Futhark Studios, who hit the Stash radar with this CG product film earlier this year, reveals the thinking and process behind the studio’s first passion project, a visceral ode to street racing inspired by memories of a certain 2005 game trailer.

Turpal Saytiev CD/director at Futhark Studios: “We initially set out to recreate the famous Need For Speed: Most Wanted trailer with updated graphics. However, as we progressed, we decided to pivot and pursue our own vision, drawing inspiration from dark, gritty moods similar to those of Ash Thorp. This transformed the project from a trailer recreation to a passion project to test the limits of our small studio.

“Our primary 3D tool was Blender, which is not typically associated with realism, especially when rendering in native 4K due to VRAM and GPU resource limitations. We were able to demonstrate Blender’s capabilities as a suitable tool, although our simulations, like the burning tires, were created in Houdini and then imported back into Blender for rendering.
 

“It forced us to be creative in our choices, to be effective, and to optimize scenes from scratch – and not just throw more GPU power at the problem.”

 
“We ended up just brute-forcing and eating whatever the render time was. For example, in the drifting scene it took one hour per frame. But these render-time and VRAM limitations were a blessing in disguise. It forced us to be creative in our choices, to be effective, and to optimize scenes from scratch – and not just throw more GPU power at the problem.

“We shot numerous live-action references, including footage of a car in light rain near a car factory. We utilized some of this footage in the trailer, adjusting it to resemble our 3D shots. In some instances, we used the footage as reflections on the 3D cars to enhance realism.

“This project also taught us the importance of micro-details. For example, one of our artists spent days working on the BMW badge and key, even though they were only briefly shown in the trailer. We also learned to embrace the idea leaving certain elements in the dark, understanding that not every object needs perfect lighting.

“This was the studio’s first true passion project, alongside the Nothing video – and both led to great client work afterward.”
 
 

 
Production: Futhark Studios
Director/CD: Turpal Saytiev