Prodrive has a new concept in racing simulators – the most beautiful racing simulator in the world! It has been designed not only to offer a first-class simulator experience, but also to be a striking piece of home furniture.
The sculpted carbon monocoque housing the driver’s seat, the screen, steering wheel, and pedal box appear to float beneath a striking canopy of 16 layers of beech are encased in an elegant lacquered gloss black finish. Not only is this beautiful to look at from the outside but wraps over the driver to give such an immersive experience that it feels like being in the cockpit of a race car. Created to be a statement art piece, Prodrive have blended traditional and modern materials together to design a piece of furniture that would take pride of place in any home or venue. The sweeping form and ‘piano black’ gloss finish take the Racing Simulator to a whole new place – it’s a piece of furniture that can elegantly sit in a living space.
For this film, we were asked to deliver something reminiscent of an automotive advert.
For this, we utilised the amazing space at Junction 11 Studios in Banbury, and lit the simulator using a single lighting source from above (an Aputure C300D Mk2 light with soft box). This gave the simulator a dramatic feel and allowed us to capture everything we needed.
For the majority of moments, we used a combination of slider, gimbal and different lens choices to achieve the look we wanted. First on our shot list, we aimed to tease the clean lines and reflective surfaces, without giving away what we are looking at. (Is it a piano? Is it a car?). Then the shots become wider and we have more context, then finally a driver gets behind the wheel and the simulator powers up, flinging us into a dramatic race.
The resulting film perfectly delivered the brief and is now being used to promote the simulator to the public.