Making of “Tales of Mystery And Confusion” with Clemens Ascher

“In this series, I show mystical figures from a vaguely remembered tale performing cryptic gestures and ominous rituals.” – Clemens Ascher.

Collaboration with Clemens is always an extraordinary journey. In this series, retouching combines CGI with fine art.

The concept was to have the look of a 2D collage, with fabric and other props produced in 3D and then combined with the figures which were shot in the studio.

As CG artists, normally we are purely concerned with getting an image as close to reality as possible. In this case, Clemens wanted a combination of photo-realism with perspectives that are just a little ‘off’, to give a surreal, disjointed feel. This is a fine line to walk in post-production, and an exciting challenge for us, with a huge amount of creative freedom and input. The details of our renderings and lighting were very much an integral part of the artistic process.

For instance, the floors for some images are correct in 3D space for shadows etc., but their texture is applied almost like a 2D collage, without much depth in the perspective depth happening. “Amber Queen”, below, is a very good example for this effect.

Conceptually this references medieval art with its odd sizes and perspectives, which is also referred to in some of the props we created like armour and shoes. These tensions of opposites are present in many aspects of the series, producing the effect of strangeness that Clemens wanted.

Technical Process:

We began each image by setting up a CG space as a match for the camera and model, for shadows, indirect light and reflections.

Clemens provided a sketch for each figure, and from this, we began to block out shapes, exploring forms and thinking about the silhouette. With every element, we started with reality.

“Amber Queen”

Here for instance, for the armoured dress, we looked at real armour, how it’s made and jointed, and how this would wear – before working with the shapes to give it uniquely unreal, skewing asymmetry.

Substance Painter gave us the possibility to create a realistic, used appearance for our materials, and we then used our virtual lighting rig, adjusting the original settings to make them work for the completely different properties of armour.

 

We had previously developed our own system for making realistic amber with flaws, shapes and colour all generated from our own observations. Using this ultra-realistic natural material to make a hat was typical of the tension between reality and unreality that Clemens was looking for.

“EXORCIZE”

We generated the amber again for this image and also a mysterious mountain range to set the figures in.

For “EXORCIZE” we used Houdini again for the pink hair, inputting geometrical parameters to produce a true natural feel – a great opportunity to push this software in an unusual environment.

“MELANCHOLY”

We built this tutu in a completely different way, as if this was a real life fashion project with the correct crinoline construction underneath it. We tested this with different materials such as lace, bringing our machines very close to their computational limit!

Working like a fashion designer would, we tried many different fabrics to get the rich, ruffled texture that we wanted, to complement the severe geometric shape of the skirt itself. Here you can see two other options in lace and chiffon.

With the final decision to use a light tulle, we achieved the affect we wanted: a solid block of fabric with a light, foamy texture, that tension of opposites working again to destabilise perception. Zoom in for the details that make the difference

Grading

With the series complete in structure, the files went from Germany to Recom Farmhouse London for Creative Supervisor Kate Brown to fine tune the compositing from all the different applications, and colour grade the images.

For the grade, she took inspiration once again from paintings – ranging from medieval icons to renaissance masterpieces in oils. A simplified, painterly treatment, giving the sense of collage whilst bringing detail out of the blacks, and enhancing the sense of archetypal forms. Here’s a view of the full process from original sketch to finished image.

We’ll leave you with some thoughts from Clemens Ascher:

“Seeing these naturally raises some crucial questions:
What is their message?
Can they protect us?
Will they guide us in our search for salvation?
And can we even trust them? – Probably not.
But you can worship them, let them take important decisions or cure your agonised bodies – good luck! “

 

See the whole series on our site here and on Behance here

Photographer: Clemens Ascher
Creative Director: Kate Brown / Recom Farmhouse London
CGI Artists: Sebastian Schierwater, Richard Jenkinson, Dennis Brinkmann / Recom Stuttgart
Post Artists: Jonas Braukmann, Stephanie O’Connor / Recom Berlin

Bienvenue à Recom Paris!

As Creative Director of Recom Paris, Pepê Alram returns to his French roots to combine Recom’s depth of post-production experience with the distinct spark of magic that always delivers beyond what’s expected. From Brazil, Pepe moved to Recom Farmhouse London, rising rapidly to be the creative lead on flagship retouching projects for clients like BMW, Mercedes, and Bentley.

With passion for any challenge and an eye for quality, he never forgets the main purpose of his career is communication, striving always for a more personal approach, searching out the unique focus of each project with each client, to know just what’s needed to make it shine.

