In ‘Lift Off’, Local Boy Conveys Freedom and Exhilaration for Cadillac
In Cadillac's ‘Lift Off’ spot, an elegant line is drawn between creativity and real-life creatives - an artist, a stylist, a painter - and the exhilarating feeling of freedom that comes with being behind the wheel of a new electric Cadillac. ‘Lift Off’ intersperses montages of the creatives in action practising their skills with sleek shots of the car; static, driving, and even the feeling of flying. The mood is inspirational and dreamy throughout the ad directed by Josh Hayward.
Local Boy’s executive producers Scott Dodoro and Linda Lim tell LBB that an LED stage was utilised during production to make it look like people were floating through the air as the team worked meticulously to ensure that the blend between the live action reality and the LED stage was seamless. Linda notes that it’s “all about maintaining a consistent visual style. It’s always best to use the same camera, lenses, and camera movements to keep the visual language cohesive” when creating on an LED volume stage. The setting also provided actors with visual stimuli to respond to, just like a real location and unlike a green screen, aiding in more naturalistic performances.
Below, Linda and Scott tell LBB all about the benefits of having LED volume stages as a production option - without holding back on its limitations; bringing the creative idea to life in a short amount of time; and why the technology will only keep getting better.
LBB> Linda and Scott, what was your initial vision heading into the project, and to what extent does it align with the finished film?
Linda> We set out to capture the heightened sense of freedom that artists experience when they're in a state of flow, mirroring the exhilaration of driving an electric Cadillac. The film features real artists from around the world, such as painter Kate Nova and stylist Alexander-Julian, each portrayed with a fluid visual language. Our guiding vision was to evoke the pure emotion of being in the moment – like driving with the windows down and feeling as if you're taking flight. The sequences towards the end of the film tie together all these activities – creating, driving, and flying – with a swirling camera and matching motion, encapsulating the spirit of freedom and creativity we aimed to convey.
Scott> Our original shoot took place in Phoenix for Cadillac and featured real creators but we filmed for an additional day for more opportunity to film from a pursuit arm car and FPV aerial drone to capture more dynamic flyovers and the shots you see. We knew some additional lifestyle would likely accompany this.
LBB> Please help us out - which shots in this ad were actually filmed in front of an LED wall? It’s hard to tell!
Linda> The interior driving shots of the woman in red, including her getting into the vehicle, and the driving shots of the man in yellow were all filmed on the LED stage. Additionally, the scenes where both of them are flying through the air—whether in close-up or wide shots—were also done in front of the LED wall. It's great to hear it’s hard to tell, as that seamless blend was exactly what we were aiming for!
LBB> For the shots which were filmed on-location, what was the scouting process like? What kind of spaces were you looking for?
Scott> At the time this was needing to be filmed we needed a warmer weather climate and a unique atmosphere for Cadillac so we embraced a desert modern feel for the home studio and two lane desert road for driving right after sunrise.
LBB> When you’re working with actors, are there any ways in which you change up your approach when filming in front of the LED wall versus on-location?
Linda> The core of directing actors stays the same, focusing on authentic performances. However, filming in front of an LED wall has its perks and slight adjustments: The biggest advantage on this shoot was that, unlike green screens, the LED wall lets actors see the environment of a scene, enabling them to react more naturally. For instance, when the woman in red was flying through the air, she found something interesting on the horizon to look at as she flew past. This created a natural head turn and engagement with the landscape, which worked beautifully in the final cut.
The LED wall also provides stable lighting, helping actors maintain continuity in their emotional flow without the distractions of changing light conditions. It allowed the actors to explore and build to the right emotion in the driving scenes during ‘magic hour’ without worrying about the sun getting too high.
Overall, working with actors on an LED stage is like bridging the gap between green screens and real locations. It offers the control of a traditional stage while giving actors an environment they can emotionally engage with and react to, supporting their performances.
LBB> When it comes to blending on-location filming with virtual production elements, how do you ensure that there’s a seamless transition between both?
Scott> This is where Linda and her team did a masterful job. We didn’t take stills on site to share for replication in Unreal Engine. They were able to look through our original source footage and create a road, desert, mountain and sun positions to very closely match our footage in Phoenix.
