NaturalMotion Ltd., the developers of 3D animation technology based on Dynamic Motion Synthesis (DMS), announced endorphin was used by London-based visual effects powerhouse, The Mill, for the new Guinness commercial entitled, "Music Machine." Currently airing worldwide, the :60 spot used endorphin to generate realistic character animation for hundreds of acrobats that surge around a pint of Guinness and bash into Japanese drums, creating a visual and musical representation of the action bubbling inside the glass.

The spot’s production called for perfect synchronization between the stunning visual effects, live action filming and music composition. Imagery of three stuntmen was massively complemented by The Mill using high-end computer graphics (CG) techniques. The use of endorphin within the CG pipeline allowed for highly-realistic animation of the replicated acrobats, delivering precise, varied movements and believability to each perfectly timed action.


"We needed to avoid repetitive movement on multiple characters," said Juan Brockhaus, senior 3D artist at The Mill and visual effects supervisor for this spot. "Once you have created one good animation or simulation of a certain action in endorphin, it is very easy to create those slight variations necessary for a realistic feel."

Easily integrating with other off-the-shelf software applications such as Softimage XSI, Maya, Shake and Flame, endorphin’s ability to mix between pose-animation and simulating the real physical behaviors of characters helped to shorten the post-production schedule for The Mill.


"endorphin has created a new way of using animation," continued Brockhaus. "Without it, we would not have been able to create the naturalistic movements of the CG stuntmen in the time we had to produce the commercial."

Brockhaus served as visual effects supervisor for The Mill, collaborating with the creative teams at IIBBDO and Red Bee Media, to create the acrobatic characters. The :60 Guinness spot was directed by Steve Cope and produced by Red Bee Media.

More Information at: www.naturalmotion.com. Videos Courtesy of Guinness Corp. and NaturalMotion.