Saba Studios Goes Cinematic on Oil & Gas

The word “cinematic” is often used when describing a motion picture that appears to have qualities and characteristics that you would usually see on the big silver screen. In addition, the term cinematic has been widely associated with video games. Typically, before a launch of a new game, a cinematic is released to build excitement and promote the game in the form of a movie trailer.

When Weatheford approached us to produce an animation to promote their flagship product, Vero, Automated Connection Integrity, we were ecstatic! We quickly teamed up with Weatherford and brainstormed as to how we can catapult this video above and beyond the oil and gas stereotype. So, we decided to go cinematic.

“Most oil and gas animations follow a cookie-cutter format and we wanted to break the mold with Vero. We decided take the viewer on an abstract journey, through a hyper-real world”, commented Michael Saba, President of Saba Studios.

Vero first introduces a glass city, to visually convey a fragile world. We then find ourselves inside a CEO’s office, with a magazine on his desk with the headline reading, “What Keeps Energy Leaders Up at Night?” We then dive into the sea and follow a riser to an offshore platform, as we pass sparkling sea creatures along the way …

We eventually land on the rigfloor and watch Vero in action, as the automation makes up the pipes. We then find ourselves behind a computer screen, flying through a drillship and then looking over the driller’s shoulder as the connection is being made up on the rig floor.

We finally transition back to the CEO’s office, as he gazes confidently over the rigs, assured that they are in good hands with Vero.

From visual effects to sound design, the project was extremely challenging but we had tons of fun producing it.

The Vero launch was a huge homerun and debuted at ADIPEC 2018. Michael Saba commented, “We were honored to be part of it and grateful that Weatherford took a leap of faith in us to steer this well outside the industry’s comfort zone.”

To learn more about the project, watch the cinematic here.