Discover the behind-the-scenes creation process of Heineken’s latest advertising campaign, “Not all nights out are out.” Muva House, the creative company behind the commercials’ games, reveals how the use of Unreal Engine, MidJourney, and Move.ai developed sensational animations, applying gaming technologies to create this authentic and engaging experience.
So, dive with us into this world of fun, virtual friendships, and innovative technologies!
NEW HEINEKEN ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN: NOT ALL NIGHTS OUT ARE OUT
Heineken’s new campaign, “Not all nights out are out,” focuses on the union of the online gaming world and virtual friendships, celebrating encounters in digital environments that strengthen bonds between friends through the internet.
This campaign represents a milestone in advertising and animation, uniting advanced technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and Unreal Engine, with the creativity of Muva House and Le Pub Brasil. The use of these tools allowed the creation of striking and memorable experiences, like the games displayed in the commercials, which show that gaming can be a fun and social activity. The campaign also highlights the potential of these technologies in the advertising and animation industry, demonstrating that it is possible to innovate and surprise the audience with impressive results and reduced deadlines.
Check out the Heineken campaign commercials below:
By choosing the theme of online gaming as a social activity for the campaign, Heineken wanted to demystify the image of the isolated gamer, that is away from his friends. The campaign managed to capture this idea perfectly, using dynamic animations and authentic characters to show that gaming can be a fun and social activity.
The idea of a “gamer” has certainly been redefined, showing that online gaming is a real form of social connection, bringing friends together and creating new experiences.
MUVA HOUSE, THE HOME OF CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION
At the request of Le Pub Brasil, Muva House was responsible for developing the games featured in Heineken’s campaign commercials.
The focus was on creating environments and characters that connected with the viewers, and for this, advanced artificial intelligence technologies were used. One of them was MidJourney, a crucial tool for building character concepts; Move.ai was also used, which allowed the capture of character movements and the generation of high-quality dynamic animations.
Another significant highlight is Unreal Engine, used to build visually impactful and authentic scenarios. This resulted in the creation of animations with exceptional quality, displaying a remarkable aesthetic that captivates and strengthens Heineken’s renowned brand identity.
Final Result
USING MIDJOURNEY IN THE CONCEPT ART OF HEINEKEN CAMPAIGN’S ICONIC CHARACTERS
One of the first steps in any animation is the creation of character concepts, which are usually done by the creatives at the agency responsible for the campaign. These concepts are then translated into images by illustrators, who face the challenge of turning creative ideas into art. In this process, Muva House constantly seeks new ways to improve work deliveries and reduce the execution time of each step.
Mood and outfit research made with Midjourney
To optimize the creative process of the characters in the Heineken campaign, Muva House employed the efficient Midourney tool.
This feature allowed Muva House to generate reference images, which were applied to Photobashing techniques, blending painting and photography to create conceptual illustrations in an agile and effective manner.
These illustrations serve as a foundation for 3D artists to sculpt characters with high quality and precision, generating visually impactful and authentic models. Thanks to Midjourney, Muva House can produce character concepts in a considerably reduced timeframe.
For Jean Campos, CEO and founder of MUVA House, the process of researching elements for the development of character concepts has been accelerated to an unprecedented level: “In just 2 days, we generated more than 150 distinct images, including sneakers, belts, jackets, and other accessories, which were combined, cut out, and used as a basis for the painting.” In this initial phase, where everything is uncertain and all ideas are welcome, it is crucial to have unlimited freedom to create and innovate.
EMPLOYING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN ANIMATION FOR HEINEKEN’S CAMPAIGN: MUVA HOUSE AND MOVE.AI INNOVATE IN THE CREATIVE PROCESS
Animation in advertising can pose a challenge, as deadlines tend to be shorter than in large film productions. Muva House, always seeking innovative solutions to enhance its processes and raise the quality of work, has adopted motion capture as an indispensable resource in its creative arsenal.
Through a collaboration with MOVE.ai, Muva implemented an advanced motion capture process that uses data from videos captured from various angles with multiple cameras. This information is processed in the cloud by an artificial intelligence system that recognizes actors’ movements and transfers them to digital characters, resulting in incredibly lifelike and realistic animations.
The technology developed by MOVE.ai surpasses previous motion capture systems, such as Xsens and Rokoko suits, providing results comparable to the optical system used in acclaimed films like Avatar. Due to this innovation, MOVE.ai was awarded at the prestigious SXSW Innovation Awards 2023, in the Immersive category, which highlights the most daring and innovative projects in augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), extended reality (XR), and other emerging narrative modalities.
The creation of high-impact animations for Heineken’s campaign was only possible due to the AI-based animation solutions provided by MOVE.ai, which enabled the production of several high-quality animations in just two weeks. Jean Campos, from Muva House, emphasizes the relevance of this collaboration: “The capture results are truly impressive and extremely agile, representing a significant transformation in the performance capture process here at MUVA.”
The innovative partnership between Muva House and MOVE.ai in the Heineken campaign demonstrates the potential of AI-based animation technologies to transform the creative process in the advertising industry. This was the first global TV commercial using MOVE.ai’s technology, highlighting the importance of this project and the size of the client involved, Heineken. With impressive results and reduced timelines, this collaboration paves the way for new possibilities and exciting projects in the future. Stay tuned to learn more about the upcoming innovations from Muva House and MOVE.ai in the world of animation and advertising!
UNREAL ENGINE IN ENVIRONMENT CONSTRUCTION: LEARN HOW MUVA HOUSE BROUGHT TOGETHER ALL STAGES OF THE PROCESS TO PRODUCE HEINEKEN’S NEW CAMPAIGN
By using EPIC GAME’s powerful tool, Unreal Engine 5, Muva House was able to create the worlds and characters of the games in Heineken’s new campaign, “Not all nights out are out”. By combining various tools like Maya, Zbrush, Blender, Photoshop, and Substance Painter within UNREAL, the team developed stunning environments, materials, lights, and renderings. Jean Campos, from Muva, highlights the importance of real-time visualization and rendering as a game-changer in the market.
Unreal Engine, one of the most popular choices for game developers and other interactive applications, offers advanced features for creating high-quality cinematic projects. Among the main functionalities used by Muva House are the import of FBX files for animations, visual programming with Blueprints, set construction with Datasmith, advanced lighting with Lumen, geometry optimization with Nanite, and support for UDIM in characters.
Thanks to the robust features of Unreal Engine, Muva was able to develop visually impactful content for the games in Heineken’s campaign. The team created unique environments, characters, and animations that would have been impossible to achieve in such a short time without UNREAL. The expertise gained over more than 15 years in the market allows Muva House to produce high-quality content quickly and efficiently, meeting the demands of a client like Heineken.
The success of Muva House in Heineken’s campaign demonstrates the power and versatility of Unreal Engine. Through the combination of technical tools and artistic vision, the team managed to create memorable experiences that will surely please fans of the brand. The use of UNREAL not only provided agility to the process but also a quality standard that is one of Muva’s values.
In conclusion, Muva has shown how technology and creativity can work together to create amazing and captivating experiences. The use of Unreal Engine allowed the team to overcome the challenges imposed by the deadline and deliver a high-quality project that impressed everyone in approximately one month. This success is just a taste of what Muva House has to offer, and it will undoubtedly spark interest in those who want to learn more about the company and its future projects.