Pepê brings his love of collaboration and challenge to work closely in French creative partnerships both long-standing and new, and to add a touch of Brazilian warmth to the industry here in the bleu blanc rouge.

Combining visual flair and an eye for detail with a personal approach and profound knowledge of the industry, Recom is fired up to build lasting in-depth artistic relationships immersed in the unique environment of the creative industries of Paris.

The aesthetic refinement that French creatives demand is a perfect match with our passion and commitment to those final touches that make all the difference.

Tomek Makolski for Renault, retouching by Recom Paris. View full project here.

Recom’s international studios give us huge, round-the-clock capacity and an incredible depth of talent, united by boundless enthusiasm for visual arts. At the same time, because each studio is small and unique, we keep the distinctive spirit of a boutique operation.

He & Me for Nissan at TBWA, with CGI by Recom Farmhouse and retouching by Recom Paris. View full project here.

We put a lot of value on strong creative relationships whether it’s photographers, art directors, editors or more unusual creative collaborations. We’re perhaps best known for high end, imaginative and aesthetic automotive work, but we love to stay fresh and creative with a huge variety of projects, for instance in fashion or fine art.

He & Me for Renault ZOE at Publicis Conseil, retouching by Recom Paris. View full project here.

 

We are proud to add our new French studio to the energy of London, New York, Stuttgart, Berlin and Sofia.

Recom Paris has now opened its doors. Bonjour, have a seat, take a glass of wine.

Let’s make some beautiful images together.


Recom Paris

4 Impasse Chausson
75010, Paris

In Situ: Star Wars, Disney & VW with Chris Noltekuhlmann

Inspired by the design features of its iconic ancestor from the 1960s, VW introduced the new fully-electric ID.Buzz during a promotion of the Disney+ Star Wars Show ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ by Lucasfilm.

Chris  shot the revamped ‘Bulli’ admired by two legendary droids at the Walt-Disney Studios in Burbank, CA. Quite a few crew members were stuck at the hotel with Covid during the time of the shoot but thanks to remote access and a strong core team on set the shots came together nicely.

In post our Stuttgart studio shifted the colours to create a glowing contrast between the purple sky and yellow sheet metal, accentuating the otherworldly atmosphere.

The campaign has been shown on enormous poster sites around Europe:

 

VIew the campaign on Behance and on recomfarmhouse.com.

Client: VW
Agency: Scholz & Friends Hamburg
Photographer: Chris Noltekuhlmann
Creative Director: André Huber
Art Producer: Kerstin Mende
Producers: René Steinvorth, Dylan Sido / Willson Project
Stylist: Madeleine Zöller
Makup: Fee Steinvorth
Photographer’s Assistants: Florian Brandl, Kip Corley, Jay Diebel
Post Artists: Christian Schemer, Fabian Stehle / Recom Farmhouse

‘Sup Jorden? 

Turbo-Dial us on our Motorola Micro-Tac and let us take you back to Miami’s South Beach in the mid 1990s. Photographer Tim Adorf was inspired by the look of the local bodybuilding culture of that time, to create this wildly inventive series that combines automotive and still life CGI with fashion photography, and a dash of graphic design resulting in an atmospheric slice of 90s Miami life. You can almost smell the CK One…

 

 

Stylist Stephanie Wüstemann sourced a state of the art (in 1997) Motorola mobile phone, which Recom then modelled in CGI. Using the same angles for the car shots and the phone, the team brought the series together.

 

Adorf found his own personal Muscle Beach in a tiled carport in Barcelona, the perfect setting for the eye-popping physique of model Uri Garcia.

 

 

The freedom of CGI meant that they could choose one of the most iconic cars of that era, the Lamborghini Diablo. It was a perfect fit for this series! The CGI team made the dream real in a very 1990s shade of metallic purple. We came up with simplified and stylish angle suggestions and rough crop tests of the larger shots, slowly adding variants to the series.

 

 

Based on the original manual, Maison CC worked on the design – their laser focus on the mood of advertisement product shots of the time made the 1990s aesthetics as tight as purple spandex! Dreamboat posters and ripped out magazine advert pages add to the vintage character.

 

 

 

Finally, the post artists of Recom Berlin pumped up the grade and buffed the series to perfection.

