The brilliance of creating a genius landed The Mill London the number one slot in this quarter’s Visual Effects/Animation Top Ten Chart.
For Smart Energy Great Britain, The Mill was tasked with re-creating a digital version of Albert Einstein using performance capture and CGI. A team of VFX artists developed bespoke software and creative pipelines to ensure the photo-real digital avatar of Einstein was as high fidelity and realistic as possible. Using cutting edge 4D volumetric capture technology to record the performance of an actor, subtle facial performances and intricate details were then recreated in CGI, before the team meticulously groomed each hair, wrinkle and eye detail on the CGI model.
Smart Energy GB enlisted Einstein’s support in this spot for its “Join the Energy Revolution” campaign out of AMV BBDO London. Einstein is transported from the 1950s to the present day for the campaign. He is amazed by some of the innovations that have happened since his lifetime but cannot understand why Britain has not sufficiently advanced its energy system.
In this integrated campaign, a series of ads across TV, YouTube, social, radio and print, Einstein explains smart meters’ personal and environmental benefits in his own charming way.
With live-action directed by Rocky Morton of MJZ, this launch spot titled “Einstein’s Bath” is designed to introduce Einstein to the audience, connect him memorably to smart meters, and land the core messaging about upgrading critical infrastructure.
A convincing avatar
Alex Hammond, head of 3D at The Mill in London, commented, “Tasked with the exciting but hugely ambitious ask of re-creating a digital version of Einstein, we had to create a unique and groundbreaking visual effects pipeline in order to create an avatar that was truly convincing. Our visual effects team, including facial shape experts, spent months researching and developing a robust toolset so we could convincingly portray the nuances of Einstein’s personality. We used cutting edge 4D volumetric capture technology to capture the performance of an actor. This was then used to re-create subtle facial performances and intricate details in CGI. We developed a bespoke system at The Mill to process and export facial data, before our team meticulously groomed each hair, wrinkle and eye detail on the CGI model.”
Matt Swinburne, creative director at AMV BBDO, said, “Who better to convince Britain to get smart meters than the smartest man to ever live? Creating full CGI humans is very challenging, and we were lucky to have the Mill’s magic to pull it off. We hope the charming genius will make people smile and make that call to their energy suppliers.”
Chris Taggart, director of marketing at Smart Energy GB, said, “There is no greater ambassador for modern technology than Albert Einstein. We hope the public really enjoy seeing his wit and humor touchingly brought back for this campaign. He reminds us that while we have started to embrace smart technology in many areas of our lives, our energy system has fallen behind. He reminds the British public that smart meters will help to modernize our national energy system, and encourages them to get one installed and get Britain energy fit for the future.”
Yishai M. Fraenkel, VP and director general at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem–which holds personality rights for Einstein–said, “Albert Einstein was ever-curious about innovation and ways to improve the world through technology. He had a fascination with new, innovative, yet simple and straightforward technology. Being a great humanist, he cared for the planet’s well-being and its inhabitants. It is a great opportunity to bring him into millions of homes through the use of modern CGI technology, supporting the values behind this campaign.”
Click here for the full quarterly Top Ten VFX/Animation Chart
