The Mill 3D and 2D teams have created this technical 3D masterpiece for JWT Detroit and Director Jeffery Plansker from Production Company Supply and Demand.
Suspended in mid-air the car’s components are seen floating throughout the commercial, and are slowly drawn together as if magnetized, to eventually form the new Ford Super Duty F450 truck.

The commercial proved to be an intresting project as the mill team combined different techniqes and software. After initial discussions with Director Jeffrey Plansker the Mill’s 3D team knew they had to raise the bar in terms of creativity complexity compared to any previous car commercials that involved the idea of 3D ‘car parts assembling’

Thanks to the collaboration with Ford the CAD data from the car designers gave our team more than 16,000 pieces split on small NURB services to work with. The final look could only be achieved by tackling this project like a military operation with eight operators working flat out for 6 weeks to process the CAD data and optimize the machine pieces making the loading of data achievable.

Whilst the rest of the team were busy processing CAD files, 3D Supervisors Jordi Bares and Hitesh Patel worked hand in hand on the previsualization to ensure the shoot was as accurate as possible. Jordi Bares also cleverly developed a new tool called ‘Noodle Rig’ which assisted the whole 3D team by managing hundreds of pieces automatically by animating a few noodles at a time. The tests proved to be mind blowing, showing richness and detail in the work never seen before.

Tackling the extremely complex shots the 2D Shake team then worked around the clock to ensure the highest possible quality of deliverables. The final composites were sent directly to The Mill’s Baselight colour correction suite to get the best quality grade possible without compromising the image range; all in all an incredible achievement for The Mill’s team.

Jordi VFX supervisor commented – “At the end of the project and looking back it impressive to see what we managed to put together in a such a short space of time we are hoping the HD viewers can see all the intricate details on every single frame”.

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