Mercedes-Benz - Sculpture

Mercedes-Benz surprised the Detroit Motor Show with an abstract sculpture of a car. Together we developed an elegant and fascinating video for the presentation of the sculpture that not only reflects the development process but also highlights the aesthetic language of the object.

Sculpture

The sculpture shows an abstract vehicle body materialising out of a level and forming the silhouette of a car in an artistically exaggerated manner.
For the presentation video, we used the unique high-speed motion control camera ‘Spike’ to record slow-motion shots. In these shots, real and digital elements, textures and abstract objects interact with the sculpture that is increasingly materialising into a complete, aesthetically pleasing object.

WQuote 01 MBenz Sculpture

Our designers translate their artistic designs into the aesthetic language of the vehicles of Mercedes-Benz, uniting dramatic details with harmony, style and passion.

Professor Gorden Wagener,
Head of Design
Daimler AG

Process

Our role

We managed the entire production process from conception and design development to film and music production. The time pressure was critical: we had just two days left for the pitch. Nevertheless, we presented an impressive mood video with music composed in-house.

The challenge

The aesthetic language of the sculpture had to be visualised in the most emotional and aesthetic way possible. The idea to describe a shape by having other objects interact with its alignment arose. This should look as real and natural as possible. But how do you let water, pearls and fire interact with a three-metre long object?

The solution

A miniature 1:4 scale model of the sculpture manufactured by the Mercedes-Benz design centre helped us bringing all our visions to life. ‘Spike’, the world’s fastest motion control robot from The Marmalade, was used to perform camera movements even during high-speed shooting at between 500 and 1,000 frames per second. After the shoot, we post-processed and finalised the video in just two weeks.

Action! Cut! - Making of

In a high-speed shoot, every take is over as soon as it has begun. However, it took just two seconds to produce enough material to fill 90 seconds of video at normal speed. The fascinating: in slow motion, trivial movements such as pearls rolling along an object gain their own special aspect.

Awards

DDC Award Silver

New York Festivals Award Silver and Bronze