The Mill and BBH China collaborate on an undefinable campaign for Audi A7 in China

The Mill Director Andrew Proctor collaborated with BBH China and Gwantsi Production to launch ‘Undefinable’ for the Audi A7; the agency’s first campaign for the automotive brand.

The spot follows a driver’s fluid course through a series of hanging installations. Each animated wave symbolizes a different trait of success, resulting in a visual representation of a characteristic shared by consumer and vehicle: they’re both ‘Undefinable’.

Proctor and the team at The Mill began carefully planning their execution of the CG animated objects prior to shooting.

Proctor explains, “Along with storyboards and previsualization, we also ran lots of animation tests and style frames. It was important to know what the installation elements would look like together and how it would all move cohesively.”

VIEW THE SPOT

The live-action shoot then took place in an exhibition hall in Shanghai. The main challenge on set was that the installation didn’t actually exist – this still had to be created in CG – so they choreographed the blocking of the shots based on how they envisioned the final installation.

The wave animation was completed by carrying out many tests and trials to perfect the speed of the car (shot at 10 miles per hour), relative to the number of hanging objects and the way in which they came together.

“It was a wonderful experience working with BBH Shanghai to help create their first Audi spot,” said Proctor. “Being in China for the shoot was a great opportunity to learn more about the evolving and changing market, and even more incredible was the opportunity to collaborate so closely with the agency. Together, we were able to design such an engaging story around a piece of new, sculptural art.”

Credits –

Colourist: Greg Reese