As UEFA’s Champion’s Leagues men’s final approaches, Mastercard celebrates its sponsorship with a moving film featuring a de-aged version of football legend Lionel Messi.
In the film, Messi reflects on his voyage from Argentina to Spain in 2000 when he left home to launch his football career. In a decisive moment, past and present versions of himself meet: “I love football,” young Messi declares during the encounter, to which his future self replies, “I do too.”
In collaboration with director Peter Thwaites at The Corner Shop and agency McCann, our team of VFX specialists, led by Creative Director Matt Pascuzzi, utilized “neural rendering” technology, an AI-based technique, to craft teenage Messi. This spot marks the first time this proprietary VFX process has been used in a commercial – pioneered by The Mill’s VFX Supervisor, Thiago Porto.
Neural rendering is an entirely new VFX method using zero CGI, and instead, a synthetic Render is developed using artificial intelligence. This process involves feeding data to an AI Neural Network in the form of, thousands of references of young Messi. Numerous photo and video data of his likeness and movements were fed to the AI, with the addition of video captured of child actors with his likeness. The AI was then able to use this data to generate the final digital image (Synthetic Render) we see in the commercial. Once our VFX team created this Synthetic Render of Messi, it was passed on to our compositing team who integrated it into the live-action shots. Topping off the film is a colour grade by Mill colourist Mark Gethin.