Diapolis Images for Haribo Bears

Before they were Diapolis Images, Mehmet Turan and Gökhan Çelem worked in IT and newspaper photography, respectively. Unsatisfied with their day jobs, the two friends set out and started their business, named after the Latin term “Diapolis,” meaning “city of scene.” Based on their backgrounds, it’s not surprising they have a passion for exploring and testing out different photographic styles and treatment options. 

Recently, the Istanbul-based photography duo showcased their CGI skills with this adorable series for Haribo. Who would have thought these cute little bears would make the best ‘Netflix and Chill’ companions?

After three years of demonstrating their mastery to agencies, Diapolis finally landed the big assignment with a reputable advertising company, giving the team a chance to “wow” their future clients. With such a rich portfolio of brands, the team pitched their unique composite idea to the beloved candy brand, Haribo. All systems were a go!

The team explains to us the struggles they faced, alongside the rest of Turkey, during the economic crisis and how hard it was to scrounge the money together to lock down studio and location spaces.

Back in the olden days we would experiment with composites and quickly realized that by cutting the cost dedicated to location and crew decreased our costs considerably, so we made our main business focus on composites, and hired Emre Zorer as our Computer Generated Imagery (CGI) guru.

Since making CGIs is a different process from snapping an ordinary photograph where all elements are captured in one swift motion, the team sat down and strategically mapped out their plans for the shoot. They covered everything, from picking a backdrop to testing out couches, and scouting other props they may need on-set to perfect the shot. The team even had to decide upon the size of the Haribo Bears and their facial expressions in comparison to those of the model’s.

The trick to perfecting composites is to make sure the distance, angle, and focal length align with each other when photographing each element.

The successfully completed series has impressed the agency and received great local exposure, exhibiting the team’s ability to produce elaborate images on a relatively low budget. With the addition of this campaign to their portfolio, Diapolis Images has gained traction among other notable agencies in Turkey, with hopes to expand their business internationally.

See more of Diapolis Images on their website!

Take a look behind the scenes of this amazing project:

Haribo CGI Composite Project from Diapolis Images on Vimeo.

Further Reading
Read more articles about AI/CGI photography.

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