Review
Memorable
Effective
Style
Heart or Humor
Execution
Epic
VFX-driven advertising
The Trailblazers, the new Heineken campaign, tells a story of a group of men on an epic journey through the city which they thought they knew. Led by one of the friends, they learn that being brave and open-minded pays back as it leads to unforgettable experiences, even in their own backyard. The advert was created by advertising agency Publicis Italy.
Directed by MJZ director Matthijs van Heijningen, “The Trailblazers” is an epic 90 seconds of VFX-driven advertising.
With six worlds in one commercial, the scale of CG and VFX craft in one commercial is immense, and the result highlights a truly creative partnership. Transporting four ordinary blokes at the beginning of a night out in New York to the world’s most extreme environments – from the summit of Mount Everest to outer Space – the film delivers explosions, atmosphere, and flying debris on an extraordinary level, along with Hollywood-inspired storytelling.
Creating so many different ‘worlds’ in one film saw our VFX teams working for more than three months to craft the visual feast – teams across London, Amsterdam and Bangalore worked collaboratively to pull it off. Just some of the tasks involved included building two entirely CG ships, which required extensive previs before the shoot itself, a spacecraft – which van Heijningen wanted to shoot up close – and a sequence where the guys scale Mount Everest with a Himalayas backdrop. Not forgetting the impressive feat of creating a 10,000-strong Roman army from a cast of 100 actors!
Heineken The Trailblazers TV commercial making of:
Carsten Keller, VFX Supervisor (CG) and MPC’s Head of 3D says: ‘It was incredible working with Publicis Italy and Matthijs van Heijningen on this epic commercial. This is a huge piece of work – we’re talking about six films in one, crafted by over 70 artists in over 90 days. The VFX scale speaks for itself, and that sort of creative achievement isn’t possible without true collaboration, but the story remains about the journey these guys go on together. We hope that people watching truly believe that they’re there, in those worlds.’
“The Heineken Trailblazers spot is a feature-film scale project with the level of craft it required”, says Dirk Riesenfeld, who led the VFX in our Amsterdam studio – where the entire compositing team for the epic spot is based. “It’s the type of project that every VFX artist wants to work on. Whilst immersing our audience into the extreme worlds – we had to keep reality at the front of people’s minds. Working with both the agency and the director was an absolute pleasure creatively and personally. I also feel lucky to have a strong creative team around me in both our Amsterdam studio and MPC teams around the globe.”
Cities is a global platform that encourages ‘Men of the World’ to cross their own borders to discover new experiences. The nature of Cities increases local relevance and gives Heineken the opportunity to connect and build meaningful connections with consumers in the place they know best – their city, whilst encouraging them to step out of their comfort zone to enjoy new experiences – Open Your City, Open Your World.
Credits:
Agency
Publicis Italy
Director
Matthijs van Heijningen
Production Company
MJZ
Global Chief Creative Officer Publicis WW
Bruno Bertelli
Executive Creative Director, Publicis Italy
Cristiana Boccassini
Executive Creative Directors, Publicis Milan
Luca Cinquepalmi, Marco Venturelli
Copywriter
Beatrice Mari
Art Director
Simone Di Laus
Producer
Alice Crovato
Executive Producer, MJZ
Helen Kenny
Producer, MJZ
Donald Taylor
Production Designer
Pirra Lorenzo
DoP
Chayse Irvin
Edit Company
Work Editorial
Editor
Jono Griffith
VFX
MPC
VFX Supervisor (CG)
Carsten Keller
VFX Supervisor (CG Ships)
Andreu Lucio Archs
VFX Supervisor (2D)
Dirk Riesenfeld
VFX Producer
Philip Whalley
CG Line Producer
Sandra Eklund
Line Producer
Deepanjali Singh
Production Assistant
Joanna Barcikowska
Grade
MPC