Infiniti USA wanted to reveal the production version of the QX30 concept during the LA Auto Show in November 2015. Because their space at the LA Convention Center had a large column in the center, our client was open to doing a press event offsite.

Offsite press events come with their own benefits and risks, and in order to offset the cost, our task became much larger: to create an epic, buzzworthy reveal moment that will live on by being talked about and shared on social media.

The creative team on this project included myself, Paxton Yue, Hugo Martinez, and Russell Heubach. We went to the Standard Hotel rooftop in downtown LA to brainstorm some ideas.

The vehicle itself is positioned as being uniquely able to handle the rigors of an Urban Jungle. Part of what makes it so able is how the designers were able to pull features from different classes of vehicles to create the ideal urban transporter. As part of the creative, one idea we had was to illustrate this breaking down of barriers to create the perfect solution.

After a few ideas including pulleys and aircraft wire, we settled on drones. The idea originated from a video sent by the Spinifex team of European experiments with drones carrying "costumes" as they called them. 

Above is the initial Photoshop rendering of the concept, which was presented to the client. In our original concept, the vehicle was fully boxed in by over 100 drones, with projection mapping on the outer surfaces. Due to technical limitations, this had to be scaled back in the production phase.

Below is the initial concept for the reveal moment itself, when all the drones lift off simultaneously, hover for a bit, and then slowly float away, essentially breaking out of the box. Originally we proposed the drones to be radio controlled by computer, but the development time for this was too long. So instead, we partnered with local Southern California drone experts to build and fly the drones manually.

Another parallel direction we went in was an "Urban Transformation" theme, in which the vehicle transforms the urban landscape to something easy and manageable. Our concept to illustrate this idea was set in the Grand Ave. tunnel in Los Angeles, made famous in Batman. For this concept, a famously grungy urban scene would be transformed into a premium, comfortable, and high tech venue, of which the QX30 would be the star. See concept rendering below.

These concept were presented to the client, and they excitedly went for the drones. At that point we went into the production phase, hiring a location scout, finding drone experts, and funneling all our efforts through our producer working to make this event a big success.

See the final case study reel below.