A new series of film shorts produced by Media.Monks ensures you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to understand the daily activities of the Frontier Development Lab. The lab (a partnership between NASA and the European Space Agency and hosted by the SETI Institute) must make sense of enormous amounts of data each day to tackle some of earth’s greatest challenges at greater speed and efficiency than ever before.

Backed by decades of research, scientists can predict solar flares, identify probable flood zones and search for natural resources on the moon. Powered by technology from Google Cloud and Intel, they can achieve even more, faster. The shorts offer an over-the-shoulder (and digestible) look at how FDL research affects our everyday lives, turning invisible technology that functions behind-the-scenes into tangible outcomes.

Through the films, viewers gain clarity on the invisible technology that supports FDL’s efforts—processes that formerly had to be carried out manually by scientists. With computing power from Google Cloud—whose CPU cores are provided by Intel—teams now carry out intense calculations of data faster than before.

While these technologies working in concert with one another could be perceived as fairly abstract, their effects are tangible: crunching the numbers in time makes all the difference between pre-emptively mitigating the effects of a natural disaster versus succumbing to catastrophe. “The series is a tribute to teamwork, and the optimistic message of the films show how people can come together to achieve great things, even solve out-of-this-world challenges,” says Pep Lupo, Executive Producer at Media.Monks and who leads on our work with Google.

Build Content that Inspires

Whether they aim to represent their purpose and role in society or merely want to connect more authentically with consumers, it can be tough for brands to stand out in the ways they stand up for what they believe in. But brands can cut through the noise and tear at the heartstrings through a more thoughtful approach to original content. Either entertaining, informative or a mix of both, this content should stand on its own legs—even if you were to remove the brand from it completely—with the same production value consumers would expect from content they actively seek out.

Through imagery and human-centered narration, the series, “NASA FDL – Exploring New Frontiers” aims to inspire audiences and offer a glimpse at a better future enabled by NASA, Google Cloud and Intel technologies. “This is an ode to humanity’s future, and the series lets audiences learn about the real challenges these scientists face.” says Carolina Brandao, Sr. Film Producer at Media.Monks.

Brandao’s words drive home an important distinction between premium original content and traditional messaging from brands. Original content is most effective when focusing on the brand and its impact on society. In other words, it must be relatable and entertaining—so much so that consumers would actively seek it out rather than merely have it served to them.

Bring Life to Stories Through Empowerment

Original content must focus on the human element to be impactful and authentic. Knowing this, the films center on the people who interact with these technologies each day, aiming to capture the spirit of the scientists who are solving big challenges through data and tech.

We began by conducting off-camera interviews to inform the storytelling approach. In the finished films, the scientists deliver monologues that instill beauty in their work. Focusing on day-to-day activities and the role that tech plays in solving critical challenges not only helps viewers understand the results of FDL’s work, but also inspires cooperation between people and brands to achieve great things.

With the rise of so many new visual channels, original content is the next frontier in storytelling. But to succeed in delivering it, brands must first begin with a clear point of view and message. By recognizing and understanding what resonates with their audiences, brands can tell those stories authentically, bringing a human element to the story that builds emotional impact and relevance—even telling a story that speaks to the far reaches of the solar system.

Los últimos meses han planteado desafíos completamente nuevos para las marcas y, a medida que la situación continúa desarrollándose, no hemos visto un mejor momento para reenfocar la publicidad en entregar valor real y reactivar la obsesión del cliente. “Es el momento de comenzar a pensar en los escenarios de cómo tu negocio y tu marca vivirán en un mundo diferente,” dice Wesley ter Haar, Fundador de MediaMonks. Han surgido enfoques innovadores de producción en todo el mundo mientras que muchas marcas siguen adelante, a medida que el cambio hacia lo digital se vuelve cada vez más inevitable, pensando en un momento posterior al COVID-19.

El VFX nos Transporta a Otro Mundo

Para MediaMonks, hemos actualizado nuestro enfoque tradicional para filmar con nuevos formatos (incluido nuestro nuevo estudio de filmación seguro y desinfectado), pero además, hemos continuado trabajando a través de otros tipos de producción tradicionales que se mantienen dentro de las pautas de seguridad locales por la naturaleza misma de ser digital. Una de estas experiencias visuales se creó el año pasado entre nuestras oficinas de la Ciudad de México y Ámsterdam, para dar vida a una pantera de ocho metros de altura hecha de material similar al pedernal, una entidad hecha de humo, entre muchas otras cosas, para recrear el inframundo maya en “Xibalba” para la marca de mexicana Cerveza Victoria.

En “Xibalba”, seguimos a nuestro protagonista en un viaje emocional a través del inframundo, donde lucha contra seres míticos en una mundo fantástico para tener la oportunidad de encontrarse con sus seres queridos una vez más. Este escenario exigía la creación de varios elementos visuales que, para lograr su máximo efecto, sólo podían hacerse a través del arte de efectos visuales.

Desde el primer momento, uno de los principales desafíos para el equipo de VFX fue crear todos los elementos visuales en solo diez días. “Necesitábamos pensar en una forma de trabajar de manera muy eficiente sin comprometer la calidad, para poder adelantarnos a la curva y hacer varias revisiones al día,” dice Okke Voerman, VFX Lead de MediaMonks. “También hubo tomas con algunas simulaciones de humo sin tiempo para hacer muchas iteraciones. Al conectar a nuestro artista de Houdini con uno de nuestros compositores de efectos visuales, colocamos muchos renders para obtener el humo que queríamos.”