 

 

Enjoy the ride, with a suitably rad soundtrack for your DiscMan provided here….Yellow sport earphones mandatory.
Photographer: Tim Adorf
Styling: Stephanie Wüstemann
Graphicdesign: Maison CC
Creative Direction: recom berlin
CGI: Richard Jenkinson, Dennis Brinkmann
Retouching: Matteo Cianfarani, Patryk Hadas, Jonas Braukmann

Hookie Tardigrade: Nasa Concept Motorcycle with J. Konrad Schmidt

The Tardigrade is the world’s first moon concept motorcycle.

Inspired by future and past adventures to orbit, original CGI by Andrey Fabishevsky, built by Hookie, photographed by J. Konrad  Schmidt, retouching and post-production CGI elements by Recom Stuttgart.

The Inspiration

Andrey Fabishevsky dreamed up the original idea for a creative sketch challenge with a friend on Instagram, and developed it into a CGI concept. The idea took social media by storm, with features and speculation about the possibilities.
“I’d seen some very stylised and cool concept sketches of NASA motorcycles, and I wanted to make a bike in CGI that felt like a fully functional concept, not just a cool stylised idea.”
– Andrey Fabishevsky

Bringing the dream to life

Among those who saw the idea and loved it was Nico Mueller of Hookie  –  a Dresden based design company working on custom motorbikes, components and accessories. Inspired by Andrey’s visual, they contacted him with the idea of making the bike for real. The project was named “Tardigrade” after the tough little organisms that have been known to survive even in space. Andrey made new CGI drawings, exploring the construction in more detail in preparation for the build.

“Together with Hookie, we made something really cool and fresh. I haven’t seen the motorcycle in real life yet…I hope this will happen soon!”
– Andrey Fabishevsky

The Construction

At Hookie, the process of the build began – intricate welding, careful machining and many late nights brought the Tardigrade into reality.

“A thought experiment that also raises questions about our future: What would life beyond planetary boundaries look like? What demands does outer space make on a bike that can travel in the darkness of space and largely from the shackles of gravity over icy lunar dust? And how far away are we from such scenarios?”
–  Nico Müller, Hookie

 

Read more about the construction on their dedicated site here: Hookie Tardigrade.
For even more details on the build, there’s an in-depth article in BikeExif here.
With the long and detailed build and development complete, they now needed the imagery that would convey the idea and fire the imagination.

The Shoot

The search was on for a location that could stand in for the moon, and friends of Hookie knew the perfect space – a porcelain clay mine in the Czech Republic.

The bike travelled by trailer from Dresden and was lovingly assembled ready to be captured in action for the first time. The fine pale dust of the clay worked brilliantly for both the texture for the bike’s trails, and the lighting and structure of the lunar surface.

” It was surreal. Andrew and Hookie did such an amazing job. Standing on this location with this bike felt like – What else could anyone wish for. It looked right from the first second on.”
– J. Konrad Schmidt

Post Production

Back in Stuttgart, Recom worked with Konrad to achieve an otherworldly atmosphere, referencing real life lunar photography in  the contrast and grading.  Some details were tidied up, such as removing the bike’s  stand and remaking  the wheels in CGI in order to have a realistic feeling of speed.

To break out of every day life, it is always cool to jump into space travel, to create an outer space lunar feel for such  a beautifully designed – out  of this world! – object as the TARDIGRADE. Recom is ready for the moon.”
– Thorsten Jasper Weese, Recom Stuttgart

 

Reception

The bike has been featured widely already  with features  in Designboom, Stirworld, Uncrate,and many more.

Future trajectory

With the world premiere as a part of the ADV:Overland exhibition at Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles in late 2021, Hookie wants to prove that even fantastic ideas can mature into a real, tangible object. All it takes is a vision and curiosity about the unknown.
Keep in contact with the continuing story of the Tardigrade on Hookie’s dedicated site here.

Selection of Images

A selection from the project. See the full series on recomfarmhouse.com here, on recom.de here, or on Behance here.

 

See the full series on recomfarmhouse.com here, on or on Behance here.

Credits
Client: Hookie.co
Photographer: J. Konrad Schmidt
Assistant & Location photos: Jeneba Komma
Original CGI concept: Andrey Fabishevsky
Model: Karolína Machová
Video: David Ohl

Post-Production Credits:
CGI Direction: Thorsten Jasper Weese / Recom Stuttgart
Post Production: Thomas Saalfrank / Recom Stuttgart
CGI Artist: Ronja Wafzig, Thomas Neumeier / Recom Stuttgart

 

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More work at recomfarmhouse.com and our blog madlove.net.
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On Location: Nissan Qashqai with Nick Meek

We travelled to Capetown with Nick Meek to shoot this Nissan campaign for TBWA Paris.
“While some may think that adding technology detracts from the raw experience of driving, Nissan is proving that technology can turn your car into an exciting partner”

With the idea of humanising technology, it was appropriate that we all had the most fun with the spacesuit! Join us nn set with New Moon Productions in Capetown…

 

 

In post-production, we put together the astronaut image and ‘painted’ it in Photoshop onto the side of the wall – see how we did it :

See all the final images on our site here.

