“We keep following the same old design rules. Imagine if we could start again with a blank canvas.”

Directed by Nicolai Fuglsig, Ford Kuga’s new ad invites us to start over and enjoy this life-as-art spectacle. Nicolai’s challenge was to convey the freedom, imagination and ingenuity involved in creating the Ford Kuga. A canvassed city, representing infinite opportunities, illustrated both the directors and agency’s vision for the concept. The 60”, 40” and 30”versions reached an expected audience of 360 million on its first air, during the Champions League final.

The ad was produced by Nell Jordan and Emma Wilcockson through MJZ and Lyn Woodcraft at Ogilvy.

Prior to the main shoot, MPC’s VFX team surveyed the location, gathering detailed data in order to reconstruct the streets featured in the film.

Working closely with Production Designer Jeremy Hindle, it was determined which areas of the set would be covered in real canvas (nearly 55,000 sq feet were ultimately used) and which would be added digitally in Post. The approach remained flexible throughout the shoot and extensive planning of each shot with Nicolai allowed complete freedom of camera direction. ‘Blank Canvas’ was shot over four days in Universal Studios’ backlot in Los Angeles, CA.

MPC’s team created accurate models of the backlot using in-house image-based modelling software ISIS. These were then covered in canvas and rendered in Maya using Mental Ray. Particular attention was given to ‘dressing’ the set with small, everyday details to give the city a more believable feel. The canvas elements were enhanced with digital matte painting and composited into the live action plates using Flame and Shake.

Extensive rotoscoping was carried out to integrate the live action people and subtle optical and environmental effects were added to enhance the piece.

A master grade was added by Jean-Clement Soret.