UNIT Helps Bring to Life Ford’s 'Charge Around the Globe' Documentary
UNIT, the Fitzrovia-based boutique independent creative shortform and longform studio, completed post-production on CHARGE AROUND THE GLOBE, a documentary series covering Lexie Alford’s epic journey around the world in an all-electric Ford Explorer, which premiered on Amazon Prime and YouTube.
CHARGE AROUND THE GLOBE was produced by Wrack Production and directed by Chris Faith with senior line producer Kate Noble, producer Melissa Eaton and executive producer Mark Saben and starring Lexie Alford known to millions as @LexieLimitless.
Lexie partnered with Ford to set out to prove just what is possible in an electric vehicle by becoming the first person to circumnavigate the globe in one. At 21 years of age, Lexie previously set the world record for being the 'Youngest Person to Travel to Every Country,' which entailed travelling to all of the 196 countries around the globe.
Her epic adventure in the pre-production prototype all-electric Ford Explorer had the ambitious target of covering over 29,000 kilometres in 90 days. Starting in Nice, France, Lexie travelled over 30,000 kilometres, across six continents and through 27 countries over 200 days in her attempt at the record. The newly released three-part series, CHARGE AROUND THE GLOBE, details the highs and lows of Lexie’s incredible journey which embodied the ‘can do’ spirit of Ford, testing the limits of herself and her vehicle.
The documentary film crew followed Lexie from Europe to Africa, then on to Australia, Asia, South America and North America, before heading back to Europe to complete her circumnavigation. Lexie brings viewers along with her as she journeys through awe-inspiring locations from ancient temples in Bhutan to the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, from the Atacama Desert in Chile to the wild roads of Zimbabwe.
One of the main inspirations for the journey was Aloha Wanderwell who, aged just sixteen, became the first woman to circumnavigate the globe in a car between 1922 and 1927, in a Ford Model T. CHARGE AROUND THE GLOBE combines historic footage of Aloha shot on Super 8 cameras with new footage as Lexie deals with similar issues and travels to similar parts of the world, often in awe at how challenging it must have been 100 years ago.
The UNIT team, including producer Wil Male, creative director of colour Denny Cooper, online and VFX artist Alex Antonio, motion designer Matt Rowley who built the maps, sound designers Jamie Thomas and Hannah Webster, and colourist Harry Shelton worked together seamlessly to deliver a visually stunning and immersive viewing experience for audiences worldwide.
The CHARGE AROUND THE GLOBE Documentary series spans three episodes and is available to Amazon Prime subscribers. It is also available to watch on YouTube via the Charge Around the Globe channel.
UNIT producer Wil Male commented, “This documentary is a testament to Ford’s forward-thinking approach to electric vehicles and sustainable innovation. CHARGE AROUND THE GLOBE was a truly inspiring story to help bring this to life, showcasing the capability of the all-electric Ford Explorer in the most challenging conditions, and we’re proud at UNIT to have played a part in sharing this pioneering journey.”
UNIT creative director of colour Denny Cooper said, “From far flung locations such as Cambodia, India, Argentina and Chile, the stunning visuals in CHARGE AROUND THE GLOBE were inspiring to work with. We strove to ensure the energy of every location was reflected on screen.”
UNIT sound designer Jamie Thomas also added, “Sound plays such a critical role in capturing the spirit of adventure. For CHARGE AROUND THE GLOBE, we aimed to complement the stunning visuals with soundscapes that reflected the diverse environments Lexie traversed, making her journey truly come alive through the emotional highs and lows of her expedition.”
UNIT online and VFX artist Alex Antonio also explained, “Working on the VFX and clean up for CHARGE AROUND THE GLOBE was an exciting challenge, as we had the opportunity to enhance the storytelling through dynamic visuals, adding effects that highlighted the diverse terrains Lexie encountered. Ensuring CHARGE AROUND THE GLOBE was polished and visually cohesive was a rewarding challenge. The sheer scale of Lexie’s journey demanded massive attention to detail, and it’s exciting to see how our work helps bring her story to a global audience.”
Lexie Alford @LexieLimitless said, "I was the youngest person to travel to every country around the world, but this was one of the most challenging things I've done. Whilst I've proved that it is possible to travel around the globe on electric power alone, it certainly wasn't easy and it showed just how different the charging infrastructure is on different continents. I'm so happy to share the adventure on Prime Video, and hope that this helps us to understand how we need to improve to truly enable zero emission driving."
