Glassworks were thrilled to collaborate with Glasgow-based agency Bright Signals on this campaign for Edinburgh Gin, directed by Duncan Malcolm, London’s Creative Director.

As a first foray into TV and moving-image advertising for the boutique gin brand, this film was ambitious in the extreme. It takes us on a fantastical journey told through one single reversing camera-move, through two live-action nightlife scenes woven into a fantastical CGI world of rhubarb forests, ginger meteors and beautiful cityscapes created by the Glassworks VFX team.

Starting with pitch-phase storyboards and swiftly moving onto comprehensive 3D pre-visualisation, the team ran virtual camera development alongside casting and location scouting so that live action footage would always fit perfectly into the dynamic and precisely designed move. Lighting, choreography, product placement and transitions were all planned precisely to ensure a smooth flowing journey and a successful evening shoot that had to be wrapped in under 3 hours with all boxes ticked!

Avoiding the cost and practical limitations of motion control, live action cameras and objects were tracked precisely in 3D and stitched to virtual cameras in post, slotting seamlessly into a pre-determined journey via slight adjustments to timing and positioning where required.

Fields of flowers, rhubarb, ginger, Edinburgh’s cityscape and the pack range itself were meticulously recreated in photo-real CGI to populate the ‘wonder-filled’ world of flavour, and tracked and composited carefully into the live action footage so that the ‘joins’ become imperceptible.

The result is a film with a form that elicits a sense of unfolding magic and possibility, and delivers a brand message speaking the language of natural ingredients, buzzing nightlife and wonderment. Enjoy!