Drive have supported naval architects and yacht manufacturers with their digital modelling and marketing imagery and animations.
We have always shared the expertise and methodologies gained in automotive design with other product and transportation studios. Our aim is to provide a quality service, building our reputation of bringing real value to new clients. All knowledge gained from other industries is then incorporated into our work flows and brings benefit to all our clients across all sectors.
Within the field of visualisation alone effects and techniques that were once considered ‘specialist’, time consuming and expensive are now more accessible that we can now use them on a day to day basis. Adapting to new hardware, software and workflows is always worthwhile and for this yacht animation we’ve used fluid and cloth simulation, photogrammetry re-creating real coastline and HDRI lighting to fully capture the mood of the sunset.
This integration of techniques is a viable route to location shoots without the need to take the real product to a remote location.
Working with yacht manufacturers’ marketing teams as well as supporting brokers, naval architects and yacht design consultancies, is an enjoyable experience allowing our creative team to work on projects without 4 wheels.
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Drive recently demonstrated VR at our studio to a number of our clients.
Attendees were able to experience virtual reality environments created for design review, new yacht interiors and as well as walk around and sit in virtual vehicles.
Drive have been creating both Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) applications for automotive and transportation clients, drawing on our experience of design, digital modelling and high quality CG imaging techniques.
Recent Projects have included a VR train interior for a b2b exhibition, an AR App for the MG SUV launch, car configurator and a b2b sales and promotional App for Mirus Aircraft Seating.
Our creative team embrace these immersive technologies because Virtual Reality as a storyteller, has the power to connect, communicate and engage audiences by enabling them to experience a story in a way no other media can.
Virtual reality is something that is allowing design teams to develop concepts quicker and resolve issues earlier and here at the Drive Studio we now have a fantastic Virtual Reality design set up to which we are all becoming accustomed to using in our day to day work.
So how have we facilitated the use of the VR set up within the studio? We are always finding new ways to use it, but within the realms of being a beneficial tool rather than being a slave to it. A good example is this Bugatti concept , that enables us to show off the benefits of using VR to our automotive clients.
Projects like this are an important to everyone at Drive, with our passion for automotive design and especially for anything that goes fast is in our DNA. With the initial concept penned everyone was unable to resist getting involved with something as extreme as this. The team worked together to design, resolve and refine the concept simultaneously combining our work flows through Photoshop, Alias and VR.
The use of VR is a great tool to check the design through the modelling development process and helps both modeller and designer. An instant tool at our finger tips that allowed us to critique and rapidly develop the concept, producing a better result in a quicker time frame. As a tool VR makes you aware of the digital model issues you normally only realise when you are standing in front of a full scale clay. I am a firm believer in the development of a physical model, and VR is a benefit to allow any studio to start physical modelling stage from a more advanced point, speeding up the process and saving time.
We use various systems from Autodesk VRED, Unreal Engine and Unity to create the Virual Reality experiences. We will be very pleased to discuss your requirements and support your adoption of the technology into your work flow.
CGI animations can be used to help promote a car manufacturer’s products, and this article outlines the process.
Following a briefing, deciding on the objectives of the piece and its intended audience, we work out a story board and get sign off.
On this occasion with the South Downs so close we scouted a location and found a spot that was quiet, allowing plenty of freedom to experiment without interruption. A whole day was spent taking reference shots of the area, trying different lenses and really exploring the road and surroundings, finding interesting angles that would suit the car we had chosen to animate, and shots for the live footage backgrounds. We then refined the storyboard, taking in to consideration the final scene, environment and sun positions, and planned the shoot for the next day.
Weather conditions can cause chaos when shooting out doors, heavy cloud cover combined with strong winds can make it difficult to get consistency in lighting, especially when shooting HDRI domes. Working to our shoot timing plan, we worked through our programme taking back plates, HDRI domes and reflection plates and a few reference shots of cars driving up the road. We now had all the material required to create our animation.
Using our camera tracking software, we captured the back plate camera movement and gathered information that could be used to construct the virtual environment and most importantly, the road surface. Often overlooked it is important to make sure the road surface is defined accurately as the interaction of the car with this surface helps make the movement believable. A simple lighting dome would not be suitable for a moving car over distance so we mapped our stitched HDRI light capture to the environment geometry, regularly checking the effect from various camera shots to ensure realism.
The chosen car data set was then animated using our in house automotive rig. Additional lighting was added for specific shadowing and a number of render tests were carried out to match light levels and motion blur in keeping with the back plate. Multiple passes were rendered for the final composition and depth of field and subtle reflective glow were added to help sit the car in the scene. Finally, a little grading was added to the composition for a warmer finish.
Every shot created is different and every car has certain angles that show it off at its best, Drive’s team of creative visualisers and automotive designers combine to create and ensure great results.
This year’s degree show is the last of the MA Vehicle Design course before it changes to MA Intelligent Mobility. Over the decades many of the Vehicle Design students have been taken on by leading manufacturers and consultancies, progressing to the top of their chosen speciality and going on to become leading figures in the industry.
The private view is an opportunity for former students, their colleagues and friends to view the latest graduates’ projects and catch up in a relaxed environment, with this year seeing a large number in attendance. The exhibition location in the Stevens Building with it’s large rooms and high ceilings allowed viewers space to stand back and appreciate the work, with the view of Queensgate a perfect backdrop.
The project quality is extremely high across all students, a second visit required to truely appreciate the depth of thought and the design details in all the projects.
Click here to see more photos of the work
23 June 2018 to 1 July 2018 – Stevens Building RCA Kensington Gore London SW7 2EU
As a footnote to this piece, it is 20 years since I attended my first RCA automotive degree show as the director of Drive. One of the students exhibiting his work that evening was Andrew Jones MA RCA (below), we later employed him and I am proud to say he is still a valued member of Drive.
