This recently released project from Digital Domain for BMW is a breathtakingly detailed mix of organic and industrial imagery full of verve and sophistication. While the underlying concept of the spot isn’t groundbreaking, I’m smitten with the execution.
It seems mixing flesh and machine is something of a predilection for director Carl Erik Rinsch. His work with RSA films and his Toyota spots show an interest in compositing, both literally as it applies to CG/live-action integration, and figuratively as a metaphor for the way humans and synthetic realities interact.
Poetics aside, Digital Domain did a solid job on the vfx. In addition to some amazing texture work, the lighting in the tunnel sequence and forest scene is simply beautiful. There are a couple minor moments when the CG feels a little too sharply pronounced against its analog backdrop, but on the whole it’s a seamless bit of work. Rinsch’s unchained camerawork and playful framing complement the subtly frenetic animation, balancing what might otherwise be an unadulterated orgy of CG. (Not that I’m completely opposed to CG orgies…)