The creative studio once again partnered with Mercedes-Benz, providing live-action production, editorial, post, VFX, color grading and finishing, transforming a daytime shoot on the California coast into night scenes.
Creative studio The-Artery was tapped by agency Merkley + Partners for the new Mercedes-Benz cinematic spot New Light - produced by the studio’s CCO and Founder Vico Sharabani and DP’d by Oren Soffer, who recently co-DP’d Gareth Edwards’ upcoming sci-fi film The Creator, in theaters next month from 20th Century Studios.
The-Artery elevated the ad’s storytelling with live-action production, editorial, post, VFX, color grading, and finishing, turning a product demo into a cinematic experience featuring a nighttime coastline with a masterful day-for-night technique. The team navigated the isolated location and shoot times to film the spot during the middle of the afternoon off the California coast, then facilitated a combination of color-grading and visual effects to transform the landscape into the night scenes. The bespoke creative system is a new cost-savings measure for spots uninhibited by trials on-location.
“Translating a day shoot into the moon-heavy scenic night was the best technique choice on such a short timeline with the right all-encompassing production and post teams, as well as a trusting agency and brand partner,” explained Sharabani. “The short amount of time - four weeks from shoot to air - and the knowledge of the creative team/brand gave us the freedom to pursue the most streamlined creative solution. We understand the world of feature films; when a client is comfortable allowing us to use that style, the final ad can be cinematically broken-down as a visual story, in which the product is the star.”
Check out the final spot – New Light:
The studio previously partnered with the brand on campaigns including Invisible Car, where most of the ad emphasized the all-electric vehicle’s low environmental impact by featuring no car at all – and most recently, a virtual production-based campaign where 57 elements were captured in just three days in partnership with Nant Studios’ XR, filming five cars on a volumetric stage. In Mercedes 360, The-Artery directed eight car models filmed in 20K vertical resolution to be projected on the 360-degree circular screens within Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA, making it at the time of release the largest 360 videos in the world, and even qualified for the Guinness Book of World Records.
The-Artery has worked on several award-winning feature films and commercial projects, including Smile, Midsommar, and Beau Is Afraid starring Joaquin Phoenix, the Academy Award-nominated drama Causeway starring Jennifer Lawrence, and the Oscar-nominated The Lighthouse, Marriage Story, and Oscar-winning The Grand Budapest Hotel.
Source: The-Artery
Debbie Diamond Sarto is news editor at Animation World Network.
