CATEGORY: production
SERVICES: pre-production / on-set supervising / edit / vfx / compositing / color grading / sound design
A fusion of fashion heritage and future storytelling — where denim meets digital craftsmanship.
01. The Goal
The goal was to craft a cinematic story that redefines how a legendary brand like Levi’s communicates timelessness in the age of technology.
Rather than showing jeans as a product, the film presents them as a symbol of identity — something even a machine desires in its pursuit of humanity.
We wanted to merge the emotional language of classic Levi’s storytelling with the visual vocabulary of modern sci-fi — balancing warmth, humor, and surrealism.
By doing so, the commercial bridges two eras: the analog authenticity of denim and the digital precision of the future.
This approach allowed us to elevate a fashion narrative into a character-driven experience — where craftsmanship, individuality, and emotion remain forever in style.
02. Concept & Visual Direction
Our team developed the storyboard and visual concept for this project, shaping its tone and creative direction.
Through close collaboration and a focus on storytelling, we helped transform the initial idea into a cohesive visual narrative. Our approach combined cinematic thinking with strategic design, ensuring every frame supported the overall message and brand identity.
Vibe
“It’s Cyberpunk… but a little less dark.”
We reimagined the cyberpunk aesthetic through a warmer, more optimistic lens.
Levi’s has always represented authenticity, life, and human connection — so instead of cold neon nights, we built a daylight future that feels alive, social, and relatable.
A world where technology coexists with humanity — not replacing it.
World & Setting
Bangkok 2052
The story unfolds in a vibrant near-future Bangkok — dense, layered, and full of life.
Towering residential blocks, street food markets, and subtle futuristic details coexist naturally.
Holograms, drones, and airships float in the background, adding a gentle sci-fi flavor without losing the warmth of real city life.
Narrative Core
A robot discovers a pair of Levi’s jeans and experiences what it means to be human.
Our hero — a curious robot — finds a pair of Levi’s jeans hanging to dry in a sunlit alley.
He looks closer, reading the iconic leather patch: this is the real thing.
Sparks burst from his head as he has his first genuine emotion — realization, awe, joy.
From this moment on, he’s not just a machine. He’s alive.
Tone & Emotion
Friendly, curious, expressive.
The tone is light-hearted and human.
The robot isn’t a weapon or a dystopian symbol — he’s an optimist, a learner.
He dances, he laughs, he tries to eat noodles even though he has no mouth.
Through humor and sincerity, we make the audience see humanity inside a machine.
Music Direction
“Bright, bouncy, and a little abstract.”
The sound defines the rhythm of the story — upbeat, alternative, and slightly quirky.
The track reflects the robot’s optimism: it’s human, lively, and imperfect in the best way.
The music doesn’t drive tension — it drives joy.
Location Design
A cool alleyway, bridge, and food market — layers of Bangkok life.
Each location represents a new emotional layer of the story.
CG elements were used to extend the real world — adding verticality, depth, and futuristic architecture — turning Bangkok 2052 into a believable cinematic world.
03. On-Set Supervision
Even though our team worked remotely, we were involved in the shooting process from the very beginning — supervising the technical setup and ensuring all footage was ready for seamless CG integration.
Our key tasks included:
- Camera data coordination — focal length, sensor info, lens distortion, and tracking markers.
- Lighting reference collection — HDRI spheres, gray & chrome ball shots, and key light direction for each setup.
- Reference photography — texture plates, reflection and shadow references for the robot and surrounding materials.
- Scene continuity — ensuring scale, perspective, and actor movement matched planned CG animation.
- On-set communication with the director and DP to align framing, blocking, and robot positioning.
The remote supervision allowed us to make precise matchmove setups and lighting conditions consistent across all scenes — from tight alley shots to open skyline views.
Every frame was shot with CG in mind — making integration invisible.
04. Matchmove & Scene Geometry
This stage defined the technical backbone of the entire project.
Accurate camera tracking and scene reconstruction were crucial for integrating the robot seamlessly into live-action plates.
Camera Tracking
Each shot was matchmoved from scratch to ensure sub-pixel accuracy.
We reconstructed every camera path using 3DEqualizer, relying on precise lens data collected during the shoot.
Key steps included:
- Manual 2D tracking & refinement for complex motion blur areas.
- Lens distortion calibration from grid charts and lens maps.
- 3D camera solve optimization using survey data and scale reference.
- Export and validation in Maya / Nuke to confirm spatial consistency with CG assets.
