Today Pennzoil is launching a new campaign called Born from Natural Gas for a first-of-its-kind motor oil made from natural gas, Pennzoil Platinum with PurePlus Technology - the first true innovation in the category in over 35 years. To debut the product, JWT Atlanta wanted to create something just as innovative as the product itself. The result is a first-of-its-kind TV commercial shot on gaseous vapor clouds. The project took almost a year to produce due to the technical and engineering side of pulling off a commercial, live in-camera, of this magnitude.
The hero spot called Complete Protection features a Maserati driving through a series of 3D animations projected onto moving gaseous vapor clouds. After the car collects the projected icons, it merges with a gas projected Maserati, as if the body and soul of the car are coming together and achieving complete protection.
To bring the spot to life, JWT Atlanta teamed up with MPC NY, Skunk LA and director Raf Wathion. The creation was full of challenges including synchronizing naturally forming elements and choreographing a live performance of a moving automobile, an uncontrollable vapor cloud and projected animation, all in-camera, all in a certain window of time, in a pitch black environment. The projection served as the only light source for the shoot.
The campaign, anchored by a 30-second hero spot, Complete Protection, also includes a 30-second fully CG Gas to Bottle spot directed by David Estis at MPC Creative - a stunningly beautiful visual journey through abstract particles that follows the curves forming the Pennzoil bottle. The integrated campaign will continue to roll out more ideas throughout the year under the tagline Motor oil Reimagined.
MPC NY worked hand-in-hand with Skunk Director Raf Wathion and JWT Atlanta to bring a fresh approach to showcase the Pennzoil Platinum synthetic oil in a visually new way. Inspired by the inherent innovation behind the product, JWT enlisted MPC to explore the concept of projecting 3D animation onto real vapor, tightly choreographed with live-action elements and captured in camera using motion control.
The all-new campaign, anchored by a 30-second spot, Complete Protection, also includes a 30-second fully CG Gas to Bottle spot directed by David Estis at MPC Creative - a stunningly beautiful visual journey through abstract particles that follows the curves that form the Pennzoil bottle.
Creative Director David Estis and VFX Supervisor Ashley Bernes led the MPC team at every stage of campaign creation; collaborating with Wathion through concept development, previz and into post to achieve an entirely in-camera approach. The team at MPC has been very excited to create Complete Protection' since the first images appeared on vapor during the early live-action tests. The subtle nuances of the projected image on a real vapor cloud has a visual richness that is difficult to achieve with particle simulation, and the interaction between the car, projection, and cloud would have been next to impossible without an in-camera approach, explains Estis.
The innovative and challenging nature of the visual approach drew on a wide range of MPC's disciplines, with JWT, MPC and Skunk collaborating closely to explore new techniques. Executive Producer Tim Dillon notes: We are often being brought into the equation much earlier - to develop detailed previz and define the visual techniques well before the shoot. Were now using projection and other interactive systems as part of our filmmaking toolkit.
Go Behind The Scenes of the Pennzoil TV Commercial
Production Approach
MPC took a multi-tiered process mixing previz, test shooting, and projection to breathe life into every shot. Ahead of the shoot, MPC created CG elements which included the pistons, fuel nozzle and a completely CG Maserati Ghibli to match the live-action counterpart. A previz was created and used on set to ensure the projection and live-action car performance aligned. During the previz, we started experimenting with camera moves, contrast levels, and different speeds, noted Bernes. And really, we all developed the narrative from there.
The shoot took place over three days in Los Angeles at a vacant Firestone factory; the vast space presented a series of challenges. Due to the amount of windows, the team resolved to shoot at night to allow optimal light control. The extensive number of steel columns created another obstacle, which made precision-driving the true star of the shoot. Likewise, the scale of the space affected air currents, which meant vapor control became irrespective to test shooting, as each space presented variations.
MPC and Skunk used motion control cameras to capture dynamic, repeatable camera movement for the live-action car choreographed together with the practical vapor clouds. The camera team built a specialized bespoke rig for the projector to move alongside the Milo motion control system. The MPC team used the motion control data to align pre-rendered content with physical camera moves, allowing the animated projected content to appear at correct angles when seen on the vapor in-camera.
The vapor columns were the most difficult elements to create, but with the help of an incredibly talented special effects team, each shot was designed in a way that allowed for maximum control and quick reset times. Movable fog rigs and fans were placed in precise locations and controlled remotely to contribute to the highly complex shots. Projecting the CG animation onto vapor in the same physical location as the live-action car performance meant the lighting conditions needed to be balanced between the ambient and the powerful projectors being used for the CG content.
The footage was then brought into the compositing pipeline, where the 2D team, led by Evan Schoonmaker, enhanced the projected elem
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
06/12/2025
In a live broadcast from the Reagan National Defense Forum, L3Harris Chair and CEO Christopher Kubasik joined Morgan Brennan on CNBCs Closing Bell: Overtime. Ku...
06/12/2025
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. A new survey from Pixitmedia by Datacore revealed a major shift in the Media & Entertainment industry in media archiving, with 85% of resp...
06/12/2025
HACKENSACK, N.J. LiveU has announced that the national public broadcaster Czech Television has completed one of the largest LiveU live production deployments fo...
06/12/2025
NEW YORK The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) presented the Excellence in Production Technology Emmy Award to NASA+ and Dr. Tom Leight...
05/12/2025
2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nati...
05/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Veritone's Sean King on the Power of Mining Video, Audio DataThe company's Data Refinery offers users total control and governance over da...
