Dots Play Beautifully
December 2016 ––Munko’s approach was inspired by the elements of Light and Movement and how they are two of the most powerful and versatile stimuli with which filmmakers can engage and inspire. This intersection of light with movement can evoke a huge range of reactions; it can barrage or sooth, numb or engage, inspire a sense of chaos or a sense of order.
ENTER: DOTS
If gaming inherently aspires to foster immersive engagement through activity, then Dots seems to be the most elegant possible embodiment of that goal. Playing beautifully is about movement as meditation, light as art, and simplicity as a springboard for inspiration. Instead of embracing the ethos of more, Dots embraces that of less.
As a result, this film was about finding abundance in minimalism, and the way that the elimination of clutter can become key to unlocking personal creativity. So to physicalize that concept required imagining movement as rhythmic gymnastics and light as the glowing orb with which our hero performed her singular pas de deux.
The Film
–– 01
The Concept
–– 02We invested in her hopes, sympathized with her fears, and willed ourselves against her obstacles. We were emotionally invested, relished in her triumph as she performed flawlessly with a sense of fluid confidence and wondrous beauty. In the end, when we realize she has been imagining herself performing this epic routine while playing Dots in the locker room, we understood the meditative power the game imbued upon her as part of her pre-performance routine and the transformative power of total focus.
The Approach
–– 03There’s something almost ritualistic in the repetition of these circular elements in our frame, mirroring the meditative quality of the Dots game. After all, if our character is dreaming — she’s dreaming in the world of Dots. The language of light is as important as that of movement here.
The glowing competition ball — which was outfitted with a remote-controlled LED system that could change colors and pulse — was as much the hero of our film as our performer herself. Pin LEDs representing the crowd created a twinkling sense of atmosphere that surrounded and energetically fed our hero.
Camera strobes further fed the narrative with the element of light, adding to the stylized beauty of our world. They also represented the magnitude of the gymnast’s competition, alluding to the vast amount of media present. We used backlighting, rim lighting, and long exposures to create gorgeous, brightly beautiful imagery filled with artful framings. Anything that wasn’t a glowing orb or a cinematographic trick that simulates one was richly shadowed, creating a thick atmosphere in the space that allowed the light to feel completely controlled, even at its most dynamic and fluid state.
The Adventure
–– 04Live-Action Direction and Production is full of these scenarios where you and your people collaborate in rather unique conditions and schemes to milk the best and most artistic results out of whatever you're dealt with. Without that spirit of collaboration and problem-solving in a pinch, and the homies to support each other, shoots like these would never be successful. Extra special thanks to the Dots Team, Tonic Films, Tool of North America and everyone else whom was involved in a rather unforgettable ride.
Director: GMUNK
Live-Action Executive Producer: Oliver Fuselier
Executive Producer: Brad Johns
Head of Production: Ian Falvey
Executive Producer Tonic: Susan Neil
Production Controller: Rodrigo Rodriguez
EP Assistant: Ara Aviña
Line Producer / UPM: Victor Albarran
Production Coordinator: Pablo Icaza
Key Production Assistant: Juan Antonio Muñoz
1st AD: Frederic Henocque2nd AD: Patrick Heyerdahl
Script PA: Sara Ramos
Director of Photography: Dr Joseph Picard
VT Pro Creative Director: Michael Fullman
1st AC: "A" Camera: Juan Pablo Ortigosa
2nd AC: Per EFDSteadicam: Gerardo Manjarrez
Camera Lens Technician: Per EFD
DIT: David Bahena
Gaffer: Joaquin Medina
Staff 1: Francisco Quiroz
Staff 2: Cristo Angel Dominguez
Staff 3: David Zuñiga
Staff 4: Omar Cruz
Staff 5: Manuel Melo
Staff 6: Sergio Cuauhtémoc Quiroz
Location Manager: Omar Zuñiga
Location Assistant: Marco Becerril
Cleaning Services: Elena Sánchez
VTR: David Bahena
VTR Assistant: Per David Bahena
Art Director: Rafael Mandujano
Set Dresser: Luisa Guala
Art Department Coordinator: Yosafat Delgado
Swing 1: Edgar Israel Chavez
Swing 2: Gabriel Aaron Rodriguez
Swing 3: Alejandro Muñiz
Wardrobe Stylist: Patricia Delgado
Makeup & Hair: Lucy Betancourt
Extras Casting: Elke Garda
Post Production: The Mill London
Executive Producer: Steven Venning
Producer: Rebecca Perry
Editor: Hugo Vaughan-Hughes
Colorist: Oisin O'Driscoll
Flame Magic: James MacLachlan
Music Composer: SoundsRed
Papermag.com –– Watch Video Collab Between App Game DOTS and US Gymnast Laura Zeng
BrandChannel –– Play Beautifully: 5 Questions with Dots CMO Ondriona Monty
Wallpaper –– Play Beautifully collaboration with director GMUNK and US Olympian Laura Zeng
Forbes –– What You'll Find At The Intersection Of Technology, Movement And Design
Munky’s Grid.
1999 –– 2025The Grid is a mosaic of the creative profile. It is the flowchart of output –– the pulse of pursuit. Each entry is a memory, an arc of emotion; a creative fulfullment with vivid learnings and an enduring imprint.
The Grid is the totality of the flow.