Expertly Blending Live Action with CGI for NIO EC7

For the release of their latest model, EC7, Chinese electric car manufacturer NIO called upon Taylor James to create a dynamic blend of full CGI and live action footage to bring the concept of “Elegance is Power” to life. 

The creative production studio was responsible for all aspects of the overall production, including live-action shoot production, CGI production, CG vehicle replacement, sound design, and post-production.

The 60” spot opens on a normal ‘day in the life’ of a couple preparing for an event, as the new NIO EC7 is revealed to the viewer. A series of close ups introduce the design of the new model, before the electric vehicle is seen racing through the cityscape and gracefully arriving at its final destination.

To find out more about how this project came together, LBB speaks with creative director David Cox and executive producer Frederik Soares who take us through their holistic approach on this ambitious work. 

LBB> What was the brief from the client and what were your initial ideas?

David> The brief from the client was to produce CGI footage of the new NIO EC7 to compliment the live action portion of the film.

Frederik> The client came to us with a creative vision and wanted to have our collaboration, and team’s expertise, to develop a production approach that could seamlessly combine full CGI environments, vehicle replacement CGI, and live-action. The actual vehicle would never be available and the agency needed to understand what was, and was not, possible within the time and budget constraints of the project. 

LBB> How did the concepts develop from there?

David> We ended up collaborating closely with the agency advising them when and where we felt CGI could be used and producing smart and creative solutions to tell the story effectively.

Frederik> There were multiple iterations of the story and approach as we worked towards executing the creative idea and purpose of the film. We collaborated with the agency to develop everything from global location options for the live action production to which specific sequences could be created as full CGI. The whole process was about finding a balance between what could be captured as live action and what should be done as CGI to find the sweet spot for time and budget. Then, of course, we needed to work together with the agency, director, and client to execute the many facets of production. 

LBB> You were responsible for all aspects of the overall production, including live-action, CGI, CG vehicle replacement, sound design, and post-production. What were the benefits of having a holistic view over the project and what were some of the challenges that came with it?

David> Having a holistic view over the project allowed us to effectively make decisions. Say we needed more complex CG in one scene, we could produce a smart and economical solution elsewhere. It also allowed us to control the look and feel of the footage throughout the project and develop a pipeline where we could efficiently implement client feedback.

Frederik> Additionally, from a time and budget perspective, being able to manage all aspects of the production allowed us to find many efficiencies and circumvent redundant costs and staff that might come up when using multiple vendors.  

LBB> For the garage scene, you built a CG location using a large LED TV and then rendered footage out of one of your Unreal Engine built cities. How did you manage to seamlessly blend this with the live action content? 

David> Actually, we built an entire CG location for the garage scene which allowed us full flexibility in terms of lighting, cameras, action. We then also paired that with a real location that closely matched the CG location, these two were then seamlessly integrated in post.

The large LED TV was used to capture driving footage of the talent in the car. We animated cameras through a city in Unreal with the correct type of lighting and approximate camera angles. Then we projected it up on the LED screen and supplemented it with some practical lights to create a realistic looking result.

LBB> What was the most technically difficult part to achieve?

David> Most of the technical issues were met during the storyboard phase. We had to work out what shots the client wanted vs what they could afford. Once the storyboard was all buttoned up it was just a matter of execution.

Frederik> The technically difficult parts were mostly planned and accounted for in the storyboard phase. A major benefit of us being involved in the process from the start is we are able to guide the creative towards the path of least resistance (from a technical perspective) while also being able to set up our pipeline and team structures at a very early stage. 

During the storyboard phase, we were able to advise and steer the agency and client towards solutions that provided them the most creative and dynamic film within their available timeline and budget. Of course, there were absolutely difficult moments from planning and executing the live action shoot in a very compressed timeline (with last minute changes to casting, wardrobe and locations) to developing, and maintaining consistency through multiple full CGI builds using different pipelines and separate teams. 

LBB> What are you most proud of achieving on this project and why?

David> It was truly a full collaboration from start to finish. Personally, I found it incredibly rewarding to work with so many talented people. This is a project I will always look back on as a career highlight.

Frederik> I am most proud of how this project came together with our global team and how well the collaboration with the agency, director, and client went. It was a demanding timeline with high expectations for the final film, without all parties being as involved and as collaborative as they were this would not have been possible. This was a massive success due to the talented artists involved in all stages of the project, but also the immense attention to detail from the production team, from pre-production to final delivery. Being able to coordinate and manage all aspects of the production including the live action, CGI, edit, grade, and sound across multiple time zones, and countries, while maintaining the schedule and budget is a massive accomplishment in addition to the creative quality of the film. 

LBB> Any other interesting creative or production insight you would like to add?

David> From a production standpoint this was truly a global project, with production being carried out in Italy, Germany, London, New York, Los Angeles, and Mexico.