What does ‘coming home’ really mean?

 

For someone with multiple points of cultural origin, the question begs: is it where you are born, or grew up? Where your heritage lies… or is it something much harder to define?

 

Greek-Nigerian NBA all-star Giannis ‘Ugo’ Antetokounmpo explores this story of a man with split roots, returning to his homeland of Nigeria for the first time in ‘Ugo - A Homecoming Story’ presented by WhatsApp. It’s a fast-moving deep dive into a very personal trip as he explores his heritage and reconnects with his own Homeland.. Directed by Rick Famuyiwa (The Mandalorian, Dope, Ashoka), Electric Studios were brought on board to design the vibrant visual language that runs throughout the film; everything from the graphic storytelling package to the aesthetic route and direction that makes up this stunning piece’s DNA. 

 

The design ethos for the graphical elements of this documentary are rooted in location and tactility. With the titles, we wanted to make homage to the hand-painted shop signs you find on every street of Lagos, giving them an in-situ feel by playing into textural backgrounds. The R&D was fully handmade - we scavenged scrap yards looking for different woods, metals and plastics, on which we handpainted our chapter cards, rooting ourselves in the small details of imperfection to give the assets local authenticity. In our archival moments of historical footage and family photos, the need for tactility was carried through via layers of texture and the use of old camera framings (from super 8s and 16mm to phone screens).

​

​

WATCH THE FULL DOCUMENTARY HERE - UGO - A HOMECOMING STORY

Client - WhatsApp

​

Creative Agency: Translation

Founder/CEO - Steve Stoute

Chief Creative Officer - Jason Campbell 

Group Creative Director - Castro Desroches 

Group Creative Director - Aryan Aminzadeh 

Creative Director - Stephanie Cajucom 

Creative Director - Dennis Kung 

Sr. Art Director - Hailey Boerema 

Sr. Writer - Eyob Yirgou 

Jr. Art Director - Sandra Tsang 

Head of Production - Alison Hill 

Sr. Producer - Estevan Palomino 

Sr. BA Manager - Paul Rodarte 

Exec. GAD - Vincent Grover-Scicchitano

Account Director - Jean-Luc Ford 

Account Executive - Katelyne Maroney 

Dir. of Project Mang. - Matt DeSimone 

Sadie Langemo -  Sr. Project Manager

 

Production Company - SUPERPRIME

Director - Rick Famuyiwa 

Director of Photography - Jess Hall

Managing Director/EP - Rebecca Skinner 

Managing Dir/Sales - Michelle Ross 

Senior EP - Kate Leahy 

Head of Production/EP - Matt Sanders 

Producer - James Graves 

 

Post-Production Company: Electric Theatre Collective

Animation, Art & Design - Electric Studios

Head of Creative - Geoff Parsons
Executive Producer - Ben Honour
Executive Producer - Oliver Whitworth

Producer - Naima Souza Vogt

VFX Producer - Emma Hughes
Creative Director- Sam Tootal
Illustrator - Kingsley Nebechi

Lead Designer - Jess Gaynor

Colourist - Luke Morrison

Online Editor - Kingsley Bailey

Editorial Company: WORK

Editor - Nia Imani 

Sr. Cutting Assistant - Chris Wronka 

Managing Director - Erica Thompson 

Head of Production - Chris Delarenal 

Executive Producer - Alejandra Alarcon 

Producer - Victor Medina

Music: Human

Executive Producer - James Dean Wells 

Music Supervisor / Creative Lead - Mike Jurasits 

Creative Lead - Craig Deleon 

Producer - Joshua Green 

Composers - Jonathan Russell, James Leibow, Matthew O’Malley, Seth Fruiterman, Jon Hubbell, Ed Dunne, Sidney Kennedy, Tom Keery 

 

​

Sound Design + Mix: Post Human

Executive Producer - James Dean Wells

Post Producer - Rob Suchecki 

Mix Engineer / Sound Designer - Sloan Alexander