Field Trip to Mars

Agency: McCann New York

Client: Lockheed Martin

Production: Framestore, ISL, Q Department/Mach1

Awards: 19 Cannes Lions, 20 One Show Pencils + more

The first people who will visit Mars are in primary school today. The first astronauts will arrive before today’s kindergarteners graduate college. To support this, Lockheed Martin wanted a showstopper one-of-a-kind centerpiece for their Generation Beyond STEM initiative. McCann New York (IPG), came up with the initial idea and I was brought in, with Framestore, to develop the technology approach that would send passengers to Mars. The bus would go on to travel the country for two years educating kids young and old but but not before winning multiple awards including being one of the most awarded at the Cannes International Festival of Creativity. The bus is now part of the permanent collection a the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum.

My role was leading the project development from pitch to production to launch. A hybrid creative, producer, technologist and client handler. Starting with the initial phone call that came from McCann, to designing and presenting a pre-vis, to securing the job for Framestore and the rest is history. The start of a process that I now call Skunkworks Thinking. A methodology, behavior and spirit where it's all about the plus one, the extra push, and the building of a relationship with a client to get more work through prototyping and testing. You can view the original pitch-deck that I made for McCann here.

"One of the best examples I’ve seen of VR"

Mike Yapp

Founder & Director, Google Zoo

Presenting at C2

‍

Tim Nudd ADWEEK Interview

Experience

Your looking out of a window that transforms into stunning 4K screens at the flip of a switch. How did we pull it off? I concocted a blend of off-the-shelf tech, featuring switchable security film glass and a 4K LCDs which were custom build in South Korea. These windows start crystal clear, then the switchable film goes opaque, blocking out the outside world and bathing you in mesmerizing light. The 4K panel seamlessly shifts from transparent white to a whole new reality.

We harnessed the Unreal Game Engine to craft the experience. The artists at Framestore New York mapped out a mind-blowing 200-square-mile "worldspace" based on the real streets of D.C. When the bus would drive on the real streets, the bus would move on “streets” in the virtual world on the screen. They painted geological features objects along the bus route. Then, we conjured up a system that could translate real-world bus data into the Unreal world, turning a school bus into a portal to a video game realm using readily available components including an Arduino kit with an industrial laser surface velocimeter. The later being a product designed for industrial applications, to measure the speed of conveyor belts in fulfillment centers. We used it to provide millisecond-level feedback of the speed of the bus moving of the road, in either direction. We didn't rely on any tricks or illusion – this was true motion synced perfectly with the on-screen action.

Not only was the client satisfied, the creative innovation and advertising community loved it and showed it by giving us over 130 industry awards. At the 2016 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, it was the undisputed champ, bagging 19 Lions across 11 categories – a record-breaker. It even earned a nomination for the elusive Titanium Lion, a feat accomplished by only 22 out of 43,101 entries worldwide. Not to mention ADWEEK's Project Isaac's highest honor, the Gravity award, and an impressive haul of Clios, IAB MIXX awards, D&AD Impact recognition, and 19 LIAs, including two Grand LIAs.

After a two-year tour inspiring over 100,000 future explorers across the U.S., the has found its forever home at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (press release). It's not just an exhibit; it's a testament to innovation and imagination that's now etched into history.

‍

“It’s going to be just a great outreach tool..having something mobile like that...to go out to where kids are and give them the experience first-hand. Hopefully it’ll get them wanting to learn more.”

Steve Frick (CAPTAIN, USN, RET.)
NASA Astronaut

‍

PRESS

AdWeek Project Isaac Top Honor
Motionographer
AdWeek Interview
Creativity (Editor’s Pick)
AdWeek
Engadget
Campaign
Forbes
PSFK
US News and World Report
Lockheed Martin Press Release

