Louis Vuitton
× Dune
A 9-second proof of concept I made with generative tools, and the plan for how I would produce the full campaign if a real client brought it to me tomorrow: the brief, two budgets, what I'd cut with half the money, and the schedule to deliver it.
What I actually made
The 9-second film above: three shots, made in one day with Higgsfield. Idea, look, generation and edit by me. No crew, no client, no budget.
What this page adds
A study, not a credit. The brief and the budgets below are hypothetical: they show how I would take the same idea from a 9-second proof of concept to a full campaign, with real people and real money.
The hypothetical brief
The idea
A woman walks alone through an endless desert. The wind has drawn the monogram into the dunes, at a scale only visible from the air. The brand isn't placed in the landscape: the landscape has become the brand.
The image works because it's impossible. That's also the production problem: a monogram hundreds of metres wide can't be built in real sand. In a traditional production it would be visual effects anyway. That single fact shapes every decision below.
Two ways to make it
| Line | A — Shoot on location | A · €k | B — Hybrid: real talent, generated world | B · €k |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-production | Scouting in Morocco, permits, fixer | 15–30 | Look development: generated plates and monogram tests | 8–20 |
| Crew | Director, DoP, camera, grip, light, drone, wardrobe, hair & make-up — incl. travel | 60–120 | Reduced crew, one studio day matched to the plates | 10–20 |
| Talent | One model, global usage, one year | 20–80 | Same model, same usage — this line doesn't shrink | 20–80 |
| Equipment & logistics | Camera, drone, 4×4, accommodation, catering, insurance | 45–90 | Studio, camera, lighting matched to desert light | 5–10 |
| Monogram shot | VFX — it can't be built | 25–60 | Generated, then composited | incl. |
| Post | Edit, grade, VFX, sound, music licence | 30–80 | Edit, grade, compositing, sound, music licence | 20–45 |
| Legal & clearance | Standard | incl. | Review of generated material and tool terms | 3–8 |
| Total | 195–460 | 66–183 |
Indicative ranges, not quotes. A real budget starts from at least two quotes per line. The point of the table is the structure: where the money goes, and which lines a hybrid workflow actually changes. Talent and music don't get cheaper with AI.
If the budget is halved
What I keep
- The real product on a real person. A luxury brand won't sign off on a generated bag: canvas, stitching and hardware have to be exact.
- The talent's usage terms, renegotiated. Shorter period and digital only, rather than a cheaper face.
- The one impossible image. The monogram in the dunes is the reason the film exists. Everything else serves it.
What I cut
- The trip to the desert. No travel, permits or drone: the landscape becomes generated plates.
- Two of the five planned shots. Fewer, longer shots cost less to generate and composite, and the idea survives.
- The risk I accept: real wind and sand on fabric. Mitigated on set with fans and practical sand, then matched in the grade.
Six weeks to master
- Week 1Brief, treatment and budget signed off. Usage terms agreed with the talent agency.
- Week 2Look development: desert plates and monogram tests. Client approves the look before anyone is booked.
- Week 3Casting, wardrobe, product from the brand. Shot list matched to the plates: light direction, lens, camera height.
- Week 4One studio day. Product close-ups and talent against a background matched to the generated light.
- Week 5Compositing and edit. First cut to the client; feedback round one.
- Week 6Grade, sound, music. Feedback round two, then master and all versions.
| Deliverable | Format | Length | Placement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hero film | 16:9 | 30" | Website, YouTube, events |
| Cutdowns | 16:9 | 15" · 6" | Paid video |
| Verticals | 9:16 | 15" · 6" | Stories, Reels, TikTok |
| Feed | 4:5 | 15" | Instagram feed |
| Stills | From the plates | — | Social, out-of-home |
What making it taught me
The film was made in one day in Higgsfield, with three shots in the final cut, edited in DaVinci Resolve.
- Where the tools held up. Landscape and light: the desert and the low sun came out usable quickly, and the shot a traditional production would hand to visual effects — the monogram at the scale of the dunes — took a day instead of a VFX budget.
- Where they didn't. Keeping the woman consistent from shot to shot, and reproducing the exact geometry of the logo. Both are the first things a brand would check.
- What it means for a real job. A workflow like this cuts the budget drastically, and adds an option to the ones that already exist: a film like this becomes possible even when money is tight. When the priority is the brand's perceived quality, shooting it for real is still the better choice.
Oakley × Mad Max
Louis Vuitton and Dune are trademarks of their respective owners. This is a self-initiated study, not affiliated with, endorsed by or made for either.