Toyota: Auris, Camera, Action

Advanced filming techniques bring Toyota hybrid technology to life on a London street

EPSOM, UNITED KINGDOM – October 8, 2010: A white Toyota Auris parked under a Victorian railway arch in London’s East End wouldn’t normally attract too much attention, but passers-by in Shoreditch were stopped in their tracks as the seemingly ordinary car was transformed, its bodywork peeling back to reveal a pulsing blue light. This was just the beginning of an extraordinary display of the latest 3D projection mapping techniques, captured for an innovative short film that’s every bit as cutting-edge as Auris’s full hybrid powertrain.

The film, created for Toyota by glue Isobar, evokes how the hybrid Auris uses the latest generation of Toyota’s Hybrid Synergy Drive to capture momentum as the car is being driven and convert it into electricity to keep the hybrid battery charged.

The vibrant blue symbolises the car’s hybrid power, which appears to flow from the car to the surrounding street to course through a junction box, send coins cascading from a parking meter and ramp up the brilliance of streetlamps – all set to an original audio track. The sequence then reverses with the energy drawn back into the car and the bodywork rolling back into place.

The film provides a creative focal point for a new Auris hybrid campaign website, www.getyourenergyback.co.uk, which acts as a hub for social media channels, video clips, user comments and images to spread the word about Auris Hybrid’s unique qualities.

Built in Britain at Toyota’s Burnaston factory, the Auris Hybrid is the first full hybrid for the family hatchback market, and its advanced but perfectly user-friendly technology delivers an unmatched combination of low CO2 emissions and excellent fuel economy.

John Thomson, Toyota Marketing Director, said: “This film is a perfect creative illustration of the innovative hybrid technology behind Auris. The ground-breaking use of projection mapping has produced an incredible piece of work that reinforces Toyota’s technology leadership and our commitment to promoting sustainable driving.”