Combining CG and an array of AI tools, director Rune Milton assembles a dizzying two-minute journey through time and technology to mark the 40th anniversary of semiconductor industry giant ASML thru agency LePub Amsterdam.

From LePub: “The film takes inspiration from Newton’s quote ‘If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants’ and how technology has changed the world in the last four decades. It is a powerful statement of ASML’s unique position to pioneer a positive future for humankind and our planet.

“LePub teamed up with director Rune Milton Olsen and his Copenhagen-based post-production company Chemistry to bring to life a common vision and use CGI, AI and a mix of cutting-edge tools and techniques, like text-to-video, depth extrapolation, and stable diffusion.
 

“The film was made with 1,963 Midjourney prompts yielding 7,852 images which were edited and then rendered on 900+ computers. These renders were processed by RunwayAI with the total film covering 25,957 frames.”

 
“The AI processing was applied to all the frames building step by step iterations with CGI applied where needed. Then came the process of adding texture to the images. This went beyond surface-level enhancements, layering CGI, AI imagery and optical imperfections, near-invisible nooks and crannies, lens aberrations, dust, and general magic.

“The film was made with 1,963 Midjourney prompts yielding 7,852 images which were edited and then rendered by more than 900 computers. These renders were processed by RunwayAI with the total film covering 25,957 frames at 1,000 MB per frame. The trickiest scene was Isaac Newton and his apple among the planets which took more than 20 attempts to get right.

“The film was launched at ASML’s yearly employee event and shared through their social channels. The film has also been localized for use in Japan, China, Taiwan, Korea and Germany.”
 
 

 
Client: ASML
Head of Brand: Thomas Marzano
Head of Creative: Eliza Menzel

Agency: LePub Amsterdam
CCO: Bruno Bertelli, Milos Obradovic
CEO: Bruno Bertelli
ECD: Andrey Tyukavkin
Creative Director: Sandrine Le Goff, Jessica Kersten
Art Director: Alejandro Gutierrez
Copywriter: Nikolay Malchev
Producer: Niko Koot

Production: Chemistry
Director: Rune Milton

Post/VFX: Chemistry
VFX Supervisor: Mikael Balle
Finish: Mikael Balle
CG Supervisor: Kim Fersling
Producer: Camilla Nilsson
VFX Artist: Victor Beckmann, Bruno Edelman, Mario Maruska
CG Artist: Grigoriy Voyakin, Aleksei Dorokhin, Dennis Bahnson

Sound: Kevin Koch