In 2022, Lambda Films produced The Creator to promote the launch of the Lotus Evija. The Creator was our first foray into automotive advertising and we aimed to produce something spectacular.

The Concept

Our ideation process naturally began with the etymology of the name itself, Evija; meaning ‘the first’…

We knew that the designers of the Evija were inspired by the raw power of nature; evident from the wind-sculpted chassis and the electric energy source. Therefore we wanted to somehow bring nature, and technology, together in one concept.

The combination of these creative elements conjured up the idea of The Creator; a being at the beginning of time. The concept reflected various world-creation mythologies. However, our Creator crafts an embryonic Evija from the raw, natural materials of the virgin world, before finally imbuing it with life from pure electricity.

Pre-Production

It was important to us that the cinematography was considered from the start. We wanted a moody mixture of blue, night-time tones contrasted with the burning orange hue of the fire. To achieve this, the shoot took place over a single sunset, and a single sunrise in order to take advantage of the natural colours. 

The Pre-Production Mood Board for The Creator

Production

Our location for The Creator had to look primitive, volcanic and raw. It had to allow for a mixture of elements such as earth, water, rock and wind, as well as providing a wide skyline for our thunderstorm. Lotus worked with our Norwich Production team, who discovered Hopton Beach in Norfolk, as a perfect visual match. 

The production of The Creator was a difficult one. Working with both tides and sun paths restricted us to two, 30-minute production windows. This required exacting consideration when selecting our gear. 

We collaborated with the rental house, Shoot Blue, to source the an ARRI Alexa Mini LF, Zeiss Supremes, Ronin 2, Skypanel S60 and a set of Astera Titan Tubes.

The Ronin 2 enabled us to work at speed, repositioning quickly and easily while transitioning between set-ups. The mobile nature of the gimbal further allowed us to move around our talent as they performed the ritual. 

We chose to shoot on the larger sensor of the Mini LF so that we could push the camera’s capabilities further into night shooting, while minimising visual noise. 

Finally, we elected to rig 8 Astera Titan Tubes into a grid. This provided a large 4ft x 4ft fixture that was fully remote and mobile. This allowed more control when creating shape and depth on our talent, as well as manipulating the motivated fire light.

Camera moves and positions mapped out during pre-production

Post-Production

Doppler & Dubbs provided us with the sound design and score for The Creator. Their brief was to create a visceral soundscape, emphasising the raw powerful elements of water, earth, fire and breath; evolving into the energy and drama of an electrical storm.

The edit aimed to achieve a tidal ebb and flow between the frantic pace of The Creator’s ritual and the slower beauty shots of the Evija. Thereby interweaving the inspiration behind the Evija design and the natural elements.

In sync with the skin drums, tablas and the ethnic ensemble of the score, the edit builds to a crescendo during the harnessing of the electrical storm. Whereupon the pace of the edit slows, and allows space for the final Evija reveal.

The grading process of the film aimed to really push the dramatic contrast and give us the deepest blacks to accentuate the areas of light – whether this was from the fire, or the electrical VFX added later.

In terms of colour, we knew we wanted to feel the contrast between the cold and abyssal blues, and the burning orange hues of the fire. These colours, already achieved in-camera, were accentuated further to add depth and elevate the drama of the piece.

The VFX too were a crucial element in this film. The VFX pushed the in-camera footage to new heights by accentuating the fire, adding sparks and thunder clouds, and creating  kinetic energy to the wind through the use of Trapcode Particular, a particle engine.

The hero VFX shots were central to the creative concept; the harnessing of raw electrical energy to bring the Lotus Evija to life. The lightning effects were created with Advanced Lightning plugin, and motion-tracked to The Creator. 

The Creator was our first foray in to the world of the automotive advert, but it has since gone on to win awards and critical praise. We’re keen to produce further projects for the automotive sector, especially those built around a strong, creative concept. We were able to lean on our full range of in-house video production services and expertise to bring this epic film to life, from concept to launch.

You can view the entire cast & credits list on The Creator project page.

Until then, you can watch The Creator in its entirety below.