Every matchmove was validated by overlaying proxy geometry directly on the live plate — ensuring the robot’s movement aligned perfectly with the real environment.
Scene Geometry
Once cameras were solved, we rebuilt key environment geometry for realistic lighting and shadow interaction.
This included streets, walls, props, and the ground plane — everything the robot would interact with.
Main goals:
- Create accurate shadow catchers and contact surfaces.
- Enable GI and reflection accuracy during rendering.
- Provide collision references for animation and simulation passes.
Geometry proxies not only helped with lighting — they also kept the physical logic of the robot’s movement grounded in real space.
Character Tracking
In addition to camera and environment, the movement of the on-set performer in a green suit was tracked as a separate 3D object.
Markers placed on the suit allowed us to reconstruct the actor’s full-body motion,
which was later used as the base animation layer for the CG robot.
Process:
- Multi-marker tracking of the performer’s torso, limbs, and head.
- Solving the actor’s 3D motion path in 3DEqualizer.
- Exporting motion curves to Maya for retargeting onto the robot rig.
- Temporal smoothing and cleanup for robotic stylization.
The performer’s real movement provided natural weight and timing, giving the robot human rhythm without losing mechanical precision.
05. Character Creation
The Levi’s robot was designed as a symbol of individuality — a mechanical being discovering its own humanity. Our goal was to blend industrial design with emotional expression, making him both believable and relatable.
Concept & Design
From the very start, the creative direction called for a robot that would fit naturally into the real Bangkok environment — a street character rather than a sci-fi hero.
We built him with a mix of retro-mechanical charm and modern street culture references — clean surfaces, visible joints, and small imperfections that make him feel authentic.
Design notes:
- Simplified, readable silhouette — instantly recognizable in motion.
- Subtle human traits — proportion, gesture, eye placement.
- Texture inspiration from brushed aluminum, matte steel, and worn denim tones.
- Small accessories (stickers, cap, light panels) that express individuality.
The robot had to feel like he could exist in the same world as Levi’s denim — crafted, functional, timeless.
Modeling & Texturing
The model was built with clean topology optimized for deformation and animation detail.
Texturing focused on balancing metal realism with personality — each panel carries subtle surface wear, fingerprints, and heat discoloration.
- LookDev: Arnold + Cycles / ACEScg workflow
Denim-inspired hues were introduced into the metal tones to keep a visual connection to the brand.
Pipeline:
- Modeling: Maya / ZBrush / Blender
- Texturing: Substance Painter / Mari
Rigging & Animation
The rig was designed to translate a real human performance into mechanical motion without losing authenticity.
Most of the robot’s animation was driven by the tracked movement of the on-set actor in a greensuit, using his body motion as the base for robotic animation layers.
Workflow overview:
- Performance tracking: 3D motion of the greensuit actor reconstructed in 3DEqualizer.
- Retargeting: Imported into Maya and bound to the robot rig.
- Enhancement: Animators refined secondary motion — head tilts, LED face reactions, hand mechanics — to stylize the movement.
- Polish pass: Subtle timing tweaks, weight adjustments, and robotic motion constraints applied.
The result preserved the spontaneity and rhythm of a human performer while staying true to the robot’s physical limitations.
06. Cleanup & Compositing
Once the tracked plates and CG renders were ready, our focus shifted to rebuilding clean backgrounds, seamless robot integration, and final image unification.
This stage combined meticulous cleanup, roto-paint, and multi-pass compositing in Nuke, ensuring the robot looked physically present in every shot.
Cleanup & Plate Preparation
Before any CG integration, all traces of the on-set performer in the green suit were removed.
The process combined manual paintout, AI-assisted cleanup, and projection painting to restore the original environment.
Tasks included:
- Manual cleanup in Nuke using roto, paint, and 3D projection techniques.
- AI inpainting for static and low-motion areas, followed by manual refinement.
- Reconstruction of occluded geometry (walls, ground, props, fabric).
- Shadow & reflection preservation to retain natural lighting.
- Degrain / Regrain pass for texture continuity.
Each plate was rebuilt to appear completely untouched - as if the actor was never there.
Integration & Compositing
With restored plates ready, all CG renders were composited using a multi-pass EXR pipeline.
The goal - complete physical and photographic realism.
Render Setup:
- Rendered in Redshift (hero shots) and Cycles (environmental).
- Unified under ACEScg color management for tone consistency.
