RAM Presentation at NAIAS

Director Vladimír Jedlička from the Mandrake agency, who has been collaborating with us for many years now, has called on us one again to team up for a technologically-demanding job: a presentation for FCA at the world-renowned auto show NAIAS in Detroit, USA, showcasing and launching their new RAM models. Jan Rybář, VFX Supervisor and Partner at PFX, together with Production Manager Klára Petršova, guide us through the entire creative process.  

Jan Rybář – VFX Supervisor and Partner

What was the general concept for the presentation?

JR: The concept was set in stone and involved showcasing RAM vehicles in typical environments for pickup trucks. The aim of the presentation was to showcase the towing capacity of these vehicles, which can handle anything from concrete rings to a tractor or even a yacht.

What were the specs for this concept?

JR: It was executed in a clever manner: the environment was digitally crafted and rotated together with the vehicle. The environments changed depending on the function being showcased as well as the different towing capabilities.

Klára Petršová – Production Manager

How many environments did you create?

KP: We created a total of five environments.

Was PFX responsible for the entire creative process?

JR: We had a general idea of how the environments were supposed to look. We had mood boards for some of them but we made them all entirely from scratch in 3D. You could say that the creative component was mostly up to us.

Is this standard procedure?

JR: One of our biggest assets is that we offer solutions for challenges such as this one. Clients give us the freedom to create visual concepts which elevate their ideas. And this is why they always come back to us.

The project was quite demanding from a technical point of view…

JR: What was interesting about this project was that we worked in an enormous resolution. The screen which was used for the presentation consisted of numerous LED panels, meaning we delivered our output in a resolution of 12 500 pixels. Additionally, we had to deliver these outputs using a special codec that we don’t usually work with. To our advantage, we had worked with FCA on similar, large-resolution projects in the past, and so we knew what to expect.

How long did it take to render the project?

JR: We prepared ten minutes of content, meaning we spent 14 days continuously rendering in total. We prepared the outputs in layers, as the client showcased the towing functions on constantly changing environments.

How long did this project take in total?

KP: For projects of this caliber there is never a lot of time. We had one month in total – for the creative process, execution, and rendering. On top of that, the project had to be delivered by the given deadline, as NAIAS would not have waited for us. Everything went smoothly and we didn’t deliver the project at the last minute-which can very well happen with this type of work.

JR: I’d also like to add that this wasn’t our first time working on a presentation of this type-which helped a lot. I can confidently say that we have truly mastered our craft here.