Boutiq and Pascal Schelbli produce Spec commercial for Fürst Guitars

Fürst guitars, handmade in Wädenswil, are among Switzerland's finest instrument exports. Pascal Schelbli's idea for this commercial is based on a quote from Pablo Picasso: "Everything you can imagine is real". Whether painter, architect or musician, a principle that applies equally to all artists, provided they have the right tools at their disposal. In this promotional film, a guitarist uses his vision to transform an old industrial hall into a cubist construction, paying tribute to one of the greatest artists of the last century.

An ambitious project

This spectacular idea was realized together with the two producers Chantal Gugger and Theresa Berres. The film was shot at night in an old industrial hall in Winterthur. The experimental team opted for anamorphic lenses, lots of haze and a reduced lighting concept. These were very creative decisions, but they quickly benefited the VFX project.

Right from the start of production, it was clear to everyone involved that this would be a complex and elaborate project. With the support of all crew members on set, as well as the dedicated VFX and animation team at Pulk, this spec film by Pascal Schelbli was realized.

A good foundation for animation and VFX

The foundation for the cubist transformation of the industrial structures with steel beams, bridges and pillars envisaged in the film was the development of the visual effects. During the editing phase, the focus was on how the industrial structures in the hall could be arranged, efficiently adapted and animated. CG supervisor Linus Schneider developed an elaborate setup for this in Houdini, which made it possible to realize the basic idea of a cubist construction. The lighting and look were dictated by the filmed material. Many Asteras - programmable light tubes - were used on the set, which helped a lot with the lighting, especially in the final shot.

Music composed especially for the film

Jonas Wolf, guitarist in the band Eluveitie and protagonist in the Spec film, composed the music for this commercial together with Berlin composer Alexander Wolf David. Scottish actor Stuart Martin, who can currently be seen in the Netflix film "Army of Thieves", was recruited for the voice over.

Responsible at Fürst Guitars: Reto Fürst. Responsible at Boutiq (production): Pascal Schelbli (Director), Linus Schneider (CG Supervisor), Theresa Berres (Producer), Chantal Gugger (Executive Producer), Pulk (Post-Production), Jonas Wolf (Cast), Stuart Martin (Voice), Jonas Wolf & Alexander Wolf David (Composer), Marvin Schatz (DoP), Janis Willbold (Trinity Operator), Manuel Dolderer (Gaffer), Peter Hacker (Color Grading), Robin Harff (Sound Design), Linus Schneider, Florian Baumann & Pascal Schelbli (Animation, VFX).