CITIZEN
Series 8 GMT Blue
A luxury product film built around material precision, macro realism and CITIZEN’s restrained visual language. The project required a custom dial shader, accurate crystal behavior, precise mechanical detail and an elegant balance between technical complexity and visual simplicity.
The CITIZEN Series 8 GMT Blue campaign had to reveal the watch’s layered dial response, premium crystal, mechanical depth and refined industrial design without losing the quiet elegance associated with the brand. The final image needed to remain convincing from extreme macro photography to wider hero views.
Final Film
The finished film moves between macro product photography, elegant wider views, mechanical detail and an assembly sequence.
Recreating a dial with both internal depth and surface reflection
The defining challenge was the blue dial. Its visual character came from a shell-like surface that produced different internal and external reflections as the light and camera moved. A standard metallic or glossy material could not reproduce the depth, directionality and subtle variation visible in the physical watch.
I designed a dedicated multi-layer shader that separated the surface response from the deeper reflective structure. The result had to remain realistic in extreme macro shots while still reading as refined and understated in wider product views.
Dial Construction
The material was developed from multiple pattern studies controlling direction, breakup, internal depth and surface response. These maps became the foundation of the final custom shader.
Custom Shader Development
The dial shader was built in Cinema 4D and Octane as a layered system rather than a single material. Separate controls handled internal reflection, surface gloss, directional patterning, micro-detail and the blue color response under changing studio light.
Holding realism across extreme changes in scale
The camera moved from full-product views into extremely close macro photography. At that scale, bevels, tolerances, surface roughness, reflections and tiny material differences become visible immediately.
The watch therefore had to be treated as a photographic object rather than a general CG asset. Every major surface was evaluated under moving light and close focus to ensure it remained credible from the nearest camera position to the final hero composition.
Mechanical precision without losing visual elegance
One hero shot required the watch components to converge and assemble into the final product. The movement needed to feel engineered and intentional while remaining smooth enough to fit CITIZEN’s elegant visual tone.
The timing, spacing and alignment of the parts were designed to reveal the product architecture clearly, avoiding excessive mechanical noise or movement that would compete with the watch itself.
Complexity concentrated where the audience would feel it
The project succeeded by prioritizing the areas that defined the physical watch—the dial, crystal, macro material response and mechanical caseback—while keeping the final presentation clean and restrained.
Project Credits
Core project and production information.
- Client / Brand
- CITIZEN
- Production Partner
- Marumedia LLC, Japan
- Project
- CITIZEN Series 8 GMT Blue
- My Role
- CG Supervisor / Technical Direction
- Scope
- Shading, Look Development, Animation, Product Lighting, Rendering and Compositing
- Tools
- Cinema 4D, Octane and NukeX
Selected Frames
Final frames covering the dial, macro material detail, assembly, crystal lighting and the mechanical caseback.
Turning visual direction into a production-ready system.
For cinematic, animation, CG supervision, visual-development or technical-production opportunities, contact me directly or review the broader portfolio and resume.