First Heineken Gaming Campaign uses AI and Unreal

Muva House, the creative company behind the commercial games, reveals how the use of Unreal Engine, MidJourney, and Move.ai developed sensational animations, applying gaming technologies to create this authentic and immersive experience.

So, dive with us into this world of fun, virtual friendships, and innovative technologies!

HEINEKEN'S NEW ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN: NOT EVERY ROUND IS OUT THERE

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 is a milestone in advertising and animation, combining advanced technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and Unreal Engine with the creativity of Muva House and the agency Le Pub Brasil. The use of these tools allowed for the creation of remarkable and memorable experiences, such as the games showcased in the commercials, which demonstrate that playing can be a fun and social activity. The campaign also highlights the potential of these technologies in the advertising and animation industry, showing that it is possible to innovate and surprise the audience with impressive results and shorter deadlines.

Check out the commercials from Heineken's campaign below:

By choosing online gaming as a social activity as the theme of the campaign, Heineken aimed to demystify the image of gamers being isolated from their friends. The campaign successfully captured this idea, using dynamic animations and authentic characters to show that playing can be a fun and social activity.

Certainly, the concept of a "gamer" has been redefined, demonstrating that playing online is a real form of social connection, bringing friends together and creating new experiences.

MUVA HOUSE, THE HOUSE OF CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION

Muva House, at the request of Le Pub Brasil, was responsible for developing the games featured in Heineken's campaign commercials.

The focus was on creating environments and characters that would connect with the viewers, and for this purpose, advanced artificial intelligence technologies were utilized. One of them was MidJourney, a crucial tool for the construction of character concepts. Another was Move.ai, which allowed for motion capture and the generation of high-quality dynamic animations.

Another significant highlight is the Unreal Engine, used to build visually striking and authentic scenarios. This resulted in the creation of exceptionally high-quality animations, showcasing a remarkable aesthetic that captivates and strengthens the identity of the renowned Heineken brand.

using MidJourney in the conception of the iconic characters in the Heineken campaign

One of the initial stages in any animation is the creation of character concepts, which is usually done by the creatives from the agency responsible for the campaign. These concepts are then translated into images by illustrators, who face the challenge of turning the creatives' ideas into art. In this process, Muva House constantly seeks new ways to improve work delivery and reduce the execution time of each stage.

In order to optimize the creative process of the characters in the Heineken campaign, Muva House utilized the efficient tool Midjourney.

This tool enables the generation of reference images, which are applied in Photobashing techniques, blending painting and photography to create conceptual illustrations in a fast and effective manner.

These illustrations serve as a foundation for 3D artists to sculpt the characters with high quality and precision, generating visually striking and authentic models. Thanks to Midjourney, Muva House is able to produce character concepts within a significantly reduced timeframe.

According to Jean Campos, CEO and founder of Muva House, the process of researching elements for character concept development has been accelerated to an unprecedented level: "In just 2 days, we generated over 150 distinct images, including sneakers, belts, jackets, and other accessories, which were blended, cut out, and used as a base for painting." In this initial phase, where everything is uncertain and all ideas are welcome, having unlimited freedom to create and innovate is crucial.

UTILIZING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN ANIMATION CREATION FOR THE HEINEKEN CAMPAIGN: MUVA HOUSE AND MOVE.AI INNOVATE IN THE CREATIVE PROCESS

Animation in advertising can pose a challenge, as deadlines are often shorter compared to major film productions. MUVA House, always in search of innovative solutions to enhance their processes and elevate the quality of their work, has embraced motion capture as an indispensable resource in their creative arsenal.

Through a collaboration with MOVE.ai, MUVA has implemented an advanced motion capture process that utilizes data from videos captured at multiple angles with multiple cameras. This information is processed in the cloud by an artificial intelligence system that recognizes the movements of the actors 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, delivering results comparable to the optical systems used in acclaimed films like Avatar. Due to this innovation, MOVE.ai was honored at the prestigious SXSW Innovation Awards 2023 in the Immersive category, recognizing 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 in the Heineken campaign was made possible thanks to the AI-based animation solutions provided by MOVE.ai, enabling the production of multiple high-quality animations in just two weeks. Jean Campos from MUVA House emphasizes the importance of this collaboration: "The capture results are truly impressive and extremely efficient, representing a significant transformation in performance capture processes here at MUVA."

The innovative partnership between MUVA House and MOVE.ai in the Heineken campaign showcases the potential of AI-based animation technologies to revolutionize the creative process in the advertising industry. This marked the first global TV commercial to utilize MOVE.ai's technology, highlighting the significance of this project and the involvement of the client, Heineken. With impressive results and shorter timelines, this collaboration paves the way for new possibilities and exciting projects in the future. Stay tuned for more updates on the next innovations from MUVA House and MOVE.ai in the world of animation and advertising.

UNREAL ENGINE IN SCENE BUILDING: HOW MUVA HOUSE INTEGRATED ALL STAGES OF THE PROCESS TO PRODUCE THE NEW HEINEKEN CAMPAIGN

By utilizing the powerful game development tool from Epic, Unreal Engine 5, Muva House was able to create the worlds and characters of the games in the new Heineken campaign, "Nem Toda Rodada é Lá Fora" (Not Every Round is Out There). Combining various tools such as Maya, Zbrush, Blender, Photoshop, and Substance Painter within Unreal, the team developed impressive environments, materials, lighting, 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 to create high-quality cinematic projects. Among the key functionalities utilized by Muva House are the importation of FBX files for animations, visual scripting with Blueprints, scene 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 stunning content for the games in the Heineken campaign. The team created unique environments, characters, and animations that would have been impossible to achieve within such a short timeframe without UNREAL. The expertise acquired over 15 years in the industry allows Muva House to produce high-quality content quickly and efficiently, meeting the demands of clients like Heineken.

The success of Muva House in the Heineken campaign demonstrates the power and versatility of Unreal Engine. Through the combination of technical tools and artistic vision, the team was able to create memorable experiences that will certainly delight brand fans. The use of UNREAL not only provided speed to the process but also ensured a standard of quality that is one of Muva's core values.