The snow-laden festive commercial was shot in July at Garden Studios

Tropic Skincare - Behind-the-scenes

Tropic Skincare used a virtual production studio to film its Christmas ad during summer. Housed at Garden Studios, the set includes a winter city street, created using the Unreal Engine Procedural Content Generation system – this enabled real-time adjustments of details such as road widths, garden lengths, and foliage variations.

3D software Houdini was used to add festive touches to the backdrop, including fairy lights wrapped around objects. 

Physical snow machines were also used on set alongside digital snow with adjustable flake size and density to blend the foreground and background further.

Emily Mitchell, marketing director of Tropic Skincare, said: “We’ve never worked with a virtual studio before, and there was some anxiety around how it would unfold. Filming in one location across a few days meant we could keep things sustainable, cutting down on travel, time, and resources while still creating something truly beautiful. The end result exceeded all our expectations — a breathtaking film we’re so proud of, made in a way that reflects our planet-first values.”

Bee Devine, COO at Garden Studios, added: “Virtual Production gives producers so much more creative control, as it allows you to choose the weather conditions for a scenic background without facing the limitations - or risks - these can cause when filming on location. The flexibility of virtual production means that the creative process remains the top priority.”

Tropic Skincare - Behind-the-scenes (1)

Garden Studios opened its virtual production studio in 2021 and has since delivered over 120 productions from the facility, including games, films, television series, and commercials.

Sam Kemp, virtual production technical lead at Garden Studios, said: “The Tropic Skincare team were all completely new to VP, but were captivated by the possibilities it afforded them to make their budgets go further. By collaborating with our experienced technical team, who can offer production advice from pre-production through to the shoot days, the brand used practical sets and atmospherics to seamlessly blend the physical and digital worlds.”

Liam Wedge, lead technical artist at Garden Studios, added: “Being able to change things at a button press alongside the Creative Director, Barney Pickard, really allows us to nail the look. This includes changing lighting, adding more snow or entirely removing a building.”