Smuggler director Jaron Albertin and the MPC design/VFX team offer a glimpse at the future of advertising production in this fully-remote CG spot created with the Unreal game engine and starring the Lexus LF-30 electric concept car.

Dominic Alderson, MPC VFX supervisor: “With COVID-19 conditions constantly changing the world’s working practices, we had to work out how to shoot a full car commercial with next to no shooting, and no car.

“We had begun to explore virtual production with a core team already, so we took that experience and applied it to Lexus, doing a full virtual shoot inside eight different CG environments over five days all using standard shooting techniques.

“With Jaron Albertin directing remotely through a live session, we were able to build out over 35 shots with 20 to 30 camera options per shot. All of this was then compiled to build our edit.

“It was exciting to marry the creative vision of Jaron’s artistic film direction alongside our incredibly technical toolset in a way that we hadn’t really explored before.”

Jaron Albertin: “The project encapsulated the ethos of Lexus by pushing creativity with new technology. The concept was a textural and sensory one; a chance to see feel and touch what tomorrow could look like by using the LF-30 as a reflection into this near future.”

Watch the making-of video:
 

 

Client: Lexus International
General Manager, Lexus Global Branding: Brian Bolain
Brand Management Division: Seji Takimoto, Hiroo Togashi, Yukina Iizuka, Ema Yukiko

Creative Agency: The&Partnership
Executive Creative Director: Micky Tudor, Yan Elliott
Creative Director: Adam Fish
Creative: Tom Loveless, Matt Wood
Senior Producer: Rick Carter
Head of Integrated Production: Charles Crisp Creative
Producer: Angus Lees

Production: Smuggler
Director: Jaron Albertin
Producer: Nick Fewtrell
Managing Director: Fergus Brown
Director of Photography: Ismail Shallis

Post Production: MPC
CG Creative Director: Carsten Keller
CG Supervisor: Dominic Alderson
2D Creative Director: Marcus Dryden
2D Supervisor: Johan Alfort
VFX Producer: Jaz Rongokea
Colorist: Matthieu Toullet

Edit: Trim
Editor: Dominic Leung
Assistant: Magdalena Plugowska
Producer: Noreen Khan

Sound Design: Factory
Sound Engineer: Phil Bollard Senior Audio Producer: Lucy Spong

Music Composition and Soundscape: James William Blades
Represented by: Daniel Balk
Vocals by: Madge
Composition Title: Pulse & Beat Electrified