The Mill created a photoreal CG ‘Tear Drop’ for Audi, a collaboration with Venables Bell & Partners and Director AG Rojas of Park Pictures.
Using visual effects to make a compelling character out of the teardrop required strong teamwork between both 2D and 3D teams at The Mill.
Shoot Supervisor and 3D Lead Artist Simon Brown explains, “Giving a tear drop character is a tricky thing. It needs to feel totally organic, real and interesting, all while being creatively directable. One of our key decisions early on in post-production was to shoot a bunch of high frame rate reference footage of water droplets. We used a syringe and a high-powered air blower to get water droplets moving at all different speeds. From this wealth of footage, we found key moments where the droplet felt alive. And from these differing moments, where the droplet rushes forward, leaps a gap and holds for beat, we made select choices for each shot in the footage. This grounded approach enabled us to create a very directable heroic tear drop that always felt real, had a natural messiness to it, and most importantly, character.”
In addition to animating the liquid, the overall environment was enhanced with matte painting and a beautiful colour grade by Gregory Reese.