Dell has launched a global brand platform and campaign with a vibrant brand film and new @XPS social channels that celebrates the passion of young creators. The campaign highlights the redesigned XPS, a PC meticulously crafted to appeal to the Gen Z and younger Millennial audience, allowing them to create and collaborate with ease.  

Developed by agency VMLY&R, the campaign looks to shift the current perception of Dell’s consumer laptops, inviting people to “Get More Into Whatever You’re Into,” and dive deeper into their passions. The general assumption is that younger consumers don’t use laptops, but that’s not the case. The work is based on the insight that Gen Z and young Millennials do use laptops just as much as any demographic–the difference is, they open their laptops for a specific purpose. They use their laptops to create, to collaborate, or to deeply research something they care about.

The brand film is a wild, colorful journey down the rabbit-hole of users’ interests. Directed by Marco Prestini of Anonymous Pictures with visual effects by MPC New York, the film creates surreal, beautiful worlds out of the passions each represents. The film realizes the brand platform by diving into the characters’ “Youniverses.”

To reflect a global audience, the entire production was shot in Kiev, Ukraine and features a cast of actors from all over the world. 
 
Titled “Youniverse,” the film is a spellbinding visualization of what’s virtually possible. Capturing the essence of these new pieces of technology was essential to their introduction into the marketplace. MPC did this flawlessly through CGI executions, bringing the concept boards to life. 

Alvin Cruz, creative director at MPC, said, “Creating the five different worlds was by far the biggest challenge of the campaign, yet the most creatively rewarding for our team. We wanted to create a sense of visual poetry through avant-garde layouts and illustrations. Our team collaborated with director Marco Prestini in Italy and illustrators in Japan seamlessly. Through a combination of visually sophisticated and conceptual animations, we created a solution that shows exactly what the ‘Youniverses’ are while bringing them to life within the Dell XPS laptop.”

Renato Ferri Carone, 2D lead at MPC, added, “We knew the visual execution of this would be the key to succeeding creatively. It was essential to create a continuous movement throughout the film, with the VFX elements and sequences leading to the final illustrations. We used a range of latest techniques, so each scene had its own look and feel yet feels like one connected film.”

This film pushed the boundaries of remote postproduction. With COVID-19 restrictions changing the way we work, MPC worked with agency, the director, the illustrators and client to make decisions in real-time.

The visual effects team at MPC was led by Cruz, Carone, 3D lead Andrew Ortiz, and was color graded by Ricky Gausis.

Credits

Client Dell Agency VMLY&R Wayne Best, chief creative officer, NY; Justin Ebert, Niraj Zaveri, group creative directors; Meredith Kinee, Rachel Cuyler, creative directors; Greg Lotus, executive director of integrated production; Bobby Jacques, executive producer; Dan Bradbury, sr. producer; Alexandra Allen, music producer; Theresa Notartomaso, executive music producer, North America. Production Anonymous Content Marco Prestini, director; Eric Stern, managing director; Lori Stonebraker, exec producer; Kerry Haynie, head of production; Malachy McAnenny, line producer; Mauro Chiarello, DP. Production Services Radioaktive Darko Skulsky, Kate Galytska, exec producers; Antonina Patramanska, line producer. Postproduction/VFX MPC New York Alvin Cruz, creative director; Jim Radford, on-set VFX supervisor; Renato Ferri Carone, 2D lead; Andrew Ortiz, 3D lead; Ricky Gausis, colorist; Nicole Melius, VFX producer; Chris Connolly, exec producer; Stephen Dierks, production coordinator; Gianna Yarull Urena, Roger Hom, design; Tom McCullough, Mat Ellin, finishing. (Toolbox: Nuke, Flame, Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects, Maya, Substance) Editorial Rock Paper Scissors Mikkel Nielsen, editor; Alex Liu, assistant editor; Lisa Barnable, producer. Audio Wave Chris Afzal, sound designer & mixer; Vicky Ferraro, exec producer; Eleni Giannopoulos, producer. Music “Rabbit Hole” by Why Mona, written by Joanna A. Jones and Armond Arabshahi. Remix & arrangements by Squeak E. Clean Studios. Stuart Welch, remixer; Zac Colwell, creative director & remixer; Danielle Toporoff, sr. producer.

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