This Weird Naked Vehicle Rig Can Mimic Almost Any Car Through Mechanical And CGI Trickery

The Mill 'Blackbird' may look like a giant Tamiya RC car with no shell, but it's actually a very clever platform which is intended to make shooting car adverts much, much easier
Remote video URL

If you’re going to shoot a car advert, you’d think the actual car would top the list of things you’ll need to proceed. But, that’s not necessarily the case thanks to this electric-powered filming rig from a company called Mill. You can extend and reduce the width and the length, swap the wheels and play around with the suspension geometry so it behaves - according to the company - like whatever car you’re supposed to be shooting. It even mimics the right body movements for gear changes. A realistic CGI ‘shell’ is overlaid, and boom: your subject is in the video despite the fact it actually isn’t.

When you think about it, the concept makes a lot of sense. Getting hold of brand new models for adverts isn’t always going to be easy, something that this rig solves. Plus, you could easily update an older advert to a refreshed model or even an all-new one.

What the company doesn’t mention is if the drive layout can be changed. Indeed, the promo video above shows a very front-wheel drive Chevrolet Aveo doing smoky drifts…

Sponsored Posts

Comments

This Weird Naked Vehicle Rig Can Mimic Almost Any Car Through Mechanical And CGI Trickery
Hershel Layton

This is going to really up car sales, especially for the more popualar companies.

06/24/2016 - 20:46 |
4 | 0
Anonymous

The rear wheels on the jag move around a lot

06/25/2016 - 00:09 |
4 | 0
Anonymous

This is actually really a fascinating concept, plus the electric aspect id assume could mean that you’d be able to replicate various power outputs with a matter of punching in a new tune, that plus varying drive trains and wheelbases, and I suppose it would be light aswell due to the lack of any body or interior, meaning you could adjust weight with ballast making it behave like yeah any car you could imagine really, I like it a lot actually, could be fun to play with on track too. design a vehicle in sim and test a clone of it without ever making the car, lots of potential in the idea.

06/25/2016 - 01:08 |
4 | 0
NicolasBMW

How bout me?

06/25/2016 - 03:12 |
6 | 0

probably, they will add a smaller variant of it for small “city cars”

06/25/2016 - 03:12 |
4 | 0
The S2K Guy

It’s like engine swapping, only now it’s body swapping

06/25/2016 - 03:47 |
2 | 0
Anonymous

What about THIS ad, huh?

06/25/2016 - 07:48 |
4 | 0
Anonymous

that explains drifting fwd cars in adverts lol

06/25/2016 - 08:18 |
12 | 0
nandee

I wonder if the car industry can get even more fake… Fake engine noises, fake steering (electric assist) fake pedal feel, fake emission data, and now even fake cars in car adverts… Not that I believed car adverts before but now they are totally pointless…

06/25/2016 - 12:03 |
6 | 0