Cin’s Woodtec was all about bringing a beauty-ad sensibility into the world of wood care. We wanted to showcase CIN’s oils, stains, and varnishes in a minimalist, elegant way—highlighting both their natural beauty and full protection.
For this campaign, we created Teca, a bespoke digital wooden mannequin who became our wooden skincare influencer. She stars in four videos, each dedicated to one of CIN’s wood products. Set in refined, minimal environments, Teca demonstrates how each finish works in real-world contexts—like using CIN’s Teak Oil as the ideal treatment for pool decks.
To get this beauty ad style, a very intimate, close direction was taken. By using narrow 50-80mm lenses with a shallow depth of field, complemented by subtle lighting that danced with bokehs and flares. A whisper of dust in the air added to the tactile quality of our cinematography, inviting viewers to feel the texture of the scene.
Authentic wood texture was vital. Beyond just using basic textures, we studied various woods species—pine, ash, oak—analyzing everything from the prominent knots and patterns to the intricate grain shapes and directions.
This study was crucial for creating a fully procedural 3D shader, using diverse noise patterns and algorithms. This allowed us to not only replicate the desired wood types but also to achieve both realism and visual appeal. Each ad shows Teca’s transformation from a dusty, pale untreated “skin” to a vibrant finish with CIN’s products.
Equally important was capturing the essence of the product application. Each brush stroke was carefully animated and then a blend of techniques and simulations was tailored to each product’s unique properties.
For example, varnish leave behind a sleek, ‘plastic-like’ layer atop the wood, while teak oil is designed to penetrate the wood almost instantaneously, while darkening wood colors, and having a slight gloss to it.