‍

Credits

FRAMESTORE

CG Supervisor: Theo Jones

‍Creative Director: Alexander Rea

Executive Producer: Jennifer Siegel‍

Senior Producer: Sue McNamara ‍

Senior Producer: Graham Dunglinson‍

Producer PJ Stegall

Line Producer: Michael Lenic

Production Manager: Brian Hegedus

Production Assistant: Cole Krug

Lead Developer: Ron Fosner

Lead Software Engineer/Tracking Systems: Gary Marshall

Lead FX/Lighting TD: Ben Fox

Modeling Lead: Michitaka Inoue

Game Engine Developer: Claude Dareau

Sound Developer: Joey Hernandez

Developer / Game Engine World-space: Bill Davey

Technical Artist / Game Engine World-space: Bryan Brown

Animation Lead: Jim Hundertmark

Developer / VR Pre-vis: Jack Caron

Model/Texture: Paul Kim

Texture/Lookdev: Joseph Szokoli

Model/Texture: Xiaolai Zheng

Model/Texture/Lookdev: Patrick Ross

Animation: Will Frazier

Animation: Evan Harbuck

Animation: John Burke

Compositing: Andrew Salter

Compositing: Martin Lazaro

Systems Engineer: Dan Young

‍

ISL

BUS

CMO & Managing Director: DJ Saul

Project Manager / Creative Strategist: Lauren Everett

Lead Maker: Zach Saale

Mechanical Engineer: Ken Marut

Industrial Designer: Adam Hughes

Operations Manager: George Moore

WEBSITE

Creative Director: Zach Goodwin

Associate Creative Director: Amanda Jane Kloos

Project Manager / Creative Strategist: Natalya Staritskaya

Junior Creative Strategist: Ashley Brooks

Art Director: Maggie Gaudaen

VP of Engineering: Joseph Abrahams

Lead Infrastructure Engineer: Julian Gindi

Senior Web Developer: Rodrigo Thauby

Web Developer: Eli Fitch

Intern: Ben Schrijnemakers

‍

Q DEPARTMENT

Sound design & VR Mix Q Department in association with Mach1™Jacqueline Bosnjak

Awards

19 Cannes Lions

2016 Cannes Lion Gold Innovation
2016 Cannes Lion Gold Promo - Use of Exhibits/Activations
2016 Cannes Lion Gold Promo - Corporate Image
2016 Cannes Lion Gold Design - Digital Installation/Events
2016 Cannes Lion Gold Creative Data - Data Visualization
2016 Cannes Lion Gold Cyber - Live Digital
2016 Cannes Lion Silver Direct - Use of New Tech
2016 Cannes Lion Silver Promo - Use of New Tech
2016 Cannes Lion Silver Outdoor - Use of Ambient
2016 Cannes Lion Silver Outdoor - Ambient Experiential & Immersive
2016 Cannes Lion Silver Design - Live Events
2016 Cannes Lion Silver Cyber - Spatial Tech
2016 Cannes Lion Silver Entertainment - Innovation in Brand Experience
2016 Cannes Lion Bronze Direct - Experience Design
2016 Cannes Lion Bronze PR - Use of New Tech
2016 Cannes Lion Bronze Digital Craft - Innovative Use of Tech
2016 Cannes Lion Bronze Digital Craft - Tech Achievement
2016 Cannes Lion Bronze Digital Craft -Virtual Reality
2016 Cannes Lion Bronze Media - Use of Stunts

‍

20 One Show Pencils

2016 One Show Client of the Year
2016 One Show Gold - Innovation in Branded Entertainment
2016 One Show Gold - VR Entertainment
2016 One Show Gold - Augmented Reality
2016 One Show Gold - Experiential
2016 One Show Gold - Brand Installations
2016 One Show Gold - Immersive Design
2016 One Show Gold - Immersive Installations
2016 One Show Gold - Use of Digital Tech
2016 One Show Gold - Innovation in Direct
2016 One Show Gold - Ambient / Immersive
2016 One Show Gold - VR Interactive
2016 One Show Gold - Digital Installations
2016 One Show Gold - Print/Outdoor Installation
2016 One Show Gold - Print/Outdoor Use of Tech
2016 One Show Gold - PR Events / Experiential
2016 One Show Gold - Innovation in PR
2016 One Show Gold - VR Responsive Environment
2016 One Show Gold - Storytelling Responsive Environment
2016 One Show Silver - Responsive Environment Innovation

