What Does Nicholas Hoult Have in His Villainous Lab?

After the success of Jaguar’s previous spot ‘Rendezvous’, award winning director Tom Hooper pulled out another showstopper in the form of ‘The Lab’, as part of Jaguar’s new ‘British Intelligence’ campaign which stars Nicholas Hoult. 

The campaign expands upon the premise that a Brits' charm, precision, and ambition have long made them the best villains in film, by adding that superior technology is also essential to great villainy.  

In the 90” spot, we are taken inside the Jaguar innovation lab by actor Nicholas Hoult, the "brains behind the villainous operation," as he showcases the cutting-edge technology of Jaguar vehicles.  

The Mill aided in bringing the innovation of Jaguar’s lab to life by incorporating a host of CG effects that highlight the engineering and technology under the hood of the newest Jaguar model line up.

The Mill’s VFX team worked to create 10 different types of CG car, which had to fit seamlessly into the live action shots. Each exterior and interior was faithfully reproduced as well as chassis and running gear components using CAD data supplied by Jaguar. The components were then animated to interact with Hoult as if they were 3D projections. 

The team were also involved in transporting Hoult from a green screen to the multi-layered villain’s hideout also seen in ‘Rendezvous’. This was achieved by shooting live action data and creating a number of fully 3D environments, then comping in Hoult and creating a series of smooth transitions from hallway to lab.