CDK Global
CONNECT
An explainer epic that simplifies and reveals the humanity of the car buying and selling process. CDK Global developed software that connects potential car buyers with potential car sellers as well as aiding in the maintenance and upkeep of their new purchases. We shot for multiple days several locations to develop this VFX driven augmented reality (AR) inspired video. Adding in the stylized 3D scenes aided in the areas typically told through infographics in a less technical fashion keeping this video approachable and understandable.
Design | Script | Directorial | Live-Action | Editorial | Motionography | Animation | VFX | Compositing | Color Correction
a day in the life of the automotive sales industry
Directed by:Directed by: Bobby Hougham
Director of Photography: Matthew Clark
Movi Operator: Ryan Haug
Executive Producer: Sevrin Daniels
Creative Directors: Sevrin Daniels, Bobby Hougham
VFX/Animation Supervisor: Eric Edwards
Editor: John Jeffcoat
Agency: SMITH
CD: Mason West
Producer: Cherie Martin Irwin
Directed by:Directed by: Bobby Hougham
Director of Photography: Matthew Clark
Movi Operator: Ryan Haug
Executive Producer: Sevrin Daniels
Creative Directors: Sevrin Daniels, Bobby Hougham
VFX/Animation Supervisor: Eric Edwards
Editor: John Jeffcoat
Agency: SMITH
CD: Mason West
Producer: Cherie Martin Irwin
The Process
The process for this was a bit different from the norm. CDK Global was in the middle of a rebrand and not everything was totally dialed in. The New Blank was asked to help in visualizing and extending the nascent brand into the motion sphere. We jumped right in and started with mood boards and sketching as well as multiple rounds of style frames to get the iconography and animation just right.
The AR treatment was a way to pull the client away from needing to see their software literally on screens which would have killed the flow. As the story was a bit of an epic covering everything from a college student going off to school with his first car to an older rich guy with his childhood dream car to the average joe bringing in his vehicle for maintenance and all the pieces and parts in between, we really needed flow to work in our favor. AR graphics were tracked in and the footage was rotoscoped to flow around it.
The 3D scenes were a result of many rounds back and forth with the agency to really get their vision of the brand across. In the end, we have a video that clarifies and explains the CDK Global Connect software and its impact on the auto industry even the least technical person can fully understand.
