We always knew Albert Einstein was smart. So it’s no surprise to find him explaining why smart meters help to keep Britain green in the new Smart Energy campaign. We just didn’t expect him to be doing it from his own bathtub while scrolling through Instagram…

The Mill were tasked by AMV and Smart Energy with the hugely ambitious task of creating a digital version of Einstein. We crafted a unique and groundbreaking visual effects pipeline in order to create an avatar that was truly convincing. Our visual effects team, including facial shape experts, spent months researching and developing a robust toolset so we could convincingly portray the nuances of Einstein’s personality. We used cutting-edge 4D volumetric capture technology to capture the performance of an actor. This was then used to re-create subtle facial performances and intricate details in CGI.

We developed a bespoke system at The Mill to process and export facial data before our team meticulously groomed each hair, wrinkle and eye detail on the CGI model.

“This was definitely a first for The Mill. Although we have tackled digital human creation in the past, it would be fair to say it hasn’t been done at this level before. This project presented us with so many technical and artistic challenges which would have been difficult in normal circumstances let alone doing it all remotely during a pandemic! We’ve been lucky to have some of the world’s most incredible talent working on this project – amongst the best in their field. We’ve loved every minute of it!” - Alex Hammond