date published: Feb 03, 2013 content type: Television Series
television series
Cubicle to the Cage
12 episodes x 30 minutes
The Challenge
We co-produced and directed a gripping, 12-episode unscripted documentary series for global streaming on Amazon Prime and Tubi that followed twelve ordinary office workers through a grueling MMA training camp, transforming sedentary citizens into cage-ready athletes.
The Challenge
Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is often viewed as a sport reserved exclusively for elite, lifelong athletes. To the average office worker, the idea of stepping inside a steel cage to trade punches and submissions seems entirely terrifying and utterly out of reach. The creators of Cubicle to the Cage had a radical, high-concept premise: pick twelve completely ordinary, sedentary couch potatoes and office workers, put them through a brutal, professional-grade training camp, and document their journey to see who would survive long enough to fight in a real, sanctioned MMA event. The challenge was turning this extreme experiment into a high-stakes broadcast series. The production house needed to capture the deep psychological, emotional, and physical breakthroughs of the participants without resorting to exploitative reality TV tropes, creating an inspiring narrative that would resonate with everyday viewers nationwide.
Our Approach
We stepped in as the primary production house and co-creators, partnering with directors Greg Hemmings and Andrew MacCormack to craft a gripping, 12-episode unscripted documentary series.
True Formational Filmmaking: Our production teams embedded with the participants for months, moving the cameras out of the office cubicles and directly into the grueling, sweat-stained environment of the MMA gym. We captured every tear, injury, panic attack, and minor triumph in a raw, fly-on-the-wall documentary format.
Balancing Human Vulnerability with Athletic Intensity: We structured the episodic format to heavily prioritize the internal human transformation. By contrasting intimate, deeply emotional character interviews with high-octane, multi-camera training montages and sparring footage, we allowed audiences to intimately connect with the cast as they shed their old identities.
Executing a High-Stakes Climax: For the series finale, our production crew managed a massive, multi-camera live sports broadcast environment to film the actual sanctioned fight night, capturing the visceral reality of ordinary citizens walking out under the stadium lights to face their ultimate fears inside the cage.
I have to say, it is one of the the most heart-felt, emotional and inspiring project we have ever produced. - Greg Hemmings
The Impact
The series was an absolute knockout success, capturing a passionate audience and expanding into a massive global broadcast footprint. Successfully picked up for national television, the 12-episode series premiered on The Fight Network and Rush HD, eventually achieving global distribution on Amazon Prime Video and Tubi. Beyond the broadcasting metrics, the true social impact of the show lay in its power to inspire: by stripping away the hyper-macho stereotypes of combat sports, the documentary series beautifully humanized the martial arts. It proved to millions of viewers worldwide that the ultimate opponent is never the person standing across from you, but rather your own self-doubt—forever cementing Cubicle to the Cage as a timeless, cult-favorite blueprint for personal transformation media.
