Empowering women through craft, creativity & collaboration!
We are thrilled to have joined forces with Juan Cabral & MJZ in this bold visual tennis anthem for Kotex! Working hand in hand with the game-changing director is always a pleasure, and nothing less than a beautiful challenge. From prep, a 5-day shoot in Buenos Aires, look development, non-stop R&D, exploring a mix
of technologies, 3D, 2D, AI, comp and lots of love, to deliver detail in every pixel, and art in the craft.
Empowering women to “Own Your Flow” has been a hell of a ride. Thanks to Kotex and agency FCB / BBDO Chicago for the trust.
Proud of the message, the work and the journey

The film combined water and dust explosions, mixing large-scale simulations and practical effects on set, with a fully CG surreal tennis court, digital crowds, CG balls, set extensions, and element multiplication. The aesthetic balance was delicate: everything had to feel tangible and cinematic, yet dreamlike. So far, everything remained within the world of traditional VFX and art direction, ensuring that all effects (whether invisible or highly visible), came to life cohesively.

However, the greatest challenge was our protagonist.

The story required the audience to recognize the same heroine across nearly two decades of her life (from 12 to 30 years old) seamlessly and emotionally. This meant preserving identity through physical transformation. We were working with minors under strict time limitations, and the cast members were not naturally identical in appearance.

On top of that, the performances involved live singing, making facial accuracy and lip sync absolutely critical. Our solution was a hybrid methodology combining traditional VFX craftsmanship with emerging AI technologies.

We prepared extensively during production:

- Full photogrammetry scans of all principal talents

- Point-cloud facial animation capture of the leads performing the main song

- Development of digital doubles for both hero ages (12 and 28), and processing the captured animation in Unreal Engine

- Collection of archival photographs from the actors’ past for reference

- Extensive controlled facial photography sessions (front, profile, with and without makeup)

This gave us a robust physical and performance foundation before entering AI processing.

We incorporated AI tools including KREA, Nano Banana, Magnific, and Wann as part of an exploratory R&D workflow. AI proved highly effective for still imagery and look development, but translating that into moving footage while preserving authentic singing performance presented significant challenges. We also used ComfyUI during the AI stage, developing in-house adapted workflows tailored to each type of shot in order to replace the heroine’s face.

Maintaining micro-expressions, emotional nuance, and precise lip sync required far more control than AI alone could guarantee. And even if the initial plan was only to exchange the talents’ faces, we also had to modify, to a certain extent, hair, head shape, and even body proportions to ensure the transformations looked natural.

The final result was achieved through a deeply integrated hybrid pipeline:

AI-generated passes for age transformation and facial reinterpretation
Nuke compositing for precision refinement
3D adjustments to maintain anatomical continuity
2D paint, retouching, expression blending and beauty retouches
Manual lip-sync corrections and performance preservation

Rather than relying on automation, we used AI as a powerful but carefully directed component within a controlled VFX framework.

The project remained in an active R&D phase throughout production and post. Each render cycle informed the next iteration. We continuously refined our approach, redefining workflows and combining tools to achieve a cohesive and emotionally believable transformation. It was less about executing a predefined pipeline and more about building the plane while flying it.

Ambitious, experimental, and executed at the edge of technological possibility, this project represents a contemporary hybrid approach to visual effects: where artistry leads, and technology follows.