McLaren | jamesmacvfx

McLAREN 765LT FEARLESS ENGINEERING

McLaren envisaged a film showcasing the lengths the engineers and designers would go to creating the 765LT. Adapted from the incredible 720S, radically lightened and the most powerful LT yet. I was fortunate enough to be the director of this film, executing it for the ultra talents at McLaren and London agency VCCP.

VCCP ECD Sam Heath came into The Mill with a script showcasing an emotional struggle. When the McLaren engineers and designers are set near impossible objectives, the tasks can initially seem beyond the possible for them. This script married the technological elements of the McLaren brand with the aggressive and dark nature of the LT.

Fearless engineering. All portrayed in modern, innovative and exciting realms.

The brief was amazing. Given I am a motorsport mad, McLaren F1 supporting, film making partner, the collaboration excited me beyond words. I wanted to bring the human connection into the very technically driven process. Given my background I know only too well, the vehicles produced by McLaren are the sum of many many parts, all conceived and designed and executed by their talented staff.

The viewers of the film needed to feel what the engineers and designers face internally when tackling their challenges.

Given my years of advertising experience, I proposed we use the entire spectrum of practical and digital film making techniques for the film. All elements carefully considered from script to finished film.

During the creation of the film we utilised, stunt work, practical physical effects, in-camera lighting desk effects (over 100 sources), on-set AR visualisation to assist framing, physical light probing for digital replication, camera tracking, VR production techniques, Virtual camera capture, Houdini CGI effects, Epic Unreal procedural environment generation, Unreal IB lighting, Unreal texture and environment creation, Unreal animation, Unreal camera creation and integration with tracked on-set cameras, Custom Bokeh element generation, Compositing and Colour Grading.

The whole production and VFX kit and caboodle. All in one marvellous mad capped project at The Mill.