For today's #FlashbackFriday blog post, we invite you to dive into the world of visual effects with us. Compositing, greenscreen, and visual effects (VFX for short) are just a few of the terms increasingly associated with film today. Hardly any film—whether it's a feature film, cinema commercial, TV commercial or corporate film —is made today without the use of visual effects. But what exactly are visual effects?
Visual Effects – The New Reality
Visual effects describe the ability to digitally insert elements into existing footage. This creates a new image that would be impossible to capture in reality. This crucial step is called "compositing."
The Evolution of Technology
About a year ago, we produced four films for BMW that showcase the various collaboration processes between BMW and its suppliers. The corporate films were enhanced with visual effects to better visualize and illustrate these processes. The last of the four films, in particular, was intended to highlight how these processes might change in the future due to digitalization.
Consequently, we were faced with a whole range of visual effects that had to be integrated during post-production were implemented. This covered the full spectrum of effort required for individual shots, ranging from simple text animations to complex shots set in virtual worlds.
Once the final edit was approved, we began compositing the relevant scenes. For BMW QMT, Adobe After Effects CC was our perfect creative tool for crafting the necessary shots.
To bring the futuristic vision to life realistically, we developed a modern concept. Based on the storyline, we designed key graphics in a futuristic style and then animated them over the edited footage. Examples include a futuristic smartwatch that activates a holographic site plan at the touch of a button, as well as a 3D hologram of a door handle. These visual effects gave the film its unique impact. The results speak for themselves.
You can see some examples in the slider below.
For us, this was a very exciting projectinto which we poured a lot of energy and passion. We would like to thank the BMW Group for the fantastic collaboration, and we are already looking forward to our next project together!