Pero ese no fue el único desafío. La pieza, rodada en la Península de Yucatán en México, hogar de la antigua civilización maya, fue producida y editada en la Ciudad de México, mientras que el tratamiento con efectos visuales tuvo lugar al mismo tiempo en Ámsterdam.

“Trabajar desde diferentes oficinas en todo el mundo puede ser muy desafiante. Para que funcione, debes buscar los beneficios que puede aportar y centrarse en ellos,” explica Voerman. “Al tener a nuestro equipo de producción de efectos visuales en Ámsterdam y nuestros productores trabajando directamente con el cliente en México, tuvimos más horas en un día de lo normal.” Entonces, en lugar de trabajar solo ocho horas al día, combinamos nuestro trabajo en diferentes zonas horarias para lograr un día laboral de 16 horas que de otra manera sería agotador. Nuestros equipos en dos continentes trabajaron en conjunto para crear a tiempo un film de alta calidad.

Nuestro film que promociona la computadora portátil convertible HP Dragonfly fue otro tour-de-force colaborativo, que involucró a varios socios galardonados que trabajan juntos en todos los continentes, entre ellos The Mill, una galardonada casa de efectos visuales cuyo trabajo también abarca films. Los efectos especiales y la belleza de la película sirven como testimonio del valor de una colaboración cercana y rápida entre equipos que no están restringidos por el espacio físico.

Una Oficina Cerrada, Un Mundo Abierto

Debido a que las compañías de producción globales, que trabajan en televisión, películas, contenido experimental y otros tipos de contenido visual, tienen que cerrar o dejar de trabajar debido a los efectos económicos de la pandemia, las marcas están comprensiblemente preocupadas por cómo pueden continuar produciendo contenido. Pero los nuevos e innovadores métodos de producción y la estrecha colaboración digital les permiten eludir las limitaciones comunes.

A medida que las marcas se adaptan a trabajar en medio de la pandemia, este espíritu de colaboración e innovación se convierte en la clave del éxito. Desde la producción virtual y CGI hasta la postproducción de contenido preexistente, hay muchas formas en que las marcas pueden continuar su producción sin perder el ritmo. “Durante esta pandemia global, hay muchas limitaciones físicas que hacen que las filmaciones sean muy desafiantes,” dice Voerman. “En la postproducción, no las tenemos.”

Recent months have brought up all-new challenges for brands, and as the situation continues to unfold we’ve never seen a better time to refocus advertising on delivering real value and reactivating customer obsession. “It’s the time to start thinking about the scenarios for how your business and your brand will live in a different world,” says Wesley ter Haar, MediaMonks Founder. Innovative production approaches have arisen throughout the world as many brands continue to “keep moving” – as the shift towards digital becomes increasingly inevitable, speaking to a time post-COVID-19 as well. 

VFX Transports Us to Another World

For MediaMonks, we’ve updated our traditional approach to shooting with new formats (including our new safe, sanitized shoot studio) but additionally, we’ve continued work via other established types of production that remain within local safety guidelines by the very nature of being digital. One such visual experience was created last year between our Mexico City and Amsterdam offices to bring to life an eight-meter high panther made of flint-like material, an entity made of smoke, among many other things, to recreate the Mayan underworld in “Xibalba” for Mexican beer brand Victoria Cerveza.

In “Xibalba,” we follow our protagonist on an emotional journey through the underworld, where he fights mythical beings in a fantastical setup for the chance to meet with his loved ones once again. This scenario demanded the creation of several visual elements that, to achieve their full effects, could only be done through VFX artistry.

From the get-go, one of the main challenges for the VFX team was to create all the visual elements in just ten days. “We needed to think of a way to work very efficiently without compromising quality, so we could stay ahead of the curve and do multiple reviews a day,” says Okke Voerman, VFX Lead at MediaMonks. “There were also shots with some heavy smoke simulations without the time to do a lot of iterations. By connecting our Houdini artist with one of our VFX compositors, we layered many renders to get the smoke that we wanted.”

But that was not the only challenge. The film, shot in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, home of the ancient Mayan civilization, was produced and edited in Mexico City, while the VFX treatment took place at the same time in Amsterdam. 

“Working from different offices around the world can be very challenging. To make it work, you need to look for the benefits it can bring and focus on those,” explains Voerman. “By having our VFX production team setup in Amsterdam and our client-facing producers in Mexico, we had more hours in one day than normal.” So instead of working just eight hours a day, we combined our work in different time zones to achieve an otherwise exhausting 16-hour workday. Our diverse teams in two continents worked together to create a high-quality film in time.

Our film promoting the HP Dragonfly convertible laptop was another collaborative tour-de-force, involving several award-winning partners working together across continents – among them being The Mill, an award-winning VFX house whose work touches feature films. The film’s special effects and beauty serve as a testament to the value of close, speedy collaboration between teams that are unconstrained by physical space.

A Closed Office, An Open World

With global production companies – working in TV, film, experiential and other visual content – having to close or otherwise stop work due to the economic effects of the pandemic, brands are understandably worried about how they can continue producing content. But new, innovative production methods and close digital collaboration enable them to bypass common constraints. 

As brands adapt to working through the pandemic, this spirit of collaboration and innovation become key to success. From virtual production and CGI to post-producing pre-existing content, there are many ways that brands can continue their output without missing a beat. “During this global pandemic, there are a lot of physical limitations which make shoots very challenging,” says Voerman. “In post production, we don’t have them.”