Created entirely in CG, this piece celebrates the design and performance of Mercedes-Benz X-Class, a premium pick-up truck coming to the marketplace in 2018, as it travels with power and elegance through the elements, mastering all kinds of terrain. The spot is the centerpiece of the “First of A New Kind” campaign created by German agency Lukas Lindemann Rosinski and directed by Ole Peters of Sehsucht, Hamburg. Visual effects were headed by Daniel Jahnel, Sehsucht’s VFX supervisor and head of 3D.
As the Mercedes-Benz X-Class will launch next year, the classic rules for car commercials had to be thrown out the window for this campaign. Director Peters used highly advanced technology and epic cinematography to capture the spirit of the car without revealing too much and creating a beautiful film.
Sehsucht director Peters said, “It’s always fun to create a visually epic scenery from scratch. As well as building these various environments, we designed transition effects that could lead from one scene to the next in a smooth and visually interesting way. To do so, we continuously developed and improved our CG pipeline to ensure we were delivering the best simulation, creature and environment work possible.”
Credits
Client Mercedes-Benz Vans Agency Lukas Lindemann Rosinski Arno Lindemann, executive creative director; Tobias Feige, creative director, copy; Dennis Mensching, head of design. Production Sehsucht, Hamburg Ole Peters, direction; Stephan Reinsch, Jan Tiller, producing; Julius Brockelmann, art director; Malte Romainczyk, storyboard; Arthur Jagodda, Joern Fallendorf, editing. Postproduction/VFX Sehsucht, Hamburg, Germany Ole Peters, direction; Daniel Jahnel, VFX supervisor/CG lead; Timo von Wittken, Heinrich Loewe, Sebastian Welti, Jannes Kreyenberg, Thure Koch, Philipp von Preuschen, Frank Spalteholz, Sebastian Kowalski, Stefan Galleithner, Martin Matzeder, Rafael Vicente, Fabian Schaper, Francesco Di Luisi, CG artists; Florian Zachau, compositing lead; Jona Maluck, Alexander von der Lippe, compositing artists; Steven Cormann, DMP; Xavi Santolaya, color grading. (Toolbox: Softimage, Maya, ZBrush, Mari, Substance Painter, Arnold. Rdshift, Houdini, Nuke, Davinci Resolve) Music & Sound Effects 2WEI Music Simon Heeger, Christian Vorlander.
For World Cancer Day (Feb. 4), Gustave Roussy, a treatment center in France ranked number one in Europe and number four in the world in the fight against cancer, is once again speaking out through film. “Lucie” retraces the life of a young woman, from her birth, her joys, her encounters and her trials, in particular the illnesses she faced or may have faced (if not vaccinated) during her life but which did not kill her thanks to advances in science and medicine, including the discovery of her rare cancer at the age of 36.
Conceived by Publicis Conseil and directed by Jaco Van Dormael via production company Hamlet, “Lucie” takes the gamble of using almost exclusively scientific images to tell this story (scanners, MRIs, microscopes, 3D). It highlights the beauty of these images beyond their raw meaning, the poetry that can emerge from them to pay tribute to all the researchers, doctors and specialists who over the centuries have transformed what were once serious illnesses into benign ones, saving many lives in the process. Like most of us, Lucie lives her life without even thinking about all the times when science and medicine have enabled her to go on living.
“In a world where cancer affects one person in two and more and more young adults, we want to show that the disease is a stage in life from which the majority of sufferers are now recovering, thanks to scientific progress. Lucie’s story is the story of thousands of patients. This film makes Gustave Roussy, its doctors, researchers and professionals part of the history of major scientific advances,” said Professor Fabrice Barlesi, CEO of Gustave Roussy.
