Xbox Commercial Directed by Romain Chassaing and Co-Directed by David Fincher

April 10, 2025
Xbox

In Xbox’s Wake Up, directed by Romain Chassaing and Co-Directed by David Fincher, a wonderfully off-beat fairy tale unfolds: Horatio, a rat, rekindles his humanity through the joy of gaming. We follow Horatio through a day in the rat race: a packed commute, the drudgery of the office, a rushed lunch at his desk. The mundanity is interrupted by glimpses of mysterious gamers—the only humans we see amongst the rats. After a long day, Horatio powers on his Xbox on his Samsung OLED TV and connects with his friends. A much-needed dose of fun transforms him into the human he always was.

Xbox – Wake Up (Short Version, 1:23)

Xbox – Wake Up (Long Version, 1:43)

Watch the Concept Designs and VFX Breakdown at 1920 vfx

Tagline
“What brings us joy, brings us back.”

CREDITS

Client
Xbox (Microsoft Gaming)

Partner
Samsung

Products
Xbox video gaming system and Samsung AI TVs

Title
Wake Up (Brand Trailer)

Agency
Droga5 (New York)

Chief Creative Officer
Scott Bell

Executive Creative Director
Tres Colacion, Giancarlo Rodas

Creative Director
Joseph Russomano, Temnete Sebhatu

Producer
Connor Hagan

Copywriters
Jared Schermer, Tomas Coleman

Post Production / VFX
1920 vfx

Colourist
Kai Van Beers

Creative Director
Ludo Fealy

VFX Supervisors
Ryan Hadfield, Chris King, Jorge Montiel Meurer, Chris Gill

VFX Artists
Adam Gramlick, Ahmed Ugas, Alejandro Marzo, Alex Rumsey, Andrea Umberto Origlia, Andreas Georgiou, David Rencsenyi, Eva Bennet, Joe Baker, Juan Francisco Saravi Migliore, Klaudia Skalska, Lewys Rhodes, Lucas Warren, Mattias Lullini, Miles Tomalin, Monika Lesiecka, Robert Lilley, Ross Gilbert, Sergio García Castro, Taylor Webber, Tom Cowlishaw, Joe Baker

VFX Producer
Ross Culligan

VFX Co-Ordinator
Lena Almeida

Digital Matte Painter Artists
Jordan Haynes, Carlos Nieto, Grant Bonser

Proschetic / SFX
Anarchy Ltd. (UK)

SFX Supervisor
Dannielle Boyne

SFX Technicians
Hannah Cooper, Olivia Loughton

Production Company
RESET

Managing Director
Dave Morrison

Director
Romain Chassaing

Co-Director
David Fincher

Director of Photography
Jeff Cronenweth, ASC

Production Designer
David Bersanetti

Art Director
Caroline Soussen

Executive Producer
Jen Beitler

Line Producer
Ash Lockmun

Production Service
B2Y Productions, Bulgaria

Service Producer
Simeon Vasilev

Production Manager
Ivanina Burneva

Editorial
Cut+Run

Editor
Paul Watts

Assistant Editors
Roman Kuznets, Eli Beck-Gifford

Executive Producer
Ellese Shell

Head of Production
Marcia Wigley

Sound
WAVE Studios

Sound Designer & Mixer
Aaron Reynolds

Sound Producer
Eleni Giannopoulos

Executive Producer
Vicky Ferraro

Music
APM Music

Xbox helps you flee the rat race in cinematic spot directed by David Fincher and Romain Chassaing

Droga5’s ‘Wake Up’ film aims to recapture the glory days of gaming ads two decades ago.

Sabrina Sanchez
April 10, 2025
AdAge

Here’s How 1920 Created the Xbox Rat Race for David Fincher & Romain Chassaing

April 15, 2025
STASH

‘Fight Club’ Sound Designer Ren Klyce Revisits A Classic

Jack Giroux
October 29, 2024
Immersive Media

Fight Club is a cinematic time machine. The film captured the essence of 1999, and, 25 years later, filmmaker David Fincher‘s vision for Chuck Palahniuk‘s novel continues to resonate, cranking up its unsettling relevance in a commercialized and violent world.

The movie hits just as hard today as it did back then.

Fight Club remains as overwhelming as the narrator’s life. The sound is relentless; the world almost never quiets down. It’s a controlled yet unrelenting experience for the eyes and ears. Much of the credit goes to sound designer Ren Klyce, who is once again working on the film, remastering it with Fincher & Co. Before attending MPSE PresentsFight Club 25th Anniversary Screening, Klyce spoke with Immersive Media about his past and present experiences with Fight Club.

Read the full interview

Filmmaking Masterclass: Recreating THE KILLER with Anamorphic DZO PAVO Lenses

June 21, 2024
Media Division

With The Killer, David Fincher created a masterpiece of cinematic storytelling.