- 12+ AOVs: diffuse, specular, reflection, refraction, shadow, emission, AO, Z-depth, cryptomatte.
Compositing Steps:
- Lighting match: key / fill / bounce balanced to on-set HDRI.
- Shadow & contact passes: soft occlusion grounding robot to plate.
- Depth & atmosphere: Z-depth-based haze and fog.
- Color harmony: filmic tone curve, ACES LUT, light wrap.
- Edge treatment: motion blur, lens diffusion, and chromatic aberration.
Each shot was composited to feel photographed, not rendered.
Every final frame holds a perfect balance between realism and stylization — the robot feels tangible, expressive, and seamlessly integrated into the natural chaos of Bangkok. If you can’t tell where the actor ended and CG began — the job was done right.
07. CG Environment Extensions
While the live-action footage was shot entirely on location, we expanded the visual world through subtle CG set extensions — adding vertical scale, futuristic details, and depth without losing the authenticity of real Bangkok streets.
The goal was to enhance, not replace — building a future that feels lived-in and believable.
Purpose
Bangkok already had incredible texture and density.
Our job was to extend that — not by turning it into a digital city, but by layering scale, architecture, and atmosphere on top of what was real.
The extensions were designed to make the world feel 30 years ahead, but still recognizably human.
Workflow
All environment extensions were built and composited using a combination of 3D and 2.5D techniques:
Modeling & Layout
- Modular architecture built in Cinema 4D and Kitbash3D (Neo San Francisco, Cyberpunk packs).
- Custom geometry to fit camera perspective and real-world parallax.
Lighting & Rendering
- Rendered in Arnold with HDRI-based lighting for physical realism.
- Used ACEScg color space for consistent grading across CG and plates.
Compositing Integration
- Render passes included reflection, specular, atmosphere, and light pass for maximum flexibility.
- Integrated with the original plates in Nuke using projection setups and parallax cards for depth control.
08. Color & Finishing
The final color process unified all shots into a cohesive cinematic look — blending the live-action plates and CG seamlessly through controlled tone, contrast, and atmosphere.
Our goal was to preserve the daylight warmth of Bangkok while giving the film a subtle futuristic signature that felt Levi’s-authentic: grounded, tactile, and timeless.
Look Development
We approached color as an emotional tool rather than a purely technical process.
The look had to reflect the film’s dual nature — real world meets future tech — by balancing organic warmth with cool industrial tones.
The result was a hybrid palette:
- Warm daylight hues on skin tones, denim, and streets.
- Cool cyan and metallic blues in shadows and CG reflections.
- A gentle film-like halation to soften digital sharpness.
The color grade carried the project’s philosophy —technology evolves, but style remains human.
Workflow
All grading was performed in DaVinci Resolve, using ACES color management for consistency with CG renders and Nuke composites.
The pipeline allowed us to maintain color accuracy across multiple sources (CG EXRs, cleaned plates, and regrained composites).
Technical steps:
- Shot balancing and exposure unification.
- Primary grade for global tone and color harmony.
- Secondary keys for sky, denim, and metallic reflections.
- Grain and halation passes for texture continuity.
- Final export in Rec.709 and DCI-P3 color spaces.
Tone & Mood
Color was treated as an extension of the story:
- The alley discovery sequence — soft daylight, curiosity.
- The dance scenes — high contrast, vibrant energy.
- The food stall moment — warm, human, golden hues.
- The final wide shot — balanced tones, emotional clarity.
Each shot was individually graded to maintain mood continuity while preserving natural transitions between environments.
Every frame had to feel photographic, not stylized — alive, sunlit, and cinematic.
Color grading completed the transformation — turning technical integration into cinematic emotion. The Levi’s world became bright yet nostalgic, futuristic yet familiar. Quality never goes out of style — and neither does color.
This project was one of those rare moments where challenge met passion. From early concept sketches to the final composite, every stage demanded precision, creativity, and trust – both within our team and with Levi’s. Working remotely across time zones, solving technical constraints, and blending cutting-edge CG with raw street energy of Bangkok – it was a process that pushed us, inspired us, and reminded us why we love what we do.
It wasn’t just about creating a robot. It was about building a world where craftsmanship, humanity, and style coexist – the very essence of Levi’s philosophy: “Quality Never Goes Out of Style.”
We’re proud to have brought this story to life, and we’re truly grateful to Levi’s for the trust and creative freedom throughout the collaboration. The project may have wrapped – but we’re confident this is only the beginning of our shared journey.
See you on the next one.
