< OUR WORK
Go4Gold, NHL & Sony / Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire AR
Unreal / gaming / AR / commercial / CGI / 3D
ABOUT
Madison Square frozen: cinematic spectacle in live NHL broadcasts
In an industry-first collaboration with Go4Gold, the NHL, and Sony Pictures, we produced a high-impact augmented reality activation to promote the theatrical release of Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. The project brought the film’s chilling antagonists directly onto the ice at Madison Square Garden and Capital One Arena during live game broadcasts. By blurring the line between live sports and cinematic storytelling, we created a viral moment that replaced traditional ad spots with a real-time battle between the iconic Ectomobile and a massive frost dragon.
CHALLENGE
The 18 fps nightmare: a race against the broadcast clock
The project was defined by extreme technical constraints: a 10-day production window and the requirement to run film-quality assets in a live, real-time environment at a rock-solid 60 fps. The breaking point came late in the process when we realized our initial animation pipeline was dragging performance down to 18 fps—unacceptable for broadcast. With only days left, we had to scrap our entire approach, re-rig the dragon from scratch, and rebuild the pipeline to meet the hardware's strict limitations while maintaining the film look approved by Sony Pictures.
“This is a truly unique project, even within the United States, where few brands have been activated in this way. Thanks to credible 3D models and advanced software, we turned classic advertising moments into a stunning visual experience that captured the audience’s attention in real time.”
CRAFT
Optimizing Hollywood assets for the Unreal Engine pipeline
We were provided with the original high-poly assets from the Ghostbusters film, including the sewer dragon and the Ecto-1. These models were never designed for real-time rendering, requiring an intensive optimization process for Unreal Engine.
The rigging pivot: to solve the frame rate crisis, we moved from heavy Alembic caches to a lightweight, fully rigged FBX-based workflow.
The ghostly shader: we developed a custom, lightweight shader to mimic the dragon’s semi-transparent, icy cinematic appearance without taxing the live-rendering hardware.
Digital twin alignment: every element had to be perfectly calibrated to a 1:1 digital replica of the arenas, ensuring the AR assets interacted seamlessly with the physical ice and environment.
RESULT
A game-changing advertising success delivered in hours
We delivered the final build just hours before the live broadcast. The result was a stunning visual experience that captured the attention of millions of viewers across the United States. This activation proved that AR technology can transform standard advertising into an event, providing fans with a unique movie-magic experience in the middle of a hockey game. The project has since been cited as a benchmark for how brands can engage audiences through innovative, real-time technology in the sports industry.
EXTRA
The pressure cooker: performance under fire
What this project highlights most is our team’s resilience. In the world of live television, there are no do-overs. Rebuilding a complex character rig and animation workflow in a matter of days while under the scrutiny of Sony Pictures and the NHL was a massive undertaking. It’s a testament to our solution-oriented mindset—when things went wrong at 18 fps, we didn’t panic; we re-engineered. This project solidified our reputation as a studio that can handle the most stressful, high-stakes deliveries in the business.
“This was one of those projects where everything that can go wrong, does — and you just don’t have the time to deal with it properly. We had 10 days, film assets that were never meant to run in real-time, and zero room for error because it was going live on TV. At one point we thought we were basically done — and then realized our animation setup was running at 18fps. That was the “we’re fucked” moment. We had to scrap the approach, re-rig the dragon, rebuild the pipeline, and push everything through again in a matter of days. At the same time, we were trying to match a film look approved by Sony, on hardware that clearly wasn’t built for it. In the end, we delivered just a few hours before the broadcast. It worked. But it was as close as it gets.”
Core team