Migos's futuristic hip-hop video vision sculpted by Calgary visual effects team

Migos is a pretty big deal.

The hip-hop trio is arguably the hottest name in rap music today, managing to have both a single and an album in the Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard 200 charts, respectively.

So when they partnered with Nicki Minaj and Cardi B for their new track, they had their pick of visual effects producers.

And a local man and his team stepped up to the plate to make Migos's vision for their MotorSport video come to life.

Calgary'sJohn Cameron and his team atMETA Productions, which hasoffices in Alberta and B.C.,is carving out a name for himself and his companyalongside industry heavy hitters.

"Primarily, what they wanted was to place themselves within this futuristic, dystopian landscape," Cameron told the Calgary Eyeopener of the MotorSport project.

"So we had to create it for them."

Cameron says it was a complex project.

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"We flew down to oversee the visual effects supervision of that component. They did a portion of that on green screen. We then built the city around them. The city, thesignage, the things that fly and move within it, to bring the thing to life."

The music video MotorSporthas racked up more than70 million views in three weeks on YouTube, but it's far from META Productions' first big-name deal.

Their work can be seen in Fargo, ESPN's X Games, Heritage Minutes videos and Budweiser ads, among other productions.

Cameron says the internet has connected people to the point that physical location of a production company is far less important today.

He said Migosdiscovered his META Productionsteam online.

"They saw a style that they liked and that they were aligned with. We are fortunate that they did reach out," Cameron said.

He says Calgary is becoming a place that is known for producing quality work, but the internetallows their company to take on work all over the world.

"Yes, you think of those major city centres when you think of certain industries and that applies to any industry, but the accessibility of being online, makes that location much less of a priority."

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With files from the Calgary Eyeopener and CBC'sPaulKarchut