Clay's story unfolds through a Spoken Word narrative set against the iconic Sci-fi sounds of 80s Electro
synths and Break Dancing beats, evoking a visceral sense of a retro-future. This soundtrack bridges early Hip Hop experimentation with contemporary approaches to Rap and Spoken Word found in popular British artists like Kae Tempest, Kojey Radical, Little Simz, and Mike Skinner - creating an immersive soundtrack that encapsulates the unique essence of City Limits: Unboxed's retro-futurism.
We're telling a new story in a new way
for animation that's both British and global.
[What's going on? ]
The Production 02
With the Teaser screenplay, series outline, concept art, characters designs and bios in place. We are now moving to world building, and animation in Unreal Engine and Maya. With a small core team of animators and VFX artists at The Brewery VFX in London UK. The project's production is led by the Brewery's Director Marc Knapton. And City Limits Creator Gary Riley. Executively produced by Esther Douglas.
The team
Role
Gary Riley
Series Creator/Director
As Graphic Designer Gary has worked for broadcasters and channels such as The BBC, Nickelodeon UK, Producing designs for the promotion and launch of shows that include Doctor Who and The Rugrats, along with IP merch ideas for The Cartoon Network and Disney characters and brand.
Role
Marc Knapton
VFX Supervisor/Director
Founder and Director of the Emmy nominated independent VFX studio Brewery VFX in Soho, London, UK. Marc produces imaginative and magical animation and visual effects for film, TV, and luxury brands, as well as both CGI and practical effects for musical artists like Coldplay, Iron Maiden, Oasis, and Take That.
Role
Esther Douglas
Executive Producer
A UK Film Council Breakthrough Brits honouree in 2008, Esther is an acclaimed film producer known for movies such as Ashes, Spike Island, and Life & Lyrics. She is also the writer and producer of the forthcoming production, Marked Man, starring Marvel’s Black Panther actor Winston Duke. Esther brings exceptional creativity, valuable industry connections, and insights to City Limits, playing a leading role in promoting and pitching the series with great effectiveness.
Role
Sarah Mathews
Visual Development Producer
With over two decades of production experience, starting at Channel 4 Television, and producing fashion shows for Karla Otto and leading global PR agencies, Sarah also helped shape nightlife events in London, Dubai, Paris, and the Cannes Film Festival. Now, as a Brewery VFX’s producer, she brings a wealth of industry knowledge, cultural insight, and style direction to City Limits' production and character creation.