‍

20 LIAs

2016 LIA Gold - The NEW
2016 LIA Gold - Branded Entertainment
2016 LIA Gold - Branded Entertainment: Experiential/Live
2016 LIA Gold - Branded Entertainment: Social Awareness
2016 LIA Gold - Branded Entertainment: Virtual Reality
2016 LIA Gold - Design: Branded Content
2016 LIA Gold - Design: Digital Installations
2016 LIA Gold - Design: Experiential Marketing
2016 LIA Gold - Digital: Branded Content
2016 LIA Gold - Digital: Corporate Image
2016 LIA Gold - Digital: Innovative Use of Digital
2016 LIA Gold - The NEW: Creative Technology
2016 LIA Gold - The NEW: Technology Development
2016 LIA Silver - Digital: Visual Design
2016 LIA Silver - Integration: Integration
2016 LIA Silver - Non-Traditional: Experiential
2016 LIA Silver - The NEW: Brand Experience
2016 LIA Bronze - Non-Traditional: Interactive Installations
2016 LIA Bronze - Non-Traditional: Corporate Image

‍

6 D&AD Pencils

2017 D&AD Graphite Pencil – Direct / Direct Response/Ambient
2017 D&AD Graphite Pencil – Direct / Direct Innovation
2017 D&AD Yellow Pencil – Digital Design / Digital Installations
2017 D&AD Yellow Pencil – Digital Marketing / Innovative Use of Technology
2017 D&AD Wood Pencil – Spatial & Experiential Design / Experiential Design

‍

13 Art Director's Club Cubes

2017 ADC Black Cube - Campaign of the Year
2017 ADC Gold - Pop-Ups Events
2017 ADC Gold - Pop-Ups Immersive
2017 ADC Gold - Interactive Augmented/Virtual Reality
2017 ADC Gold - Interactive - Innovation
2017 ADC Gold - Craft in Digital - Use of Technology
2017 ADC Gold - Digital Experiences - Installation
2017 ADC Gold - Digital Experiences - Event
2017 ADC Gold - Digital Experiences - Responsive Environments
2017 ADC Silver - Pop –Ups - Installations
2017 ADC Silver - Motion - Innovation
2017 ADC Silver - Craft in Digital - Art Direction

‍

7 Clios

2016 Clios Grand - Digital/Mobile
2016 Clios Gold - Out Of Home
2016 Clios Gold - Public Relations
2016 Clios Silver - Branded Content
2016 Clios Silver - Branded Entertainment
2016 Clios Silver - Digital/Mobile Experience
2016 Clios Silver - Innovation

‍

11 Andys

2017 Andy’s Grandy - Campaign of the Year
2017 Andy’s Gold Events - Creative Tech
2017 Andy’s Gold Events - VR
2017 Andy’s Gold Events - Transportation
2017 Andy’s Gold Branded Content - Creative Tech
2017 Andy’s Gold Branded Content - VR
2017 Andy’s Gold Branded Content - Transportation
2017 Andy’s Gold Innovation - Creative Tech
2017 Andy’s Gold Innovation - VR
2017 Andy’s Gold Innovation - Transportation
2017 Andy’s Silver Branded Content - Special FX

‍

6 Adweek Project Isaac's

3 IAB Mixx

3 Webbys

2 Effies

3 Shots Awards

1 AdAge A-List

WSJ Best Ads of the Year

4A's Best Use of Technology

1 Omma

1 Sabre

2 American Business Awards

2 Epica Awards

REVIEWS

I asked him to make something fairly impossible and gave him no room for compromise. He and his team figured out a way to do that.

ECD

McCann New York

He can be a real asset when amazing but complicated things need to get done.

Executive Creative

Serviceplan/Pereira O'Dell

Alexander had an impressive ability to explain complex ideas and functionality clearly & calmly.

GCD

Critical Mass

Field Trip to Mars

Tim Nudd ADWEEK Interview

Experience

“It’s going to be just a great outreach tool..having something mobile like that...to go out to where kids are and give them the experience first-hand. Hopefully it’ll get them wanting to learn more.”

Credits

Awards

SELECT WORK

REVIEWS

RECENT ROLES (MORE ON LINKEDIN →)

CONTACT ME

Thanks!

Your message has been sent