VW id.4 - THE REST IS HISTORY

Volkswagen prides itself on making ‘cars for the people, so for the launch of their first mass-market electric vehicle, we were tasked with capturing the impact of the world’s biggest automaker committing to electric vehicles. We chose to put this launch into the context of other revolutions in transportation, anchoring the concept in VW’s egalitarian roots, and the message that progress cannot be made unless everyone's invited.

Just like transport, film was born out of the wheel, and this was the inspiration to tell the story of motion using these devices. We brought this to life in a “March of Progress'' style layout using some of the oldest devices in film history—including zoetropes, praxinoscopes, projectors, and phenakistoscopes.

These devices were meticulously handcrafted from scratch by a team of more than 50 artists and engineers over nearly two months—each of their animations reflecting not only the eras in transport but also the artwork. From Rubber Hose cartoons, to oversaturated 1950’s car commercials.

Filmed entirely practically, the devices had to be spun at specific speeds for the camera to register their animations—for example, the stone wheel had to spin at exactly 2 revolutions per second to animate for a camera at 24 frames. Also, in order to slow down the animation, you have to actually add frames to the sequence. Which feels counterintuitive. For such a seemingly simple animation this was one of the most challenging aspects of the film.

We wanted the choreography to mimic that of someone moving down the line of a museum installation, pausing and peering in at each step in the story of transport. So we used a single choreographed camera sequence to imitate this and hold the viewer's attention.

Ultimately our goal was to create a launch film that stood out from the category. One that told the story of motion using a different kind of wheel, and did justice to the brand’s legendary engineering and craftsmanship.

So far the film has been recognized with a Bronze at The Clio Awards and a D&AD Wood Pencil.