The viewer is taken deep into Cartier time, from the first inventions – today's grand classics – to the latest concept watches that showcase the watchmaking of tomorrow. A journey of eternal pioneers through the secrets of workshops, all driven by the rhythm of gear trains and mechanisms in motion.

The defining feature of the film "Shape Your Time" stems from it requiring a realism pushed to the extreme, and it was necessary to have this realism at every moment in this universe by the director that is both fantastical and creditable. As in the previous opus, “The Odyssey", the director wanted to film existing sets and mix real elements with 3D to arrive at an almost photographic realism. Primarily, this principle builds a reality and brings true emotion to the very post produced images, but it also significantly complicates the 3D and compositing work.

Each of the 150 shots which make up the 4 minutes of the film were therefore treated in post production. It took 6 months of post-production with 50 graphic designers on average, each a specialist in his field, and we created specific workflows to mix many softwares and talents. In particular, the panther watch required a lot of time and talents. It was created from about 1200 pieces/gears from Cartier watches, and the panther’s glass skin is composed of 600 pieces arranged in a way to maintain feline movements.

Given the number of different worlds crossed in the film and requirements of the director’s vision, certain scenes required many rounds to arrive at the right balance and in perfect continuity with the artistic direction of the film.

Software used: zbrush, pftrack, mari, maya, shave, houdini, maxwell, nuke, flint, flare, flame