Client: Nissan
Agency: TBWA Paris
Photographer: Nick Meek
Photographer’s Agent: Prune Pariente, Florence Moll
Creative Director: Darren Rosenberg
Art Buyer: Claire Sougy-Walwer
Art Director: Joy Robin
Production: New Moon Production
Post Artist: Pepe Alram, Aljaz, Bezjak / Recom Farmhouse

Making Of: “Vitruvian Man” for Barclays

Barclays wanted to mark the occasion of the 500th anniversary of Leonardo da Vinci with a modern evolution of his celebrated “Vitruvian Man“, showing how technology might enhance different parts of the human body.

We created the image in full CGI, in collaboration with photographer Andy Glass.

Appropriately for the subject matter, we started with sketches. Pen and pencil remains as perfect for quick visualisation and prototyping as it was 500 years ago. We put together sketches inspired by existing technology in biotech and visualising futuristic enhancements. Pencil drawings made it easy to react to feedback as we worked with the clients to refine the designs.

The individual parts come together to make the classic “Vitruvian Man” diagram

The CGI team then built the image from scratch, following the concepts and design from our sketches. The most challenging part of the process was keeping the classic design instantly recognisable and coherent, whilst working on the detail of each component and making the whole image both believably realistic and compellingly futuristic

Once all the pieces were fitted together in the final design, we modelled and lighted it, and applied shaders using photographic references to ensure a solid feel to the materials.  A circular platform and illuminated neon square completed the iconic image.

See the whole process here:
Making of “Vitruvian Man” for Barclays Private Finance

 

The image was used for an exclusive wraparound for the Canary Wharf delivery of the Financial Times, and as a poster.

Final image:

And video animation:

Vitruvian Man on Behance.

Client: Barclays Private Bank
Agency: Ogilvy
Photographic & Creative Direction: Andy Glass
Creatives:  Dave Anderson, Richard Barrett, Ian Brassett, James Manning, Giles Montgomery, Jon Morgan
Art Buyer: Lesley Scott
Concept Design: Kristian Turner / Recom Farmhouse
CGI Artists: Alex Bowen, Carlos Pecino, Anna Toropova, Kristian Turner / Recom Farmhouse
Post Artists: Aljaz Bezjak, Kate Brown / Recom Farmhouse

On Location: BMW with Stefan Milev

Project: BMW Group / Stefan Milev Client: BMW Group Photographer: Stefan Milev Creative Director: Antje List Post Artist: Julia Ackermann,Lorenz Edelmann,Thomas Saalfrank

That’s how it goes when you have so many cars….over time, some go missing, and eventually one is lost completely.

This is what happened to BMW’s Garmisch concept car from 1970.  The Garmisch was designed at the legendary Italian house Bertone, and exhibited at the Geneva Motor Show –  its modern lines clearly influenced the design of the first 5 series in 1972.

The original concept car has disappeared, untraceable to this day. Maybe it will turn up as a barn find in fifty years.

But BMW didn’t want to wait that long, and rebuilt the car from the original design documents. The documents were all in black and white, so for colour, they had to consult the car’s original designer: Marcello Gandini, who created iconic sports cars such as the Lamborghini Miura and Countach, and the Lancia Stratos. The car was rebuilt by hand in Turin, in much the same way as the original 50 years ago, and the reborn Garmisch was exhibited at the Concorso d’Eleganza 2019 at Lake Como.

Read the fascinating story of its reconstruction here in Classic Driver.

On Location (Photos: Stefan Milev)

Stefan Milev photographed the Garmisch using this 8 x 10 wooden Deardorff camera from 1948 – the team travelled to locations around Italy’s Piedmont region using mostly Polaroid film on the vintage camera.

 

 


On Location (Photos: Speedball Productions)

Vlens Mueller-Feller of Speedball Productions: “During early preparations, images of the (possible) final result will start to appear before one’s eyes, when scouting I already can see the photographer or director saying “this is it, this is the perfect spot” (@put.model.here)… So this spot in the Italian Alps was one of those.” See their Instagram feed for more…

 

 


Final images

The resulting film images were scanned and graded by our artists in the Stuttgart studio to enhance the colour mood of the series.

