Young Swiss director and student Oscar winner Pascal Shelby teamed up with Boutique to develop a special ad for First Guitar, which explosively changes the world in its combined form with a clash of live action and CGI.
– 23. September 2021
First Guitars, which are hand-manufactured in Vadenswil, are among the finest instrument exports in Switzerland. Pascal Shelby’s idea for this space is based on a quote by Pablo Picasso: “Everything you can imagine is real”. A painter, architect or musician, a principle that applies equally to all artists, provided they have the right tools at their disposal. In this ad film, a guitarist with his vision transforms an old industrial hall into a Cubist creation, paying homage to one of the greatest artists of the last century.
an ambitious project
This brilliant idea was implemented together with two producers Chantal Gugger and Theresa Beres. The film was shot at night in an old industrial hall in Winterthur. The experimental team relied on the concept of anamorphic lenses, lots of haze and low light. Very creative decisions that should quickly benefit a VFX project.
From the very beginning of production, it was clear to those involved that this was a complex and time-consuming project. With the support of all the crew members on set, as well as the targeted VFX and animation team at Pulk, this fantasy film by Pascal Shelby was able to come true.
A Good Base for Animation and VFX
The development of visual effects was the foundation of the Cubist transformation of industrial structures with steel girders, bridges and columns envisioned in the film. Even in the editing phase, it was about how the industrial structures in the hall could be arranged and efficiently adapted and animated. For this purpose, an elaborate setup was developed by Linus Schneider, the CG supervisor at Houdini, which enabled the basic idea of Cubist construction to be implemented. Light and form were determined by rotating the material. Several asters – programmable light tubes – were used on the set, which was very helpful with the lighting, especially in the final shot.
Music specially composed for the film
Jonas Wolf, guitarist of the band Eluwei and the protagonist in the spec film, composed the music for the venue in collaboration with Berlin musician Alexander Wolf David. Scottish actor Stuart Martin, who can currently be seen in the Netflix film “Army of Thieves”, was won for voice over.
Responsible in First Guitar: Reto Prince. Responsible in the boutique (production): Pascal Shelby (Reggie), Linus Schneider (CG Supervisor), Theresa Beres (Producer), Chantal Gugger (Executive Producer), Pulk (Post-Production), Jonas Wolf (Cast), Stuart Martin (Voice), Jonas Wolf and Alexander Wolf David (Musician), Marvin Schatz (DOP), Janice Willbold (Trinity Operator), Manuel Dolder (Gaffer), Peter Hacker (Color Grading), Robin Harf (Sound Design), Linus Schneider, Florian Baumann and Pascal Shelby (Animation, VFX) ) )
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