BLACKBIRD: The Mill Blackbird'

Credits & Description:

Agency: The Mill
Brand:
Country: United Kingdom
Advertising Agency: The Mill , London
Entrant Company: The Mill , London
Media Agency: The Mill , London
Pr Agency: The Mill , London
Production Company: The Mill , London
Additional Company: The Mill , London
Executive Vice President: Alistair Thompson (The Mill)
Campaign Description:
The Blackbird allows filmmakers to shoot a real vehicle on location. The combination of high dynamic range imagery and 3D laser scanning allows the team to build a virtual version of the environment around the car to create completely realistic CG renderings.A bespoke AR application allows clients to see their intended tracked vehicle over The Blackbird whilst it is on location via a live render of the car.By capturing 360 footage to generate CG car reflections, the BLACKBIRD™ camera array also captures perfect VR footage.Using bespoke software, the imagery is blended from the multiple camera’s to create a 360 stitched landscape. A CG render of the interior of the car is added, making it possible to feel like you are inside the vehicle and taking part in the action that has been shot.Alternative CG renders mean the assets created are completely interactive. The highest quality, expertly directed car advertising
Outcome:
Until now, automotive content has been dictated by car availability, limited access to locations and footage that can quickly become irrelevant.Creating content to aid the design or launch of vehicles is no longer determined by access or availability.The BLACKBIRD™ can be shot at any time, in any location.The BLACKBIRD™ also generates modular assets.It allows for a singular creative vision to be extrapolated across multiple platforms, products and markets without sacrificing any quality or direction.High quality digital assets form The BlackbIrd can be used over and over again for marketing across all platforms, making it a hugely cost-effective production tool.After 2 years indevelopment, The Blackbird provides clients with a proactive solution that opens up a whole new world for creative opportunities for car advertising and design.
Execution:
The Blackbird creates photoreal CG vehicle assets by way of a fully adjustable car rig.It utilises the pioneering the technique of CG re-skinning using stand-in cars, capturing the most important aspects of the car (physical driving performance and wheel interaction with the road.)The BLACKBIRD™ is the same weight as an average car. It’s adjustable suspension alters ride height, rigidity and dampening, replicating the drive of almost any vehicle.It is electric, making it green and versatile.It is powered by a motor which digitally records its movements and is programmable to match the acceleration curve and gearing shifts of any car.The blackbird automatically captures VR data with every take, creating a data-bank library of reusable, versatile footage, which can be repurposed and re-rendered for model updates and variations.
Synopsis:
Introducing The Blackbird, a revolution in car advertising.The BLACKBIRD™ was hand built by the worlds top technicians in the very same hanger that the BLACKBIRD™ SR-71 supersonic jet was once manufactured.Our car rig’s name is a nod to this legacy of stealth design. The BLACKBIRD™ captures the best footage and data possible due to its camera array and tailor-made stabilisation unit, engineered by Performance Filmwork’s legendary, multi award winning technician, Lev Yevstratov.The cameras and technology mounted on the BLACKBIRD™ has been painstakingly realised, from concept to build, with the help of an elite team of the best camera technicians and experts in the business.The Blackbird eliminates the age old challenge of automotive film making; car availability on location.