3D Printing Rapid Prototyping

Ad Week recently lauded ten commercials as the best of 2011. A few Superbowl favorites made the list, including the darling Darth Vader kid at No. 1. But what’s really got us grinning at Stratasys is the well-deserved placement of a 3D printed-model animation at No. 2. Our customer, Artem, a London-based visual-effects studio, made a 4-inch-tall family of 3D printed characters that walk, farm and emote in this viral video it created for Chipotle Mexican Grill.

In a mini documentary about the creative feats behind “Back to the Start,” you can see Bob Thorne, Artem special effects supervisor, explain how the team used its Dimension 3D Printer to create the models that acted in the video.

The best commercials are the ones that stretch beyond advertising to tell the human side of a story. When it made its little plastic people for “Back to the Start,” Artem created puppets that tug at our heart strings. 

Read the whole story of how Artem gives life to directors’ ideas.