In one of the year’s most thrilling sport-based promos, Fatal Fury: The Fury Continues delivers four minutes of pure cinematic energy — a tribute to gaming nostalgia, chaotic energy, and the art of visual storytelling. Created by Big Time Creative in collaboration with ProdCo, The Quarry, and Glassworks, the spot celebrates the high-voltage boxing showdown between Chris Eubank Jr. and Conor Benn, with appearances from KSI and iShowSpeed.
Directed by Mackenzie Sheppard and edited by David Gesslbauer, the film reflects a longstanding creative synergy between the two, having previously worked on acclaimed projects like The New York Times’ Understanding Gravity, which earned Gesslbauer a Ciclope Award for editing in 2023. Their newest collaboration pushes the boundaries even further.
“Mack edits with rhythm and intention. He’s like a director who cuts with his ears,” said David, who praised Mack’s instinctive style and willingness to experiment. Mack echoed the admiration, noting, “David edits the way I direct — it’s intuitive, sound-driven, and completely open to reimagining the footage from scratch.”
The making of Fatal Fury was a whirlwind. With only a month to complete the entire production, Mack and his team began by shooting a mock version of the film on a phone inside a Tokyo dance studio. Working without storyboards allowed flexibility in testing pacing and camera setups. A rough animatic — stitched together from sketches, archival Fatal Fury references, and Mack’s exaggerated expressions — quickly built trust among stakeholders and set the creative tone.
“The phone became my pre-production MVP,” Mack said. “With 40 setups in a day, having a clear, tested visual plan is the only way to survive.”
The time zone divide — with Mack in Tokyo, David in Berlin, and the VFX team at Glassworks in London — became an unexpected asset. “I’d work all day in Japan, send updates overnight, and wake up to feedback from London,” Mack explained. “It was like passing the creative baton across continents.”
In the editing room, David embraced the chaos. “It was the greatest fun watching pencil sketches evolve into full-blown 3D scenes. VFX updates felt like Christmas morning.” Known for his After Effects skills, he helped guide timing and visual cues directly within the offline edit. “Every trick in the editor’s book was used here — comedy, action, sound design, fast cuts. It was like speedrunning an anime with Premiere.”
Glassworks tackled the complex VFX demands in real time. “We were locking shots daily while still finalizing the cut,” David said. “It was brutal, but the adrenaline kept us moving.”
The final film feels like a playable trailer — chaotic, loud, hilarious, and heartfelt. Mack drew inspiration from retro SNK commercials, intentionally leaning into the absurdity with exaggerated pacing, visual gags, and ‘90s arcade energy. “It’s hammy in the best way possible,” he said. “That was always the vibe.”
As for the cast, David was pleasantly surprised: “KSI delivered comedic gold just trying to figure out what was happening. Maybe we’ll release the ‘KSI panicking over buttons’ cut someday.”
Mack credited the broader team — DP Octavio, creative partners Kai and Ahato, the producers at Dulce and ProdCo — for keeping the madness contained. “You’ve got to take the craft seriously — the pacing, the design — but let the spirit stay loose. That’s what made it feel true to Fatal Fury and also something entirely new.”
