The Briefing Room

SANTA MONICA, CA, October 14, 2008 – We all witnessed amazing feats of skill and strength in this year’s Olympic games, and certainly the swimming competition was a standout. It is fitting, then, that BMW “Efficient Dynamics”, for which Eight VFX created sophisticated motion graphics and more, compares the features of the new BMW Series 3 to the form and function of a competitive swimmer.

Eight VFX Executive Producer Baptiste Andrieux described the project as a team effort, and “an intensive project” that involved significant concept development. “We worked closely with BMW engineers to understand the automotive technology and conducted a number of design tests,” said Andrieux. Eight also provided on-set VFX supervision in Oregon, where the spot was shot.BMW – GSIBMW – BER

The company’s standout graphics convey such features as: the Series 3′s Gear Shift Indicator, which – in manual transmission – lets the driver know when to shift gears for maximum power and consumption efficiency;

BMW HPIBreak Energy Regeneration, an innovative system through which the wheels create energy sent back to to the car’s battery when you remove your foot from the gas or brake pedal;

and High Precision Injection, providing better injection to harness more power using less fuel.

The project reunites Eight VFX with director Joseph Kahn, who helmed HP “Jerry Seinfeld”, which required the marriage of motion graphics to live action. Eight’s work on that and other spots in the HP campaign earned the company great acclaim. “We were excited to be approached with this project,” Andrieux explained. “This is the first time we have integrated motion graphics into automotive advertising, something that is becoming increasingly in demand.”

All of BMW’s advertising agencies competed for the honor of creating the new international campaign for BMW’s Series 3. Interone Beijing emerged victorious with “Efficient Dynamics”, airing now in 27 countries. “We were very aware of the significance of this project to the client,” Andrieux concluded. “We embraced the challenge and everyone seems quite pleased with the final product.”

Client: BMW

Spot Title: “Efficient Dynamics-Swim”

Agency: Interone Beijing
Executive Creative Director: Georg Warga
Producer: Rolf Tomaschko
Production Company: Telemaz/HSI
Director: Joseph Kahn
EP Telemaz: Jürgen Bertrams
EP HSI: Michael McQuhae
Producer HSI: Richard Weager
Producer Telemaz: Andrea Schrul

DP: Chris Probst
Editor: David Blackburn

Visual Effects Company: Eight VFX

VFX Supervisor: Jean-Marc Demmer
VFX EP: Baptiste Andrieux
VFX AD: Yann Mallard
VFX Producer: Marsi Frey
Motion Designer: Nathan Boldman, Amalia Luyet McMahan
CG Lead: Fred Hopp
Senior Compositor: Stefan Gaillot
Compositor: Nicolas Cadorette Vigneau, Joe Chiao
CG Artists: Mark Wurts, Julien Forest, Yvain Gnabro, Chien-I Kao, Mathias Jourdes, Shuichi Nakahara
Technical Direction: Yannick Leblanc
Tracking: Jason Wesche
Roto Artist: Marianne Magne