Zofia Mackiewicz, Alexander Brown

Wallbox: VFX Stunt

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‘In this project, UNIT9 worked closely with Wallbox to craft an innovative social media advertisement that serves as a component of Wallbox’s brand campaign – “Get in Charge.” The core of this collaboration is a beautiful blend of digital artistry and reality, starring London’s iconic Boudica statue. A lifelike 3D render of the statue comes to life when charged with a Wallbox charger, allowing it to “Get in Charge”.’

Zofia Mackiewicz, Creative Director, UNIT9

The background

Wallbox, a pioneer in smart charging and energy solutions aimed at accelerating electric vehicle adoption and promoting sustainable energy, wanted to launch, ‘Get in Charge’, an ambitious campaign to differentiate itself in the market. Their objective was to create a buzz on social media, making their brand and products the centre of attention.

So, what better way than to bring the iconic Boudica statue to life in a viral VFX stunt?

The execution

As part of the campaign’s social media kit, we created a video of Boudica, who can be seen charging past Big Ben, powered by a Wallbox charger. Of course, the statue hasn’t actually gained a life of its own. It is, in fact, a highly realistic 3D replica that prompts viewers to do a double-take. We wanted the footage to feel natural and user-generated, so we opted for a handheld camera approach.

Removing the real statue for the CGI version wasn’t a simple task. We carefully scanned it from all angles to create an accurate digital replica, ensuring the CGI statue looked believable in its environment. To further enhance realism, we used camera tracking software to match the movements of the handheld camera in the virtual scene. This made the animated statue feel like it truly existed within the footage.

Finally, we added subtle lighting and compositing to seamlessly blend the CGI statue into the environment. This final step tied everything together, creating a cohesive and believable stunt.

The results

The stunt went viral, racking up over 1.3M plays – 300x more than their existing content – significantly elevating Wallbox’s brand visibility in the market.