05/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: Inside the Nashville Predators' Unified, Flexible, Sca...
05/12/2025
Netflix Reaches Agreement To Acquire Warner Bros. Following Planned WBD SplitThe deal does not include WBDs sports assets like TNT Sports (US, UK, LatAm), Euros...
05/12/2025
FOX Sports Returns to Indianapolis for Primetime Broadcast of Big Ten Championsh...
05/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Digital Engagement & Monetization Workshop Tackles the ...
05/12/2025
Atlanta United Lights Up New Emory Healthcare Studio With First Live Broadcast f...
05/12/2025
As Messi Takes the Pitch, MLS, Apple, NEP Roll Out Largest MLS Cup Production Ev...
05/12/2025
ESPN Enters College Football's Most Intense Month With Elevated Workflows fo...
05/12/2025
It's about that time! Awards season is in full swing, and the Film Independe...
05/12/2025
Every year, Spotify Wrapped offers a personalized look back at the audio that defined your year. It's a snapshot of your listening habits, designed to tell ...
05/12/2025
In 2025, Spotify's EQUAL, GLOW, and RADAR programs celebrated women, LGBTQIA , and emerging artists who turned moments into milestones. From breaking record...
05/12/2025
In our latest blog, we explain how Wi-Fi 7 rollouts can drive consumer loyalty with value-add services such as consumer cybersecurity. We also explore how this ...
05/12/2025
LOS ANGELES Netflix announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Nielsens Gracenote has launched Gracenote Content Connect, a new ad platform that provides agencies, brands, supply-side platforms (SSPs) and demand-si...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK In an most important update to the workings of deal-based programmatic advertising, IAB Tech Lab has released version 1.0 of its Deals API for public c...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Pass the turkey. Pass the stuffing. Pass the cranberry sauce. All are common requests of Americans celebrating Thanksgiving Day with family and f...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. Netflix announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has approved AT&T's $1.02 billion acquisition of spectrum from UScellular in a decision that was issued sho...
05/12/2025
The Best Coldplay Songs: 21 Tracks That Shoot for the Stars From Yellow to Viva La Vida, Fix You to Paradise, this playlist goes back to the start.
December ...
05/12/2025
Zafris Lecture Series Brings Nabil Ayers to Berklee The 32nd annual James G. Zafris Distinguished Lecture series was held on Thursday, November 13, with guest...
05/12/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils the First Look for Land of Sin' - Premier...
05/12/2025
Introducing New Perks to Help You Get Even More from LinkedIn Premium Published on Dec 5, 2025 Categories: Company News, Product News
LinkedIn Corporate Co...
05/12/2025
Friday 5 December 2025
A new Game of Thrones Tale: Official trailer for Sky Exc...
05/12/2025
Back to All News
Don Lee, Lee Jin-uk, and Lalisa Manobal to Star in Netflix Act...
05/12/2025
Tis the season of giving once again and this year we've taken our Give Back Fridays' concept and turned it on its head.
In the autumn we were approach...
05/12/2025
Brayden Gogis doesn't remember a time when he wasn't completely fixated on games in all forms. In preschool, when they asked us to dress up as what we ...
05/12/2025
The Grinch steals the spotlight as the theme for The Late Late Toy Show 2025
Tune in tonight at 9:35pm on RT One and worldwide on RT Player
#LateLateToyShow...
05/12/2025
RT Announces New Presenters of Flagship News Programmes
New RT Six One News co-presenter Tommy Meskill
Sarah McInerney & Justin McCarthy join Morning Ir...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir Blackmagic Design HyperDeck Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & ...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir AJA Ki Pro Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & just:in linux
More Details:Starting with version 5.5, both just:in mac pro and just:in linux sol...
04/12/2025
Wangu Kanuri from Kenya and Godwin Asediba from Ghana are two of this years finalists for Thomsons Young Journalist of the Year Award. The pair are runners-up i...
04/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: ProximaVision's Claudio Lisman on Why Tethered Drones Could Be...
04/12/2025
SVG Campus Shot Callers: Imry Halevi, Senior Associate Director of Athletics, Co...
04/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: LiveU Lightweight Sports Production: A Step Change in Spor...
04/12/2025
London to Riyadh: DAZN brings the boxing glamour to new production levels for Be...
04/12/2025
Analysis: Paramount bets on the battering ram' with Champions League play By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Tuesday, December 2, 2025 - 10:12
Print ...
04/12/2025
Space City Home Network Launches SCHN DTC App for Astros and RocketsThe Rockets and Astros were previously the lone NBA and MLB teams without a DTC appBy Jason...
04/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Content Workflows Workshop Spotlights Evolution of Spor...
04/12/2025
New Sponsor Spotlight: Geotech's Patrick Wambold On the Unreal Engine Revolu...
04/12/2025
Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nationally and RegionallyBy Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S.
Thursday, December 4, 2025 - 1:52 pm
Print This Sto...
04/12/2025
(L-R) Rebecca Lichtenfeld, Mohammadreza Eyni, Sara Khaki, and Judith Helfand att...
Today Pennzoil is launching a new campaign called Born from Natural Gas for a first-of-its-kind motor oil made from natural gas, Pennzoil Platinum with PurePlus Technology - the first true innovation in the category in over 35 years. To debut the product, JWT Atlanta wanted to create something just as innovative as the product itself. The result is a first-of-its-kind TV commercial shot on gaseous vapor clouds. The project took almost a year to produce due to the technical and engineering side of pulling off a commercial, live in-camera, of this magnitude.
