How Covert Built a Gamer’s Paradise with Alienware

Covert has collaborated on several projects with animation and live action studio, Private Island over the years – so when the opportunity to work on the Alienware films arose, the team jumped at the opportunity to create some VFX wizardry along with director, Chris Boyle, once again. 

The project itself had all of the ingredients that the team at Covert thrive in – packed with creative freedom balanced with specific direction, tricky rendering, and for the gaming lovers, lots of aliens, creatures, and epic space, land and cityscapes. 

The three spots for the legendary gaming hardware company are each completely unique and required the most out of Covert’s toolbox of skills. ‘Space Marine’, ‘Hoard’, ‘Slayer’ follow a trio of gamers who's online environments, we discover, are impacted directly by their real-world surroundings. They each battle in settings brimming with idiosyncrasies before the viewer is invited to ‘Be More Alien’. 

We spoke to Covert’s creative director, Dan Andrew, to find out about how they made critters explode with sparkle-blood, worked with an internal team of authenticity police, and persevered with particularly complex compositing, to pull off something otherworldly. 

LBB> Can you walk us through the conceptualisation process for each of the three spots?

Dan> Each of the three films had a unique creative direction, requiring tailored conceptualisation approaches.

Space Marine: This project was a gamer's paradise! We spent a month bringing to life epic space battles between alien spaceships and space marines on an alien planet. We worked closely with Chris Boyle to develop the planet's surface environment, which influenced the partial set build and lighting for the shoot. Our process involved various phases of concept drawings, storyboards, and CG renders, shared with the client and agency. Simultaneously, we developed Mechs and dropships to populate the battlefield. This extensive pre-shoot development phase is typical for larger projects, and our clients have come to rely on Covert for this service.

Hoard: Creating a futuristic cityscape for the opening scene was a thrilling challenge. Our internal 3D team went through several development rounds until the agency and client approved the final look. We collaborated with the production company to create style frames and test animations at each VFX stage, ensuring a smooth workflow throughout the project.

Slayer: With its fantasy feel, Slayer was a joy to work on. From day one, the team dived into creating the look and style of the critters and the alien forest, which had to complement the set. Working closely with Alienware and the production company, we ensured seamless development of the critters, starting with sketches and pose frame renders, then moving on to rigging, fur generation, lighting, and texturing.

LBB> What were some of the biggest creative challenges you faced while working on these commercials?

Dan> The fur on the critters in Slayer was particularly challenging. It had to explode in a specific way when the critters were slayed, and transitioning from cute to scary critter forms added complexity too. Our 3D R&D department rose to the challenge, solving issues swiftly to ensure we could render the final scenes effectively.

LBB> You mentioned using a sophisticated toolkit including C4D, Blender, Nuke and After Effects. How did these tools, combined with AI integration, enhance the production process? 

Dan> For Space Marine, our pipeline relied heavily on C4D, Blender, and Nuke for compositing. The continuous battle shot on the planet surface was particularly complex, but Nuke's ability to handle heavy, complex shots with multiple 3D elements was invaluable. We even used deep compositing for better handling of the scene depth. AE, Embergen, X-particles, and C4D were essential for creating laser gun blasts and Mech cannon effects. AE's speed made it perfect for generating these effects within our workflow.

LBB> What role did AI play in the development of the films and can you give an example of how it was utilised effectively

Dan> Nuke's internal AI system was instrumental in generating depth mattes from live-action plates and using built-in AI rotoscoping tools for various hold-out issues. We also employed AI-driven image generators for some base elements of the DMP, accelerating the build process compared to traditional methods.

LBB> Each commercial taps into different gaming genres. How did you team ensure authenticity and immersion in these diverse realms?

Dan> We were fortunate to work with a talented director who ensured gamer authenticity early in the scripts and treatments. At Covert, our internal gaming crew served as our very own authenticity police!, providing invaluable input and pointing out any inaccuracies. Their combined insights along with the clients helped maintain creative immersion and a genuine gaming-feel for each film.

LBB> What was the process behind creating the glitter bomb critter explosions in Slayer? Tell us about any other stand out moments

Dan> The critter explosions in Slayer were designed to be light and fun, resembling glitter bombs rather than typical blood and guts. We conducted extensive R&D with particle simulations to achieve the right creative balance. Visual research on natural and artificial explosions and how light affects glitter helped us perfect the effect. Additionally, the transformations from cute to scary critters involved numerous iterations, with the addition of slime saliva drips being a particularly fun touch.

LBB> With a constrained shooting schedule, how did you manage to deliver this result?

Dan> To manage the tight schedule, we handled all aspects of VFX, from on-set supervision, including data collection and HDRI capture, to ensure the CG team had all necessary information. The shoot spanned three days, one for each commercial, requiring precise timing. Covert's look-dev team provided on-set pre-visualisation to aid the director and DOP, and look-dev support before the shoot to align the creative vision with the client. Post-shoot, we used a pipeline of C4D, Blender, Nuke, and AE for VFX, with AI integration to enhance efficiency and speed.

LBB> Do you have a personal favourite or one that you felt personally connected to? 

Dan> Personally, I loved working on Space Marine. The complexity of the compositing and the sci-fi battle scene resonated with my own background in VFX compositing and my passion for sci-fi. It was a dream come true to create such an epic film!