Bad Driver
- Visual Effects & 3D
Handing your son the car keys takes a certain amount of trust, especially when his driving history includes a riding lawn mower in a pond. For Volkswagen’s “Bad Driver,” Ambassadors used traditional CG to turn back the years on a character whose troubles behind the wheel started early.
Created with Dentsu and Annomann, the film follows a father watching his son grow up with little sign of a natural talent for driving.
Brief
From crashing a pedal car into an amusement-park mascot to trouble on the go-kart track, the son gives his father plenty of reasons to worry. By the time he is old enough to drive his father’s Volkswagen, there is quite a history to overcome.
Those younger years provide the setup for the film’s humor. Our brief was to de-age the son for the earlier scenes, establishing the stages of his childhood that make his father’s eventual decision to hand over the keys feel like such a leap of faith.
Execution
Our team carried out the de-aging using traditional CG, working with the son’s appearance in the filmed material. Making him look younger involved changes to both his facial features and his size alongside his father.
We made him appear smaller within the scene and adjusted his facial structure to soften his features. Together, these changes gave the son the younger appearance needed for the earlier chapters of the story.
Result
The film gives Volkswagen a warm, funny way to show why choosing a car you trust matters. Through a father learning to relax beside his son, it makes confidence behind the wheel feel like something the whole family shares.
More of our work here.