Linda> Seamless transition is all about maintaining a consistent visual style. That’s made possible by using the same camera, lenses, and camera movements to keep the visual language cohesive and creating realistic virtual elements that match the texture, scale, and behaviour of the real-world landscapes. We replicated the lighting conditions from the real-world shots in the virtual environment, like consistent light and shadow interaction.
In post-production, we employ precise colour grading and compositing techniques to unify the footage. This includes matching colour temperatures, adjusting shadows and highlights, and ensuring a consistent depth of field across all elements.
LBB> What was the biggest challenge you ran into during production, and how did you overcome it?
Linda> The biggest challenge we faced during production was maintaining our fluid visual language, which involved a lot of rotation and Dutch rolls, in the tight space of a vehicle on the LED stage. We had established this free-flowing style on the arm car shoot and wanted to keep it consistent for the interior driving shots.
To achieve this, we needed to find a way to replicate the same dynamic camera movement inside the car. It was tricky because the space was more confined. We explored several options during prep and ultimately landed on using a Ronin 2 on a slider with a Force Pro controller. This setup allowed us to mimic the Dutch roll of a fluid head while keeping the camera build compact enough to manoeuvre inside the vehicle. Using this rig, we were able to capture the same sweeping, wind-like POV shots that we had established in the exterior scenes, maintaining the seamless visual style that was crucial to the project.
LBB> How much easier does having access to LED volumes make shoots like this?
Scott> I would say it's not easier, but the technology opens up new opportunities as we can literally recreate environments and pause the time of day, and then film the woman in red for eight hours at sunset, instead of 45 minutes if it were on the real life location.
Linda> Having access to LED volumes can significantly streamline the production process, especially for complex and challenging shots, and particularly for automotive shoots. For example, in the scene where the actress is floating in a harness, an LED stage provides a safer and more comfortable environment. Actors can perform their stunts without the risks associated with on-location shoots, and the crew can work in a stable setting, minimising the chance of accidents. The controlled environment also eliminates issues like weather and the complexities of coordinating road locations and real-world traffic, allowing for more consistency, creative freedom, and faster turnaround times.
We believe in this technology so much that we launched our own state-of-the-art virtual production studio called ‘Studio X Beyond’ located in Bangkok, Thailand. Now, we collaborate with other filmmakers and content creators looking for a hybrid approach that addresses production challenges such as weather variables, executing impossible sequences, or creating sci-fi/fantasy environments. By leveraging our LED volume stage, we provide solutions that address both time and creative challenges for production companies and agencies.
Virtual production is not just a trend; it's a game-changer. It offers unmatched control over the filming environment, seamlessly integrating CGI and real-world elements. This technology enables filmmakers to produce high quality content at a faster pace while unlocking limitless storytelling possibilities.
LBB> How often do you expect you’ll be using them in the future?
Scott> Currently, LED volumes are used when you can’t possibly be in this many locations in a single day, from a snowy mountain top to a sandy beach. With that said, ‘Lift Off’ is a great example of how smaller, tighter, lifestyle and interior shots can seamlessly extend what was captured on location and match perfectly.
LBB> And finally, are there any instances where you’d still prefer not to use LED volumes?
Linda> For scenes requiring extensive interaction with natural elements shooting on location might provide a more immersive experience and scenes involving hundreds of actors or extras may not fit well within the available LED stage size.
But it really comes down to the creative brief and our collaboration with clients in the early part of the pre-production phase. Typically, clients bring us in early during the creative process to advise on potential creative technology solutions. We’re very transparent about situations where an on-location shoot is a better fit given the scope. Our goal is to provide expert guidance on all aspects of virtual production, ICVFX, and the virtual art department (VAD), tailored to the project's unique needs, ensuring the best possible outcome.
Scott> Currently, running footage driving along a road and a POV camera spinning or converging overhead can’t be replicated using an LED volume. So while state of the art visual effects companies could likely get really close, it would come at a cost 10x times or more of the production. LED volumes have limitations too, ; such as difficulties with wider shots and lenses, and the inability to achieve a full 360-degree view or look up and down, confining the creative possibilities. With that said it is amazing what can be done and it's only going to keep getting better. I think ‘Lift Off’ was a perfect execution of how and why it could add on to running footage.
