ManvsMachine push the power of an iMac Pro in new film, Algorithmic Architecture

ManvsMachine has released a new film, Algorithmic Architecture, as part of a new campaign by Apple to showcase how its iMac Pro can be pushed to creative limits, and in ManvsMachine’s case, new heights.

Released as part of a campaign with six other artists — animation studio Buck, Erin Sarofsky, Esteban Diácono, Luigi Honorat and Michelle Dougherty — MvsM’s film uses architecture as a visual aid to showcase the iMac Pro’s creative possibilities. “Since the dawn of time, mankind has used whatever tools they have to portray power through architecture,” the motion graphics studio tells It’s Nice That. “It seemed like a natural fit to us to use our most up-to-date tool, the iMac Pro, to create a new genre of ever-evolving architecture that pushed the notion of power to a colossal scale.” The short is kaleidoscopic in its approach to portraying the powerful capacity of architecture, as buildings tower on top of and attach to one another.

The campaign fits in with MvsM’s aesthetic output, utilising motion graphics to represent recognisable qualities but rendered into warping and satisfying visuals. “The process was pretty organic and inline with our usual way of working at ManvsMachine,” creative director Adam Rowe explains. “We very much believe in design by doing, and this was the perfect development project for the team to flex their R&D muscles.”

The focus on architecture was decided very early on during the project, as MvsM “knew that we wanted the narrative to take us from close and intimate, and almost real world, right through to a civilisation that looked unlike anything you would see in the real world,” Adam explains. “Other than that, it was completely open to the team as to how the forms were driven and structured, and that’s where all of the fun was had.”

The result is a short which uses “a base algorithmic structure that served as a blueprint for each form and movement in the film,” MvsM explain. “The CGI architectural structures were covered in high-resolution photographic textures and embellished using a custom-designed system that controls the foliage, architectural details and other nuances. The result is a monolithic structure of massive scale and incredible detail.”