Scaling Calm Kettle With VP + AI
for
Russell Hobbs
With
Ponderosa
Russell Hobbs designed the Calm Kettle with AI. Tungsten shot the launch in two days at our Leeds virtual production studio, replacing a multi-location plan. The AI design analysed user patterns and ergonomic data. So…we completed the creative circle by using AI to generate the visual worlds that brought their product story to life. The brief was clear but had its challenges! We were creating a global campaign built on the universal insight of "mind-wandering moments" that needed to work across; TikTok, DOOH, social, and web while being adaptable for over 8+ international markets. The creative needed to capture something intangible: those tranquil places your mind drifts to during everyday pauses. Traditional shoots across multiple locations for different markets would have been prohibitively costly, time-consuming, and creatively limiting. Our solution? Virtual production + Robotics + custom AI environments - tada!
The virtual production setup merged physical and digital worlds together, bringing products and cast together with CGI kitchens and fantasy dreamscapes.
We built a bespoke CGI kitchens in unreal engine, and combined it with practical propping, real talent, and motion control robotics to ensure precision across every shot. The LED volume displayed these transitions where custom AI-generated environments reacted dynamically to the kettle's features, shifting from serene forests to vibrant landscapes in sync with the colour changes of the kettle. This real-time responsiveness enabled us to produce over 10 distinct visual worlds during the 3-day shoot, all captured in-camera and perfectly aligned with the product’s design intent.
This campaign proves the power of real-time production. By capturing near-final imagery in camera, we reduced post-production time by over 40% Instead of relying on ‘post’ to connect these worlds after the shoot - we brought this whole process into the creative’s domain! Allowing the post team to focus on refining and versioning assets efficiently. Our AI workflows and neural rendering ensured each scene was visually rich and emotionally resonant, while digital twinning enabled omni-use content adaptable across platforms.
From vertical TikToks to wide-format DOOH, we created a global toolkit that was creatively consistent. While traditional shoots would still be in post-production hell, we’re already delivering versioned content to 8+ global markets. Less time in post means more time perfecting the creative - that's strategic production!