In the first act – the Paris hit – Fincher and his team combined three sets in post. They also added typical artifacts like horizontal flares and distortions to give The Killer an anamorphic vibe.

To learn and explore, we set out to recreate the climax of the first act of The Killer, BUT to do it for real: One real location and real anamorphic lenses. We even developed a way to do film through a real rifle scope – anamorphic of course.

This was possible as DZO just introduced three new focal lengths to their awesome PAVO lineup of 2x anamorphic lenses, a 135mm, a 180mm, and a 65mm Macro. This new focal length and the general short minimum focus distance of the PAVO made them the ideal companions to shoot our short.

We take you behind the scenes, share our experiences with you, and, of course, show you the result: “The Killers” gives the original a slightly different spin…

Disclaimer: We collaborated with DZOfilm and got the full PAVO set of 9 lenses to shoot our short. As always, we strive to give you our honest opinion based on our experience and tests.

Please join the ranks of the Media Division: YouTube, Instagram, Facebook

Links to Collaborators and Partners: Morty Films, Chris Karibu (behind the scenes footage), Matthias Herrmann & Valentin Loustalet (location visit in Paris), Tim from Lemac Film and Digital (rentals for the Fujinon images), Artemple (VFX Breakdown).

00:00: Intro & Contents
02:48: The Killer / A Cinematic Masterpiece
03:44: Subjective Camera Movement
05:00: Subjective Sound Design
05:41: Subjective Edit
06:25: Paris: A Real Fake Location
10:08: Faking the Anamorphic Look|
12:14: Reimagining The Killer
15:49: Gear: The Lenses
23:18: The Rifle Scope
25:01: Gear: The Cameras
27:45: Feature: The Killers
31:08: A Second Killer & Verdict
33:16: Thank You
34:02: Member Shout Out

The Killer: Storytelling Through Sound

February 2, 2024
Failure On Command

David Fincher’s The Killer is a masterclass in filmmaking, particularly through its sound design, which does much to distinguish itself from modern mainstream movies. In this video essay, I discuss how The Killer’s sound design aids in its storytelling, allowing it to communicate information in a unique, gripping manner. I’ll also briefly touch on what makes this movie so competent and effective on a technical level.

In Conversation: David Fincher and The Crew of “The Killer” in New York

Tomris Laffly
October 28, 2023

David Fincher discusses the making of The Killer with Sound Designer Ren Klyce, Editor Kirk Baxter, and Writer Andrew Kevin Walker, after the screening for the press in New York. Hosted by Tomris Laffly.

(Video clips recorded with a phone from the audience, with not very good audio and, for some reason, with each video clip edited in twice).

In Conversation: David Fincher and Michael Fassbender with Rian Johnson on “The Killer” at the Academy Museum

Rian Johnson
November 15, 2023
Netflix: Behind the Streams

Director David Fincher and actor Michael Fassbender discuss making The Killer with moderator Rian Johnson at The Academy Museum in Los Angeles.

Watch The Killer on Netflix

In Conversation: David Fincher and The Crew of “The Killer” in New York

October 27, 2023
Netflix: Behind the Streams

David Fincher discusses the making of The Killer with Writer Andrew Kevin Walker, Editor Kirk Baxter, and Sound Designer Ren Klyce, after the “Tastemaker” screening for The Academy at the Whitby Hotel in New York.

Watch The Killer on Netflix

In Conversation: David Fincher and The Crew of “The Killer” at the Academy Museum

Elvis Mitchell
October 24, 2023
Netflix: Behind the Streams

Director David Fincher, Editor Kirk Baxter, Writer Andrew Kevin Walker, Sound Designer Ren Klyce, and Director of Photography Erik Messerschmidt, discuss their film The Killer with moderator Elvis Mitchell at The Academy Museum in Los Angeles.

Watch the conversation with subtitles in French, Spanish, and Italian.

Watch The Killer on Netflix

David Fincher and Sound Designer Ren Klyce at The Egyptian Theater: “The Killer” Screening and Q&A

Jim Hemphill
November 9, 2023
West Coast POPCast (YouTube)

The Egyptian Theatre re-opened in Hollywood with a special screening of The Killer, followed by a Q&A with Director David Fincher and Sound Designer Ren Klyce hosted by Jim Hemphill.

Mix Presents Sound For Film: The Sound of “The Killer”

Awards Season 2023

Jennifer Walden
December 13, 2023
Mix

Join Mix’s Jennifer Walden as she speaks with the audio pros behind director David Fincher’s action thriller, ‘The Killer.’ Discussing their work on the film are:

  • Ren Klyce, Sound Designer, Re-recording Mixer, and Supervising Sound Editor
  • Jeremy Molod, Supervising Sound Editor
  • Stephen Urata, Re-recording Mixer
  • Drew Kunin, Production Sound Mixer

Presented by Netflix.