Sci-Fi blockbuster technology for FPV ad

Ford Performance Vehicles will debut a television advertising campaign this weekend. Unfortunately, you will have to be a subscriber to pay TV to see it, unless you happen to be watching Channel Seven for the V8 Supercars broadcast on Sunday.

TV advertising campaigns for a car company aren't usually worth mentioning, but this one is noteworthy because the content is almost entirely CGI (Computer-Generated Imagery) and merges left and right-brain thinking.

The background was created on computer by CGI experts Airbag Productions, with FPV providing the engineering CAD (Computer-Aided Design) data to generate images of the cars in the foreground.

"We rarely use television to advertise our brand and to be able to use this technology in the way we have is extremely advantageous," says Rod Barrett, FPV's General Manager, who also points out the cost and logistical benefits of 'shooting' the ad using CGI techniques.

"The result was a more flexible shoot, no large crew, no weather contingency, and the freedom to choreograph the shots, choose our own weather conditions, rehearse the shots and then produce the finished television commercial.

"To manage such a production with eight cars and a production crew would be an extremely consuming and costly exercise and besides, the vehicles were in production at the time."

So ultimately, the FPV ad has been completed on a low budget -- and hopefully without compromising the message for the TV audience.

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