Consumers 'Coupe' their lives with Stardust

Alan Bibby-Directed Interactive Feature Bridges the Sedan and Coupe Worlds of the All-New C-Class 

 

Innovative creative studio Stardust collaborated with the digital visionaries at Razorfish to create an interactive campaign for Mercedes-Benz USA. Directed by Stardust's Alan Bibby, the rich visual narrative engages Internet viewers to explore the two latest Mercedes C-Class models - the all-new 2012 Sedan and Coupe. With a swoop of the cursor, layers of the sedan or coupe are artfully peeled back to expose various features of the elegant luxury vehicles. 

 

Razorfish enlisted Stardust to create visuals for an interactive online experience that would illustrate that the difference between a Mercedes-Benz Coupe and Sedan is much more than the simple removal of two doors— it’s a complete lifestyle change. The result is a set of identical interactive films featuring fully CG cars and stylized environments woven into one experience that lets viewers shift between a Sedan lifestyle and its ‘Couped’ counterpart.
 

After fleshing out the concept, Stardust shot the live components of the very technical spot in one day. The driver was filmed in each car using motion control and the exact same lighting wearing different clothing specific to each lifestyle. With the help of Paris-based visual effects, animation and motion design studio, Mathematic, Stardust created and animated the CG elements that showcased two completely different – yet identical – worlds. Razorfish then programmed the components to gracefully interact resulting in two, seamlessly bridged, one-minute long spots that highlight the sedan’s sophistication with daytime driving and contrast the coupe’s adventurous spirit, which is shown taking to the streets at night. Stardust’s work also included the creation of video components based on the interactive film for television, theater, showroom and online viewing. 

This tale of two vehicles can be experienced now on the Mercedes-Benz website:

http://www.mbusa.com/mercedes/vehicles/class/class-C/bodystyle-CPE/campaign-CCOUPE#/flash/home

 

“Developing this visually driven, cohesive storytelling experience really pushed us out of the usual spectrum of work we’ve done in the past and challenged us technically with the need for more sophisticated visual effects,” said Bibby. “Every frame of animation had to be perfect since viewers can conceivably stop the action at any moment during the transformations, so none of the usual blurs or cheats apply. It was a massive labor of love with an amazingly talented team and everyone involved really poured all their energy into making this project as great as it could be.”

 

“As a creative, it’s incredibly freeing to not be tied to just one medium and instead approach each job in whatever way makes sense,” said Stardust founder and Creative Director Jake Banks. “Our work on projects like this allows us to showcase our production chops across platforms. We have a design background but can produce high-quality VFX work and even bring our experience as directors, creative directors and designers to whatever the concept requires.”

 

 

CREDITS

Production Company: Stardust Studios

Director/Creative Director: Alan Bibby

Executive Producer: Josh Libitsky

Senior Producer: Ryan McRee

Assistant Producer: Will Arnold

Lead Design: Aaron Maurer

Designers: Ian Densford, Kaya Ono, Sarah Ancalmo, Diana Park, Neil Tsai, Bomi Jin, Mike Tello

Storyboards: Glenn Urieta, Will Rosado

Transformation Animation: Mathematic

Technical Director: Mark Rohrer

3D Animation: Kevin Couture, Ylli Orana, Weihchieh Yu, Vinh Chung, Kyle Anderson, Atsuki Hirose, Hai Ho

Matte Painting: Martin Boksar

Lead Comp: Tonya Smay

Compositors/Animators: Chris West, Sohee Sohn, Theo Daley, Fabian Tejada, Laura Lee, Andrew Hawryluk

Editor: Andrew Borin

Music: Expansion Team

 

Tech:

Tech Lead: Mike Barrett, Jibi Scaria

Flash Lead: Andy Dremeaux

Front End Architect: Andrew Babaian

Front End Developer: Kris Meister

Project Manager: Justin Wallace

 

Creative:

Sr. Art Director: Sam Luchini

Sr. Copy Writer: Roger Baran

Producer: Kim Cortese

Designer: Derek Harms