The Mill Blackbird is All Cars in One

The next time you see a car commercial, don’t be entirely convinced that’s really the car on film.

That’s because there’s a new invention that truly changes the landscape of automotive advertising, or automotive videos in general. The Mill Blackbird is the first fully adjustable car rig that can create photoreal CG cars in a way that you wouldn’t even notice the difference. Essentially the Mill Blackbird is a car rig that can be shot at any time and in any location without the need of an actual car. After the footage is caught, computers can generate virtually any vehicle and the Mill Blackbird is completely adjustable and flexible to cover various wheelbase sizes and vehicle lengths.

It is powered by an electric motor and can be programmed to imitate acceleration curves and gearing shifts of various cars. The adjustable suspension can alter the ride height, rigidity and dampening so that it can replicate typical driving characteristics.

The Mill Blackard is handbuilt by JemFX and even has a bespoke Blackbird AR application that allows users to see the intended vehicle in CG, tracked live over the rig’s location.

“We can unequivocally say that The Mill BLACKBIRD® is a tool to solve real problems for the advertising industry,” said Alistair Thompson, international executive vice president of The Mill. “It is no vanity project. It was the genuine needs of our advertising clients that made the Blackbird happen and their constant support and input has shaped its design and made it the game changing innovation that it has become. The Blackbird journey has only just begun though and the technology and the thinking behind it will evolve. We hope it will continue to provide inspiration for the whole industry and most importantly, in turn, our clients will create ways of using it that we have not even comprehended yet. This is what excites us the most!”