The Mill Blackbird Can Mimic Any Car when Filming Commercials

The biggest challenge in making car ads: Car availability, and the model revisions that are sure to follow!

It’s a hassle to get your hands on the right car, and soon after you film, a new version might come out.

A company called Mill has created an insanely cool solution called The Blackbird…

How the Mill Blackbird Works:

First, let’s talk about what exactly the platform does.

It’s essentially an electric car equipped with high-tech sensors and cameras specifically for being filmed in commercials.

The body is fitted with multiple sensors that can be picked up/tracked as it moves, creating the skeleton of a cart, and that one shot can be edited after the filming session to change the color and other details of the car.

Here’s where it gets cool: The Blackbird can adjust its length by 4 feet, and its width by up to 10 inches to exactly mimic the car they are filming a commercial for.

It’s electric engine can be adjusted to mimic the exact vehicle’s characteristics and performance too. And the suspension and wheels can also be changed as mentioned in the video below:

Why is the Mill Blackbird a big deal?

Well, for the auto industry it’s incredible because you can film one take and then put multiple skins onto the commercial. Let’s say you want to test two commercials, one with a white car and another with a blue car. You can do it with one shoot now (and some computer editing after the shoot is done).

And for the rest of us outside of the auto industry, it’s still amazing how quickly this type of technology is being developed. What we’re seeing here is pretty closely related to the cameras and sensors you see used in modern virtual reality gear, and the whole field is advancing incredibly fast.

Tanks, Anyone?

This platform also means you can get awesome shots of futuristic vehicles that don’t actually exist, hard-to-find vehicles from history, and vehicles that are hard to get on set for a video shoot due to size, weight or cost.. like a tank…

mill blackbird car commercial filming technology

Want this in your movie? BLACKBIRD can widen its frame and get the shot!

So overall we think it’s a pretty sweet deal for anyone in the auto industry or the people who make commercials, but also for anyone that enjoys seeing virtual reality and camera/video technology advance so quickly.

It’s getting better and better insanely fast and we’re about to see some amazing stuff in the next 5-10 years! Stay tuned.

Want to read more and see HD photos? Check out the company’s website.

Want more car/tech news? Tesla’s Model X Has You Covered Against Weapons-Grade Bio Attacks.

