In partnership with Goodby Silverstein & Partners (GS&P), BMW is using artificial intelligence and machine learning to explore and create art with the powerful and luxurious BMW 8 Series Gran Coupe as a unique canvas. This film–produced by GS&P Films, directed and shot by Mark Sandhoff–explains the “The Ultimate AI Masterpiece” project.
“BMW has a rich heritage in art and innovation that is always moving forward and evolving. Our task was to reimagine how we showcase this in 2021,” said Rich Silverstein, co-founder and co-chairman of GS&P. “Art, design and the automobile are all pivotal in the world of BMW, and they came together in a totally new way here.”
Using a unique data set consisting of nearly 50,000 paintings that cover over 900 years of art history, the AI will find, generate and project ever-evolving forms and textures onto the 8 Series Gran Coupe’s elegant surface. In essence, by learning from the history of art, the AI will be turning the 8GC into a constantly changing work of art itself.
“All the generated imagery shows what the AI has learned about art but is also totally unique. We are thrilled to be exploring an entirely new medium,” said Nathan Shipley, creative technologist at GS&P.
However, the AI art exploration doesn’t stop there. The expertise of art collector Gary Yeh has been solicited in order to help guide the AI art model in a more modern and intentional direction. This collaboration has enabled the AI to further learn from works by modern working artists, such as Hugo McCloud, Kyungah Ham and Lee Bae, to name a few.
“What’s incredibly fascinating to me is being able to witness the intersection of innovation and art in real time with living, breathing artists. What better canvas than the BMW 8 Series Gran Coupe—a true intersection of innovation and design,” said Yeh, founder of ArtDrunk.
"The Ultimate AI Masterpiece" launches in May as a digital experience.
CreditsClient BMW Agency Goodby Silverstein & Partners Rich Silverstein, co-chairman; Margaret Johnson, chief creative officer; Wes Phelan, Matt Edwards, Nathan Shipley, creative directors; Carlos Rangel, Kevin Leung, associate creative directors; Nando Sperb, art director & designer; Gustav Johansson, copywriter; Bonnie Wan, partner, head of brand strategy; Christine Chen, partner, head of communications strategy; Stephanie Phillips, group brand strategy director; Kevin DeStefan, brand strategy director; Dong Kim, group communications strategy director; Matt Hudgins, sr. communications strategist; Margaret Brett-Kearns, co-director of production; Phoebe Buckley, producer. Creative Technology GS&P Labs Nathan Shipley, director of creative technology; Tena Goy, executive producer; August Bjornberg, Troy Lumpkin, creative technologists. Production Company GS&P Films Mark Sandhoff, director/DP. Danielle Riccardi, exec producer; Andrew Devansky, line producer. Editorial Audio & Sound Design eLevel Michael Damiani, exec producer; Ali Plansky, sr. post producer; Graham Wilcox, Lori Arden, editors; Liz Norris, assistant editor; Josh Brown, executive audio producer; Nic Dematteo, audio engineer. VFX/Color Company 3 Tom Gehring, director of production; Kath Raisch, colorist; Anna Kelman, producer. Partner Gary Yeh, founder of ArtDrunk
FOUR PAWS Teams With Catsnake, Animation Studio Bewilder To “Be Their Voice”
Global animal welfare organization FOUR PAWS has launched the “Be Their Voice” campaign. Partnering with specialist creative agency Catsnake and South African production and animation company Bewilder, the campaign sheds light on a cruel practice called live lamb cutting. The film aims to raise awareness and inspire international action, urging fashion brands and policymakers to ban this inhumane practice by 2030.
The stop-motion “Be Their Voice” film follows a PhD student, Jesse, as he tries to perfect his sheep translation software with the help of a young sheep called Sunny. The initially heartwarming story takes an unsettling turn as Sunny discovers what is soon to happen to her on the farm.
Catsnake felt that the best way to capture the true horror of live lamb cutting was to focus on storytelling that would engage the audience emotionally. Catsnake creative director Rowena Wyles said, “A lot of animal rights campaigns rely on sharing shocking visuals of cruelty, but we know that tends to stop a wider audience from engaging with the issue. Instead, we wanted to draw people in with humor and heart before delivering the shocking truth of the practice.”
Working collaboratively with Bewilder, the film was brought to life with a mixed-media approach; recreating the look and feel of stop-motion with the flexibility of 3D animation. The sets, props and lighting were all made in Bewilder’s in-house studio, and the 3D characters were placed in afterwards.
Ruan Vermeulen, creative director at Bewilder, explained the process: “We built a ‘realistic’ miniature farm setting with stylized and lovable CGI characters. Combining a vast range of skill sets, with a multitalented creative team, our goal was to create an animation... Read More