The Porsche Mission E Cross Turismo was one of the absolute highlights at the Geneva Motor Show 2018. However, co-starring with the concept vehicle itself was the accompanying film – with Mackevision in a lead role, responsible for delivering the photorealistic computer generated imagery.

600 hp, 4WD, 800-volt technology, innovative user interface concept with 3D touchscreen, all wrapped in a breathtaking design with integrated off road elements. It is not hard to fall in love with the Porsche Mission E Cross Turismo.

Right now, the Mission E Cross Turismo is at the stage they call a “concept study”. And yet, visitors to the Geneva Motor Show were able to watch it powering along glorious scenic roads on the coast of Spain under a cloudless sky and with the deep blue sea in the background.

More than 25 employees worked on the photorealistic realization of this project. 50 shots in 4k resolution at 25 frames per second in the space of just 5-6 weeks. Normally this kind of project would have a timeframe of roughly three months. Mackevision turned it around in half the time. The close coordination and trusting relations with the customer made this ambitious timing possible.

The work at the computer keyboards happened in Stuttgart, while the filming took place in Spain in mid-December 2017. Two Mackevision employees were on set every day, providing technical advice and generating the documentation required to facilitate the ideal preparation. Because every scene in the film is based on a live reference – a short film sequence or a photo of the actual settings in Spain.

How is the light coming in, and what reflections does that generate on the paintwork? How does a car handle on specific corners? That is the only way to ultimately truly reproduce reality.

Then there are all the tiny details that the audience will only perceive at subconscious level, but which ensure that a realistic image takes shape in the mind – the way the silhouettes of the driver and passenger are visible or a hand turns the steering wheel as the car takes a corner.

And then you need the courage to be less than perfect – because sheer perfection doesn’t exist in the real world either. So there need to be little fingermarks on the touchscreen, stones in the tire tread, dirt under the wheel arches – and tiny irregularities in the paintwork that are only visible from a specific angle and under special lighting conditions. However, the fact is that they exist. We are not trying to reproduce a fantasy world, but reality.