Monday, 7 January 2008 | Levent OZLER

Plus Et Plus Captures Fluid Elegance for Sonaka Vodka

Sonaka.mov ( 19MB )

Plus et Plus, the innovative 5 year old creative studio behind all manner of imaginative commercial, broadcast, brand content, and much more, recently created a viral video piece for Sonäka, a new brand of premium vodka. As the first piece of promotional material for the as-yet-unreleased ultra pure vodka, the Austrian distiller had high hopes for Plus et Plus' work.

"Sonäka calls this 'the art of vodka,'" says Jeremy Hollister, creative director, Plus et Plus. "They wanted something more elegant and sophisticated than typical vodka advertising. Their vodka goes through a unique distilling process to ensure that it is ultra pure, and they wanted this piece to reflect that high-end, premium feeling. What we came up with was something of an abstract metaphor for the taste experience of Sonäka."

Opening with a single drop of clear liquid emerging from beneath the surface, the piece uses epic music to drive this taste experience to ever greater heights. The single, clear ripple created quickly escalates into a frenetic storm of droplets. As they build in intensity, the ruby liquor returns to its original clarity before snaking plant-like higher in the scene. With a sudden, flavorful explosion, the fluid tendrils blossom into a gleaming pink flower. No sooner has the flower emerged, however, than it transforms into a misty memory, leaving viewers with only the Sonäka logo to remember the experience.

"The piece begins just as a great taste of vodka does," explains Judy Wellfare, creative director, Plus et Plus. "Clean and simple at first, followed with blossoming color and verve. The chain reaction builds to an almost epic energy before dissipating. After all, good things are meant to last."

The fully photorealistic, highly imaginative piece was created entirely as a 3D liquid simulation and composited with Autodesk Flame.

"We crafted the flower as its own element, which we then applied to the liquid simulation, deliberately imbuing it with an organic, fluid feeling while keeping it recognizable," added Wellfare. "We wanted the environment to be striking and visceral, yet still keep viewers focused on the beautiful acrobatics the liquid is performing. In the compositing session, we added gloss, treating the piece as if it had been shot on film, adding lens flares and other atmospheric effects that react to the surface of the liquid."

While the vodka may still be fledgling, the Plus et Plus team created a look of maturity sure to appeal to sophisticated vodka drinkers. According to Hollister, it was a labor of love:

"It was exciting to create something that is simultaneously photoreal and highly stylized," he says. "It was challenging, but it was like we were creating reality in a distinctly fantastical way. This is a very different approach for alcohol advertising, and we believe it will work across a variety of media."

Technologies Used: Autodesk Flame, Maya, Gen Arts Sapphire Sparks, Mac.