Making of : NISSAN X-TRAIL

On our first day in Paris we were shooting the urban background elements for the first image, but unluckily the weather was against us. We were shooting on a rooftop studio and the rain was coming down in sheets until late in the day when we were graced with a ray of sun. Nonetheless Nick had to use artificial lighting to re-create a natural sunlit scene. We ended up with a real puzzle on our hands with lots of pieces to be combined together. Christoph, who was on location, also shot HDR Spheres to recreate identical lighting for the 3D model of the architecture and the railings.

Thankfully the following day was sunny and everything was much easier. The set designer had built a ramp for the image and we extended the foreground in CG. The buildings in the background were supplied by Nick who had lots of extra material in his photo-library to help us build the cityscape.

It’s amazing how a great crew, a bit of sun and a good soundtrack can make a job so incredibly fun!

We then traveled by train to the French Alps with the whole amazing team including creative director Carina Wachsmann, Nick, his assistant William Green, and the wonderful people from Toolbox.

In the Alps we were shooting everything as a reverse image of what was shot on the first rainy day in Paris. The shoot turned out to be a bit of a mind twisting exercise, not only the car had to be mirrored but also the light and the talent which we had to shoot for an alternative version.

But in a location like this everyhting is a bit easier!

Below are 2 screenshots of the 3D architecture created in Maya.

CREDITS:

Client: Nissan
Agency: TBWA G1
Creative-Director: Carina Wachsmann
Photographer: Nick Meek
CGI-Director: Christoph Bolten
CGI-Artist: Kristian Turner and Richard Jenkinson
Post Artist: Kate Brown