Visual effects and content creation studio The Mill teamed with J. Walter Thompson Atlanta to create “Anthem,” a fully CGI spot for the United States Marine Corps.
Anthem is an ode to the Marines that speaks to the nobility of their fighting spirit–a spirit that lives in their hearts and is manifested as a promise they’ve made to their country. The spot depicts iconic Marine Corps battles–both figurative battles recruits fight to earn the title and literal ones in combat–made to form one large Marine sculpture.
Directed by The Mill’s ECD Ben Smith, Anthem celebrates the past and inspires the future through a series of epic moments of heroism immortalized in CGI by a team of VFX artists.
Although completed within CGI, the spot is cinematic in style, employing traditional camera movements, focus, lighting and texture within the CGI environment.
“From beginning to end, this project was all about authenticity. We wanted the final results to feel as real as the epic moments in history we were depicting,” said Smith. “We spent a lot of time researching genuine, specific moments from history that personified Marine Corps values of honor, courage, and commitment. We strived to faithfully recreate the craft and material finishes of bronze sculpture work, and used lighting and cinematography to underpin the sense of realism.”
