Nissan filmed four seasons and outer space for a car ad inside a 9x9 studio

Make a Nissan film on the notion that a feeling can take you anywhere: an ordinary couple's drive turns into a journey through the four seasons and into outer space, all without ever leaving the studio.

Prebuild every location of the film in Unreal Engine before shooting, then stage the whole journey — four seasons to outer space — inside a 9x9 studio.

The six locations were created in Unreal Engine prior to shooting, in a collaboration between Nissan Design Latin America, Kaus Film and Quanta Studios São Paulo. Director Steve Bruno brought in Amsterdam-based Splash Studios (founded by senior editor Rigel Kilston) for the edit, after meeting the team in Amsterdam the week before post.

The film 'Drives you Wonder' was released in May 2023; no campaign results were reported. Its craft — a full location pipeline built in a game engine before a single frame was shot — was the story the coverage highlighted.

Nissan's film 'Drives you Wonder', released in May 2023, opens with a couple driving on an ordinary day — then bursts into lightning speed, as their Nissan ferries them through the four seasons and into outer space without ever leaving a 9x9 studio.

The trick is upstream of the shoot: the six locations in the film were created in the 3D software Unreal Engine prior to filming, a collaboration between Nissan Design Latin America, Kaus Film and Quanta Studios São Paulo. Production and post ran through Brazil, with VFX by Post It, colour by Osmar Junior and music by Mr.Pink Music.

Director and editor Steve Bruno wanted a fresh eye from a different background for the edit: 'I felt we needed an eye from a different background perspective, to bring something fresh to the table.' He contacted Rigel Kilston, whose Amsterdam studio Splash Studios — founded in 2019 — came in as editorial partner after Bruno met the team in Amsterdam the week before the edit.

The ambition/feasibility gap is the creative brief: four seasons plus space in one continuous car journey is impossible on location, so the engine becomes the location.

Building all six worlds before shooting keeps lighting and perspective consistent — the illusion of one journey rather than stitched environments.

Cross-continent craft pairing (Brazil production, Amsterdam editorial) was a deliberate choice to escape a local post-house default.

The 9x9 studio constraint is advertised, not hidden — the production's small footprint is part of the film's own story.

Previsualisation is not a shortcut but a look: building the worlds in-engine first gives impossible journeys the continuity of one real shoot.

The film was released the week of 18 May 2023. No media or sales results were reported in the coverage.