The Brief
What the room asked for.
A six-episode reimagining of the West African Anansi mythology, anchored by a fully CG title creature appearing across 84 hero shots and three feature-length set pieces.
Showmax needed a streaming-tier flagship that could hold its own against Marvel-grade VFX, on a continental budget and a 22-week post window.
Our Approach
How it came together.
Mythology-led design
Two weeks with cultural consultants, weavers and entomologists to ground the creature in real anatomy and Akan iconography before a polygon was sculpted.
AI look development
Proprietary diffusion pipeline cut look-dev iterations from 6 weeks to 9 days. Director approved final look in round three.
Realtime previs
Every hero shot blocked and lit in Unreal before principal photography, locking edit and saving 11 reshoot days.
Hybrid finishing
Houdini sims for web, fur and dust; Nuke for final composite; full HDR master in Resolve. Delivered to Showmax spec across all 6 episodes.
Selected Frames
The Result
14 wks
Ahead of schedule
70%
Faster look dev
#1
Showmax season debut
Credits
People who
made it.
- VFX SupervisorTunde Adebayo
- CG SupervisorNaledi Khumalo
- DirectorAmara Okafor
- ShowrunnerShowmax Originals
- Sound DesignPhoenix Audio