DS launches the DS 3 Maison Sarah Lavoine

For the launch of the DS 3 Maison Sarah Lavoine, production company La Pac, agency Marcel and directing duo AB/CD/CD embraced an innovative hybrid workflow to create a poetic, dreamlike portrait of Paris.

Faced with the challenge of reimagining the French capital through Sarah Lavoine’s distinctive creative lens, while working within demanding production constraints, the filmmakers combined live action photography, Gaussian Splatting and AI-assisted VFX to blur the line between the real and the virtual.

In collaboration with Light VFX, AB/CD/CD developed an extensive previsualisation process that mapped the film shot by shot before production began. Vehicle sequences and performance shots were captured in natural light in the South of France, while Paris itself was recreated digitally from volumetric scans captured by a lightweight crew on location.

Enhanced with bespoke CG assets and advanced compositing techniques, the resulting environments retain the texture and authenticity of the real city while allowing for moments of visual transformation and wonder. The hybrid methodology not only streamlined production and optimised costs, but also enabled the team to achieve a seamless form of magical realism at the heart of the campaign.