Titled “Night Projections,” this spec piece directed, produced and conceptualized by Adriano Falconi (repped in the U.S. as a director by ContagiousLA) shows us a Tesla Model S moving through downtown L.A. in the middle of the night. It’s headlights are akin to an aura of life. As the car passes buildings and lampposts, glimpses of nature arise in the forms of trees and foliage, turning the city into a wondrous forest. The joy ride goes back and forth between the urban and nature’s wild until we realize that the car has indeed been motoring through the city while demonstrating its transformative green power.
“I didn’t have a budget for this project, so when we started scouting LA and Bakersfield we didn’t have any clue how far this film would take us,” Falconi recalled. “We envisioned this car causing a metamorphosis evolving from the woods, to animals, and a human presence ultimately. So, we had to think about how to realize this in the most efficient way. With no VFX supervisor on set, we just drove a Tesla and projected colored light onto the buildings to see how real projections interact with the architectural elements.”
ContagiousLA partner/executive producer Natalie Sakai said Falconi’s latest work aligns with the company’s mantra of pushing the envelope. “Not only does ‘Night Projections’ take Adriano’s reel in a new direction,” she noted, “it demonstrates the power of his vision and ambition. He saw this film in his mind and willed it into being.”
“We knew immediately this project was special,” said collaborator Tim Crean, ECD of Suspect vfx + design. “We had done projection in post dozens of times…this was different. Adriano was determined to push it, to transcend the expected.” Ultimately, Falconi and the Suspect team came together around an idea: a projection effect that started simply, but soon began to behave in unexpected ways. “Adriano really wanted it to come alive,” Crean said, “for the viewer to lose touch with what was reality and what was a dream.” Integrating the CG animals and forestry into the live action was only the first step. The creative team at Suspect then sought to defy the expected boundaries of the walls, buildings and street pavement. “Our creations were spilling out into the surrounding environment, the trees were growing into the background and foreground, literally escaping the canvas,” Crean said. “It was exhilarating.”
Unlike the rest of the film, which Falconi storyboarded before the shoot, the ending evolved while the project was underway. “We thought it would be nice to have the imaginary world fade out and leave us back in the city,” said the director. “Driving the car inspires hope and an embrace of nature, and respect for our world – the real world.”
The team is considering shooting additional footage in VR and building a second cut in the spring. It would be, Falconi explained, “a chance to re-experience the spot, from another point of view, to, hopefully, be able to step out of the car for a brief moment and pet the deer and so on.”
