This film is a self-initiated piece inspired by the TAG Heuer Calibre 16 Automatic, made to demonstrate Frantic’s approach to high-end watch animation. The goal was to capture a fine watch’s precision engineering and performance feel while pushing the studio’s capabilities in simulation, technical motion and photoreal rendering.
Watches are among the hardest subjects in product CGI. Polished metal and sapphire show every imperfection, tolerances are measured in fractions of a millimetre, and the audience for luxury timepieces expects perfection. Getting it right is a genuine test of a studio’s craft, which is exactly why it makes for valuable spec work.
Part of an ongoing experimental watch series, the piece gave Frantic room to treat a single iconic movement as both a technical subject and an exercise in product storytelling.
The film unfolds as a technical reveal. The strap builds on through a stylised simulation, moving from abstract design to the finished watch, with engineering lines and detailing overlaid to underline the precision of the piece. Driving the strap on through a controlled simulation was a piece of craft in itself, the motion kept deliberate and elegant so it felt designed at every frame.
Macro shots focus on the chronograph’s fine details, with transitions that show the timing mechanics in a clear, cinematic way. Lighting and reflections were crafted to emphasise material quality and surface accuracy at close range, where the smallest flaw would show.
Behind the film, the project was a chance to refine Frantic’s CGI watch workflow end to end, from asset preparation and material calibration through to simulation pipelines and macro rendering techniques, building a process the studio can now apply to commissioned watch projects.
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Tristan Ramsay, Creative Director, Frantic
The finished piece balances technical visualisation with product storytelling, showing the studio’s ability to translate complex engineering into compelling CGI.
Luxury is a sector Frantic deliberately targets, and the watch series is how the studio proves it belongs there. The film stands as evidence of the craft, ready to put in front of any brand considering CGI for a timepiece launch.
