Closing the Loop: Final Frontier on Bringing Its Global Animation Flavour to the US Market

Gus> Thanks! The US has actually been in our sights since day one. When we started the company in 2018, it felt like everyone was talking about the US, for all the obvious reasons: huge market with sophisticated clients who respect animation as a powerful medium for conveying their messages. It made logical sense to start there. On the other hand, we saw this groundswell of creativity and more and more world-class projects emerging from China and the APAC region. The market was maturing, but it felt like the industry wasn’t paying much attention.  

At that time, as a new player in the market, our main objective was to prove to ourselves and the world that we were serious contenders. That meant assembling an exceptional team, and building a killer reel of world-class projects with top tier clients, not just as executors, but as creative partners. For that to happen, it made sense to go where the ground was less well trodden, where we’d be special, where we could make a bigger impact. So we went east, made Shanghai our HQ, and went all in on the Asia market. Fast forward five years and we’ve got the reel, the clients, the team, everything we had determined we’d need in those early meetings to ‘break America’.

Julieta> We’re location and nationality agnostic when it comes to talent. Our primary criteria is to work with the best, no matter where they might be in the world. Besides talent and professionalism, all the directors have their own distinct voice, their idiosyncrasies, and in their own way offer something unique to the market.

Gus> A global mindset and culture is built into our DNA. My journey began more than a decade ago in Latin America with Le Cube, with my partners Ralph and Juanma. We’ve since opened Final Frontier, laid roots in Asia and Europe, and now we’re closing the loop and arriving in the US. Along the way we’ve assembled an amazing, driven, diverse team hailing from four continents, bringing a range of life and professional experiences, from marketing, digital and design, to art and entertainment. Throughout the expansion, we’ve been careful to retain our boutique approach, which means adaptability to each project’s specific requirements, as well as bold, enterprising solutions. At the core of everything, that intimate setup has allowed us to develop close relationships with directors, creatives, and clients.

Claus> Our US and Asian rosters are curated for diversity and excellence in any given technique so that we’re prepared for any client need. That said, we see huge opportunities and creative potential in gaming related content, and we’ve given special attention to building a world-class 3D motion graphics roster. Those directors tend to work most in beauty or tech, but are capable of delivering stunningly rendered products for any kind of client.  

Julieta> Now the XR hype has died down, we’re anticipating the serious clients coming with briefs in and around digital fashion, cross-platform avatars, and game development. We dedicated a good chunk of time last year to R&D, gearing up for these kinds of projects. The highlight was probably a Roblox game we built in-house as a proof of concept and showcase of our capabilities.

Gus> We’re definitely looking at long-form content and entertainment. We’ve always loved making trailers and promos for broadcasters working with famous IPs. Alongside, we’re developing more and more mascots and story worlds for brands in Asia seeking to create more engaging, relatable content. In terms of the longer-term, bigger projects, we have a 22-minute cel-animated minifilm for Disney+ under our belt, as well as other service collabs with HBOMax, Warner Bros., Adult Swim and Netflix - and now the team behind an episode of Love Death Robots in the roster as well. On the original front, we’ve assembled a slate of original IP which we are excited to keep developing.  

Julieta> Ultimately it’s about bringing in more awesome and diverse projects for the team to work on. It’s such a competitive market populated by some of the best talent in the world, and that tends to translate into ambitious briefs that are seeking to push the boundaries. Those are the kinds of projects that test the team and challenge us to keep growing as professionals, and keep innovating as a company. That growth and experience will only serve to make our other global projects even better.

Gus> The LA operation also completes the 24-hour pipeline, meaning we’re represented in pretty much every timezone. That means a team on hand for clients, directors and artists at every hour of the day. The bigger group, with wider experience, also just brings even greater depth to the overall team unit. The benefit of all this is that we’re able to offer a variety of production setups and cost-effective solutions, all to very high-quality standards. 

Claus> I’d say an unreasonably high level of hunger and drive as the new kids on the block, as the underdogs. We’re absolutely confident in our capabilities, but coming in with a zero-tolerance policy toward complacency. 

Gus> Our experience in Asia has taught us a crucial lesson in adaptability, versatility and agility. We’re able to react to the needs of the client, yet keep the essential process to deliver on time and to the best possible quality. We’re constantly examining the best ways of doing things, and we’re certainly applying a very open mind to our US clients. We don’t believe in relying on doing things the way things have always been done. Claus and his team on the ground in LA are there to listen to what the market is looking for and how things can be done better.

Julieta> I think it’s also the fact that the studios and directors, and our in-house creatives, bring a unique voice. Our philosophy is that delivering work consistently at a very high standard will allow those original voices to be heard more and more. We’re not trying to reinvent the wheel, but we are ambitious in our goals, namely to push the creative standard of every pitch we enter, and raise the bar on the quality of work in the market.

Gus> We took it as a good sign that US projects have been coming even before we’ve started actively looking for them. In some senses it started back in 2021 with ‘Descendants’ for Disney+. Not long after that Opinionated approached us for a series of fun spots for Hinge.

Claus> Crafting a 3D billboard for Vans in the heart of New York felt like a symbolic way to announce our arrival somehow. Little Simz booting her way through a stack of Vans boxes overlooking thousands of people outside the entrance of Penn Station. We’re hoping our entrance will be just as dramatic and unapologetic. And watch this space for a big project underway to rebrand and launch the Clio Awards in 2024. We can’t wait to drop that one.

 

Julieta> It’s also worth mentioning that we’ve built up a sizeable body of work in Asia with iconic US brands like Nike, KFC, and Airbnb. Even when the campaign has called for something quite Asia or China-specific, these brands always retain a large degree of their global DNA. That’s been an important education in understanding their culture and way of doing things.  

Gus> To grow and develop as we have in Asia, steadily and sustainably, bringing our own distinct vision for the kind of work we want to make, yet sensitive to the creative needs of the client. Over time the goal is to be widely recognised as genuine contenders for every major project.