People love racing cars and Formula E delivers all of its excitement. But it has a higher purpose. It exists to use electric racing to accelerate sustainable human progress. The only sport certified net zero carbon since inception, Formula E was founded to counteract climate change by accelerating the adoption of electric vehicles. It has since evolved to an all-encompassing race for better futures, in alignment with the FIA’s Purpose Driven movement.

Uncommon Creative Studio is bringing this message to the public with a campaign, Change. Accelerated, that captures the unique sport’s ability to excite next generation sports fans with its on-track action while also being a catalyst for positive change around the world.

Uncommon’s campaign film is voiced by Sir Arthur C Clarke. His message is superb, a tantalising view of the future captured by the BBC at the New York World’s Fair in 1964, that ends with the life-affirming promise, “‘The only thing we can be sure of about the future is that it will be absolutely fantastic.” It’s a powerfully inspiring speech, That Uncommon has underlined with a striking visual device.

The film, directed by Marcus Söderlund, is captured from the perspective of a Formula E car looking at spectators lining city-centre streets. A phantom camera rigged to a high-speed tracking vehicle, a Porsche Cayenne, on a gyro travelling at near 80mph, shooting at 1000 frames per second was used to record every detail in-shot. The idea behind the film was also inspired by a unique feature of Formula E — that the championship races on the streets of iconic cities around the world.

Nils Leonard, co-founder, Uncommon Creative Studio, noted, “The power of sport has always played a role in moving the world forward. More than any fly poster or political rant, sport can hold a mirror up to problems in our society and raise the attention needed to help create real change. The sentiment behind Change. Accelerated. is all about progress — Formula E is at the forefront of creating a sustainable force for good in the racing industry and we’re so proud to bring that message to bear in this powerful piece of work.”

Henry Chilcott, Formula E chief brand officer, stated, “Change. Accelerated. is a message which pushes us both to embrace change and to accelerate towards it. Everything Formula E does aims to showcase how we are leading the way in sport, on and off the track. We’re so excited to share this film created with Uncommon which captures our ambition, spirit and the thrilling nature of electric street racing perfectly.”

The work involves many intricate craft details to achieve its complex, filmic aesthetic. Filmed entirely in-camera with no post effects, every component in each scene was shot for real, from the striking horse to the raining confetti. Although it was shot entirely in Mexico, the production crew worked closely with art direction and production design to successfully achieve the look, feel and energy of different cities around the world in which Formula E stages unforgettable race weekends.

The film is accompanied by the powerfully unnerving track, Singularity, by English electronic musician and producer Jon Hopkins. The drone-like hum of one note at the start grows and builds to create a sub-bass which resembles the unique sound made by Formula E cars and the music complements this sound of the future.

The ABB FIA Formula E World Championships is now in its seventh season, with futuristic electric racing cars competing in major cities across the planet. The film will run across TV, digital, social and broadcast channels in the UK, Germany, US and other global markets. The work will continue to air throughout the remainder of Season 7. The campaign will also partner with influencers who champion Formula E’s mission among new audiences of next generation sports fans, including Drag Race UK star, Bimini Bon Boulash; sports and entertainment presenter, Josh Denzel, and YouTube sensation, Joe Weller.

Credits:

Creative Studio: Uncommon

Client: Formula E
Chief Brand Officer: Henry Chilcott
Marketing Director: Louise Troen
Senior Marketing Manager: Catherine McCartan
Brand 0perations Director: Jordan Oates

Production Company: Academy
Director: Marcus Söderlund
Producers: Luke Goodrum & Medb Riordan
DOP: Daniel Voldheim

Editor: Ted Guard @ The Quarry
Producer: Maggie McDermott

Post-Production: ETC
Grade & Colourist: Julien Alary @ ETC
VFX: Fasa
VFX Producers: Jon Purton & Sydney Levy

Soundtrack Composer: Jon Hopkins @ Domino Publishing
Head of Synchronisation at Domino: Lynden Campbell
Audio Post-Production: Jack Sedgwick @ Wave Studios
Audio Producer: Rebecca Boswell

Media Agency: MediaHub