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We are 20 seconds into the :30 “Nature of Discovery,” before it is revealed to us that this is an ad for the Yaamava Resort & Casino in San Bernardino, CA. Our journey begins in a mystical yet photoreal forest that gives way to the badlands, camera moving to magical touches like a butterfly “kissing” foliage in bloom. The flowers are hearts and clovers, which is a tipoff, but the spot evolves so seamlessly, even a redwood becomes a tower of poker chips without fanfare. A stream leads to a waterfall, and only then are we treated to the reels of a slot machine, spinning behind the water as if ordained by nature. Created by VITRO, with production and post by Haymaker VFX, “Nature of Discovery” marks a first in terms of its execution via a combination of Unreal Engine and traditional render methods. 

“We got off to a really good start and quickly earned trust with the creative team at VITRO,” recalled Haymaker Creative Director Magnus Engsfors, noting that the obvious challenge was to find material that matched the very specific criterias that the client had such as specific geographic locations, plants and animal species. “We knew right from the start that we would not be able to find these shots, especially not with the right camera angles, lighting and mood. The solution was to create these shots entirely in CG instead. That gave us total control of all the parameters like camera angles, lighting, reveal effects and much more, but also allowed us to involve the agency a lot more, giving them the ability to art-direct environments like forests and deserts, but also individual elements such as individual trees, plants and flowers in a way that would not have been possible if we would solely rely on live action footage.”

Beyond the creative solutions, Haymaker upped the ante in terms of workflow. “Using Unreal, we could make quick changes to lighting and layout and have almost instant updates,” said Lead Unreal Artist Henrik Skymne. “The quick update speed allowed for a lot more experimentation and fine tuning. At Haymaker, we constantly evolve and improve our workflow. We are not a big studio which allows us to have artists try out new roles, workflows, software etc, making sure we are always up to date on the latest techniques as well as very flexible as we can jump on many different types of challenges. The artists are almost all seniors with a great knowledge base which makes us efficient in what we do. We have known each other for so long, there is a great team spirit.”

With many shots both created and rendered in Unreal, Engsfors explained, “We really challenged ourselves when choosing this path as the end results had to look photo realistic, but the work created in Unreal also had to work together and blend seamlessly with simulations and other effects created in other softwares.” 

Reflecting on the finished product, said Engsfors, “It is obvious that tools like Unreal Engine are part of the future of our business, and we will continue to integrate real time tools in the future. It is already amazing to be able to provide services such as real time environment creation among other things. We are really excited to be at the forefront of technology when it comes to combining ‘traditional’ VFX work with real time-based solutions. It opens up a whole world of possibilities for working smarter and more effectively together with agencies and clients.”

About Haymaker VFX
Haymaker is a premiere visual effects studio based in Gothenburg, Sweden and in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 2008 by Alex Hansson, Haymaker has built a stellar reputation by consistently delivering the highest quality visual effects. Alex has assembled a team of artists who are devoted and passionate about their artistry, and the team has evolved into a tight-knit ensemble who genuinely enjoy creating together. Haymaker specializes in Animation, Design, and 2D/3D Visual Effects for Commercials, Feature Films and Digital Production.