McLaren vs Aerodynamics

Brand Film

McLaren set us quite a challenge: to showcase the P12 concept car without having access to the car itself. Our solution was to combine long exposure photography and stop-frame animation, to create a totally unique and dramatic visual experience.

Using wind tunnel airflow data supplied by McLaren, we created an animation of light trails in VFX that formed the shape of the car. These were sliced into 650 frames to represent different 3D depths within the space. A plasma screen, mounted on a motion-control rig was then used as a 3D light printer. This played back the 650 slices as it moved through the space, all captured in a single long-exposure photograph to create the outline of the car.

We repeated the move a thousand times, moving the camera a few millimeters each time. The film is a tantalising teaser of the car, as light travels over its seemingly invisible form.