Inside the making of the Nations Championship launch campaign: how a London production company delivered a global campaign in 14 days.

London-based video production company helps bring rugby’s newest international competition to life through a collaborative production model, delivering an ambitious global campaign from commission to final master in just 14 days.

As rugby prepares to enter a new era, London-based creative production company Lambda Films has completed the launch campaign for the inaugural Nations Championship, producing the tournament’s hero commercial just 14 days after being commissioned.

Designed to introduce rugby’s newest international competition, the campaign avoids the familiar spectacle of the game itself, instead focusing on something every supporter understands, anticipation. Through a series of interconnected moments unfolding across twelve competing nations, the film captures fans waking, gathering and preparing for kick-off, each in different time zones but united by the same countdown.

Working directly with the Nations Championship team from the earliest creative conversations, Lambda Films helped refine the concept, develop its visual language and shape a campaign designed to resonate with rugby supporters around the world.

Ryan Stone, Creative Director at Lambda Films, said: “Projects like this are all about clarity. Our role wasn’t to reinvent the idea, it was to strengthen it. Every creative decision had to earn its place, balancing ambition with practicality while making sure the campaign stayed true to the original vision. That’s where we believe a creative production company adds real value.”

Originally centred around a wall of clocks representing global time zones, the concept evolved into a striking command centre overseen by a mysterious maestro. Developed collaboratively across the creative team, it became the narrative thread connecting intimate fan rituals around the world into one shared global event.

The production brought together 21 actors representing all twelve competing nations, fifteen filming locations, including residential locations across London, and a bespoke command centre set built at The Hush House, RAF Bentwaters. Principal photography took place over three days, followed by an integrated post-production process that enabled the campaign to be delivered just 14 days after commission.

Rather than following a conventional production pipeline, Lambda Films embedded editorial into the shoot from day one. Footage was assembled as it came off camera, allowing the team to review sequences while filming continued, identify pickups before locations were struck and begin colour and sound work long before picture lock. The result was a highly collaborative workflow where production and post-production evolved side by side.

Director Alex Morris said: “We weren’t interested in changing the concept for the sake of it. Every creative decision had to make the story stronger. The command centre gave the campaign its own cinematic identity and became the visual thread that tied supporters around the world together without losing sight of the original idea.”

The film’s visual language deliberately reflected that contrast. Director of Photography David Stafford developed two distinct styles, using handheld camerawork, vintage Cooke Speed Panchro lenses and naturalistic lighting for the fan sequences to create intimacy and authenticity, while the command centre adopted cleaner optics, precise framing and controlled camera movement to reinforce its calm authority. Although the campaign spans multiple continents, every fan sequence was filmed in the UK, with London locations transformed through production design, wardrobe and lighting into convincing homes from around the rugby world.

Stafford also used the production to create opportunities for emerging crew members, bringing two trainees into expanded on-set roles as part of his ongoing commitment to developing the next generation of filmmakers.

“When I watch the finished film, I don’t see the camera or the lighting first, I see the people. Every department depended on one another completely, and that trust allowed us to move quickly without compromising quality. The film represents the collective effort of everyone involved just as much as it represents the campaign itself.”

Murray Grindon, Content Director for the Nations Championship, added:
“From the outset, our ambition was to create a launch campaign that captured the anticipation, excitement and global nature of the Nations Championship. Lambda understood that vision immediately. Their passion for rugby, understanding of its supporters and collaborative approach helped shape the creative from the first conversations through to the finished film, making them a fantastic partner in bringing the campaign to life.”

The Nations Championship introduces a new global competition bringing together twelve of the world’s leading rugby nations in a Northern versus Southern Hemisphere format, culminating in a Finals Weekend to determine the sport’s dominant nation every two years.

For Lambda Films, the project showcases a production model built around collaboration, creative thinking and efficient delivery, where strategy, storytelling, production and post-production work in parallel to create ambitious campaigns without compromising quality.

Final Film