Origin Materials

Creating the video series for the Origin CapFormer System was an inspiring experience for us at DropDrop. Partnering with The Distillery Project, we worked closely to bring the vision of Origin Materials, the end client, to life. Through powerful storytelling and striking visuals, we showcased the system’s groundbreaking innovation and its potential to drive forward sustainability in packaging and recycling.

Objective

This project set out to tell the story behind something often overlooked: a bottle cap. By focusing on the innovation, precision, and sustainability embedded in Origin Materials’ design, we aimed to bring their vision to life in an honest and thoughtful way. Using cinematic storytelling, detailed macro photography, and striking hero imagery, we worked to showcase the manufacturing process as more than mechanics – it’s a meaningful step toward a more sustainable future. From raw material to final product, this narrative reveals the beauty in the details and the impact of thoughtful engineering.

Video 1

It’s rare to have full control in a manufacturing space, it’s even rarer to see a Björk music video in the mood board. Cassidy was after a dynamic, contrast-ladened aesthetic encased in the sheen of fresh steel and recycled plastic. To achieve fluid mechanical movement with a heartbeat, I opted to bolt a slider on the Fischer 10. This allowed our movements to be controlled and sleek, while allowing us to quickly react to the rhythm of the manufacturing process. A set of Zero Optik FDs gave us the speed to overcrank and the character to give the machine a human touch. Our lighting kit was a mixture of daylight and bicolor units, allowing us to paint white highlights into a steely blue palette.

Jake Burgess, Cinematographer

Alexa Mini and Zero Optik FDs

The Zero Optik FDs bring a softness and soul to the imagery, breathing life into industrial steel and recycled plastic. Their unique rendering, paired with DropDrop’s Alexa Mini’s dynamic range, enabled Jake to translate cold mechanics into a visually rich narrative filled with contrast, texture, and an unmistakable heartbeat.

Video 2

The Interview

When designing the interview with John Bissell, we chose a direct address approach, having him look directly into the camera as he spoke. This setup creates a sense of connection and immediacy with the audience, drawing them into the conversation. To add a layer of visual storytelling, we positioned the Origin CapFormer System in the background. This wasn’t just a backdrop; it was an intentional foreshadowing of the innovation that would take center stage later on.

Lighting the Interview

A 600D with a softbox, double diffused through a 6×6 silent grid, provided a soft key light, while a Litemat 4 with heavy diffusion wrapped the light and added an engaging eyelight. A 200x with a lantern off-camera left created a shadow side cheek light, adding depth to John’s face and subtly connecting him to the environment, while a 1200x with a large softbox and LCD softly lit the background to integrate the machine without overpowering the subject. Finally, Helios tubes introduced vibrant blue accents, symbolizing innovation and visually tying the machine to the story’s futuristic themes.

Humans

Operators were framed against a vibrant palette of deep metallics, whites, teal, orange, and greens, making their precision and skill stand out. High-contrast lighting sculpted their movements, turning their work into a visual centerpiece. This approach spotlighted the people behind the process, blending craftsmanship with visual flair.

3D Animation

Cap’s Heroic Journey

By combining sweeping camera moves, dramatic lighting, and lifelike materials, we set out to reimagine an everyday object in a completely new light. The goal wasn’t just to tell the story of a bottle cap, but to showcase how creativity and attention to detail can transform something ordinary into something extraordinary for the viewer.

The challenge was to make an ordinary object – a bottle cap – interesting and complex. Something that is discarded and recycled on a daily basis is now the hero of our story. I set up different scenes composed of dynamic camera moves to help keep the high energy flowing and the viewer invested in seeing our little hero cruise through various settings and interact with different objects. To help make it more interesting I used dramatic lighting for a sleek, somewhat mysterious look and the icing on the cake are the realistic materials applied to the 3D models which blurs the line between reality and motion graphics

Ryan Brady - 3D Animator

Behind the Scenes

Work with DropDrop

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