Responses by Mathieu Felix, co founder and creative director, Tigrelab.
Background: ACCIONA is a Spanish multinational conglomerate dedicated to the development and management of infrastructure and renewable energy. The concept of creating a video tracing over a century of ACCIONA’s history while representing the sustainability ethos of the company might be perceived as a mere marketing tool; however, the goal was to craft a corporate video that pushed the boundaries of the genre.
The Nature of ACCIONA is the result of a creative collaboration between Acciona Cultura—a cultural production firm part of the ACCIONA Group—and us at Barcelona-based creative studio Tigrelab. The video leverages a historic photo collection, the poetics of nature and AI in video production to create a visually striking and engaging representation of the company’s work with a clear focus on the future. Our collaboration ensured a holistic approach, combining technical expertise, creative storytelling and mesmerizing visuals for a film tailored to the multiple stakeholders at ACCIONA’s headquarters in Madrid.
Design thinking: Drawing inspiration from haiku, a traditional Japanese poetry form that evokes images of the natural world, Acciona Cultura developed a script that connected the notion of engineering with nature. The narrative elaborated on how the design and creation of technologies, structures and systems are deeply influenced and inspired by the principles found in the natural world. Hence, AI-aesthetic imagery and Stable Diffusion’s innovative morphing abilities emerged as the perfect tool to visually parallel these two concepts. Featuring abstract animated sequences that immerse the viewer in dreamlike imagery, the transitional moments generated by the AI tool match the poetic essence of haiku, effectively bringing the concept to life.
Challenges: The script that Acciona Cultura shared with us was extremely compelling and poetical. However, the images available were related to infrastructure and energy resources such as tunnels, bridges and purification plants. Our first challenge was to combine these different elements with the artistic form of a haiku and the logic-driven nature of AI. The objective was to guarantee that the AI-generated content aligned with the thematic and stylistic aspects of the ode to nature while being aesthetically pleasing.
Another challenge we faced was using an experimental tool new for the studio. Fortunately, on the Tigrelab side, our talented graphic designer Daniel Guillen became an expert in the language of prompts to communicate effectively with the computer. On the ACCIONA side, the idea of working with the AI tool to envision the future seemed fascinating and innovative. It served the purpose of closing the circle between the project’s message, the AI and the components related to nature.
Favorite details: The fact that we have created an original audiovisual piece with an experimental tool makes us all proud. The video is now installed within the ACCIONA headquarters in Madrid, making more meaningful connections than ever. When we started working on the project, both teams shared a clear vision of crafting an artistic piece. Now, the video shows fascinating images, as well as a compelling, unique narrative that reflects on the role we play in the planet’s future. It gives a sense of purpose to all the stakeholders involved in the project. Moving beyond a simple wow-effect technology demonstration, we have made an audiovisual piece that we’ll proudly reflect upon as time goes by.
New lessons: Working with AI tools for visualization has been both exciting and challenging. Similar to other creative software, AI imagery tools are simple yet powerful. The end result relies on your creative input, but its effectiveness heavily depends on the quality of the input data. The field of AI is rapidly evolving. Keeping up with the latest advancements and ensuring the adaptability and scalability of AI tools are thrilling; we look forward to what’s next in the sector and will reflect on how to integrate these tools into our daily innovative practice.
Time constraints: The project schedule was tight, but a key factor for timely delivery was that AI software works fast, being able to generate many concepts and designs within a short timeframe. Furthermore, the creative process of developing images with AI was also interesting in itself. After writing the prompt and letting the software go, you have to concede control and let the AI go in a direction that might not be your preferred choice. Certainly, the result might not be convincing, so you might start over and lose some precious time. To optimize time and work, both teams collaboratively curated a selection of images from ACCIONA’s library that helped refine the visual results.
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