Protected: Senior Technical 3D artist / Technical Director at Recom Farmhouse London
Protected: Lead 3D Artist / Generalist at Recom Farmhouse London
Making Of: Daily Drivers with Alex Bernstein – CGI
Daily Drivers: A peep behind the scenes of a project built on absurdity
A car is a tool. Its uses range drastically: from everyday tasks like commuting, shopping and school runs, to more exciting functions like self-expression and road trips. And then there’s racing… Race cars are a uniquely specialized end of this spectrum. Their sole purpose is to be fast and light, with creature comforts and road manners thrown out the window all in the name of victory. But at the end of the day, they’re still cars: four wheels, a seat and some pedals.
When it comes to getting around the city, most New Yorkers opt for public transportation, because having a car in Manhattan is like trying to paint a mural with a Q-tip. So here — in this alternate and absurdist reality — a few legendary race cars break the boundaries of their purpose.
Daily Drivers Nº 1 : 1999 Toyota GT-One (TS020)
In this reality, these retired steeds continue their service. They may not be flat out in Eau Rouge, or spraying gravel off the cliffs of Pikes Peak, but they’re still living, still used, and still loved.
Daily Drivers Nº 2 : 2003 Bentley Speed 8
Steven Orts of Recom Farmhouse’s New York studio outlined the rough project idea to photographer and amateur racer, Alex Bernstein, who traveled back to his old stomping grounds in New York to brainstorm with the team, scout and shoot in some iconic locations, working his magic to bring this project to life.
Daily Drivers Nº 3 : 1967 Ferrari 330 P4
With his love for motorsports, Alex nailed the angles to capture the city scenes with their obstructions and ambiance, all while still feeling handheld and natural, as if you were walking through the city streets and had just spotted these ridiculously out-of-place machines.
Daily Drivers Nº 4 : 1990 Jaguar XJR-12
All the cars are full CGI. Each model required heavy amounts of refinement, while we retextured and prepped in the studio. With great care and patience, the finer details were added. Dust and grit, scuffs and scrapes, raindrops and reflections all work together to fully immerse these cars into their respective worlds. We captured domes from each location which enabled proper reflections to be brought back into post production. Finally, meticulous colour grading enhanced the light and shade of New York City and integrated the composited images.
Daily Drivers Nº 5 : 1986 Audi Sport Quattro S1 E2
See the full series on Behance and on recomfarmhouse.com.
Creative Direction: Steven Orts / Recom Farmhouse NYC
Photographer: Alex Bernstein
CGI: Luke Burke & Alex Bowen / Recom Farmhouse NYC
Retouching: Steven Orts & Andrew Coleman / Recom Farmhouse NYC
Recom Farmhouse is on Instagram, Facebook, Vimeo and Twitter! More work at recomfarmhouse.com. Fresh work showcased every month in our newsletter – see examples and sign up here.
Making Of: Perfect Storm with Thomas Brown
Sci-fi influences are worn proudly on the sleeve of this series for Wallpaper magazine. Thomas Brown was commissioned again for their “Perfect Storm” editorial, in which “elemental forces and industrial strength converge in a whirlwind of high-voltage design”.
Thomas worked with his long term collaborator, the set designer Matt Morris. Together with Cloud and Horse set builders and projectionist Insight Lighting, they created “a dramatic sci-fi world where a weird automated transit system is augmented with external and often extreme natural phenomena.”
Raising and lowering platforms provide unusual viewpoints. and the scissor lifts themselves are incorporated in the set design. Take a look behind the scenes at the warehouse location:
More images behind the scenes, including the construction of the mirrored boxes, from set builders Cloud & Horse here. Behind the scenes pictures by Alex Davenport.
The final images were published in Wallpaper magazine:
And you can see the whole series here:
Perfect Storm with Thomas Brown on recomfarmhouse.com
Perfect Storm with Thomas Brown on Behance
Client: Wallpaper
Photographer: Thomas Brown
Photographer’s Agent: Webber Represents
Set Designer: Matt Morris
Set Build: Cloud and Horse
Projectionist: Insight Lighting
Post Artists: Aljaz Bezjak / Maria Luisa Calosso / Recom Farmhouse
Recom Farmhouse is on Instagram, Facebook, Vimeo and Twitter! More work at recomfarmhouse.com. Fresh work showcased every month in our newsletter – see examples and sign up here.