Petronas "Liquid & Metal"

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    Awards
  • Australian Effects & Animation Festival
    2014: Finalist - Web/Viral
Client: Petronas
Agency: McCann Worldgroup Malaysia
Director: Brad Hogarth
MFX Director: Lau Kim San, Chan Moon Choong

For the new Petronas 'Liquid & Metal' campaign commercial, featuring F1 partner Mercedes-AMG and starring Lewis Hamilton, it was essential to convey the story of a perfect collaboration between the oil company and the engine manufacturer through its graphical sequences.

The graphics and visual effects involved futuristic interfaces on clear glass panels and a new take on an engine and oil simulator. The director wanted a slick and sophisticated yet grounded look for the technology. The brief was to design a more visual way to show the science behind it all, that was stylish without going overboard; what the director referred to as 'effortless tech'. MFX designed the sequence that took us from the Petronas lab, where the lubricant formula is stored onto a clear storage-device that the chemist carries over to an AMG engine simulator; of which the look was inspired by glass-panel art installations.

Prior to design, the team did some research to understand the basics of engine lubricant testing, which helped when it came to designing icons, buttons and graphic representations of chemical formulas. The designs were then further simplified to create minimalist yet stylish and elegant visuals that did not overpower the rest of the film.