Project: BMW Group / Stefan Milev Client: BMW Group Photographer: Stefan Milev Creative Director: Antje List Post Artist: Julia Ackermann,Lorenz Edelmann,Thomas Saalfrank

See the full series on Behance here and on our site here.

Client: BMW Group
 Photographer: Stefan Milev
Post Artists: Julia Ackermann, Lorenz Edelmann, Thomas Saalfrank / Recom Stuttgart
Creative Director: Antje List
Production: Speedball Productions and Pirate Productions
Model: Scott Temple
Photographer’s Agent: Wildfox Running

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Making Of: “Daily Drivers” – CGI racing car collaboration with Alex Bernstein

Daily Drivers: A peep behind the scenes of a project built on absurdity.

A car is a tool. Its uses range drastically: from everyday tasks like commuting, shopping and school runs, to more exciting functions like self-expression and road trips. And then there’s racing… Race cars are a uniquely specialized end of this spectrum. Their sole purpose is to be fast and light, with creature comforts and road manners thrown out the window all in the name of victory. But at the end of the day, they’re still cars: four wheels, a seat and some pedals.

Daily Drivers Nº 1 : 1999 Toyota GT-One (TS020)

When it comes to getting around the city, most New Yorkers opt for public transportation, because having a car in Manhattan is like trying to paint a mural with a Q-tip. So here — in this alternate and absurdist reality — a few legendary race cars break the boundaries of their purpose.

Daily Drivers Nº 2 : 2003 Bentley Speed 8

In this reality, these retired steeds continue their service. They may not be flat out in Eau Rouge, or spraying gravel off the cliffs of Pikes Peak, but they’re still living, still used, and still loved.

Daily Drivers Nº 3 : 1967 Ferrari 330 P4

Steven Orts of Recom Farmhouse’s New York studio outlined the rough project idea to photographer and amateur racer, Alex Bernstein, who traveled back to his old stomping grounds in New York to brainstorm with the team, scout and shoot in some iconic locations, working his magic to bring this project to life. With his love for motorsports, Alex nailed the angles to capture the city scenes with their obstructions and ambiance, all while still feeling handheld and natural, as if you were walking through the city streets and had just spotted these ridiculously out-of-place machines.

Daily Drivers Nº 4 : 1990 Jaguar XJR-12

All the cars are full CGI. Each model required heavy amounts of refinement, while we retextured and prepped in the studio. With great care and patience, the finer details were added. Dust and grit, scuffs and scrapes, raindrops and reflections all work together to fully immerse these cars into their respective worlds. We captured domes from each location which enabled proper reflections to be brought back into post production. Finally, meticulous colour grading enhanced the light and shade of New York City and integrated the composited images.

Daily Drivers Nº 5 : 1986 Audi Sport Quattro S1 E2

See the full series on Behance.

Daily Drivers 1

Credits: 
Creative Direction: Steven Orts / Recom Farmhouse NYC
Photographer: Alex Bernstein
CGI: Luke Burke & Alex Bowen / Recom Farmhouse NYC
Retouching: Steven Orts & Andrew Coleman / Recom Farmhouse NYC

 

On Location: Mercedes with Nick Meek

 

Bold primary colours meet strong abstract shapes in this campaign for Mercedes from Antoni. We travelled with photographer Nick Meek to Calvert Studios, an extraordinary and unique open air car studio in Spain. Enjoy these pictures from behind the scenes:

 

 

The dream team – Jorge, Nick, Christoph and Paul.

The final images are used in the deluxe print campaign, and billboards in place in Germany. See them in situ here.

 

See all the finished images on Behance here and try to work out which ones are CGI…

Client: Mercedes-Benz Deutschland
Photographer: Nick Meek
Assistants: Jorge Dieguez, Paul Blundell

Executive Production: Siobhan Squire
Location: Calvert Studios

Agency: Antoni
Executive Creative Director: Veit Moeller
Creative Director: Christian Kies, Christopher Hoene
Art Director: Mathias Wilke, Tim Grötzinger
Copywriter: Matti Lietsch, Luca Haeussler
Head of Product Communication Cars Germany: Christine Wolburg
Product Communication Cars Germany: Nancy Weitling
Art Buyer: Valerie Opitz

CGI Artist: Kristian Turner / Recom Farmhouse
Post Artists: Pepe Alram, Kate Brown, Maria Luisa Calosso, Nuria Segura, Aljaz Bezjak / Recom Farmhouse