Hyundai · Brand heritage · 3D branding video
Branding Video for Hyundai's Cortina: Black and White to Today in 12 Seconds
Hyundai presents its first car, the Cortina, as the start of everything since: in its own words, "100 million vehicles produced in just 57 years". Advids built a 30-second 3D branding video with no dates on screen. The grade and the frame do the work, moving the car from a black-and-white 4:3 archive look to a full-color, widescreen city in 12 seconds, before the "Cortina" name and the Hyundai logo close it.
Last updated
Hyundai · Cortina
- Client
- Hyundai Motor Company
- Product
- The Cortina, which Hyundai calls its first vehicle
- Made for
- Hyundai's global YouTube audience, marking 100 million vehicles produced
- Format
- 3D animated branding video
- Style
- Black-and-white 4:3 opening that turns to color and widens to full 16:9
- Length
- 0:30
- Production timeline
- 3 to 4 weeks
- Budget
- $1,200 to $2,000
The problem: 57 years of a company in 30 seconds, with no room for a timeline
Hyundai's description sets the brief: the Cortina "marks the beginning" of the company, and the milestone is "100 million vehicles produced in just 57 years". That is a lot of history for a 30-second slot, and a list of dates or a voiced timeline would eat most of it.
Tech companies face the same task when they mark an anniversary, a user milestone or the first version of their product. The viewer has to feel then and now in a few seconds and recognize the original at a glance. Here the video had to move one car from archive to today with picture alone, and save the last 13 seconds for the names.
How the Cortina moves from archive to today, scene by scene
There is no on-screen copy until the wordmark at 0:17, so the video reads the same with the sound off. Select a time to play that scene above.
| Time | On screen | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Fade up from black to a black-and-white close-up of a spinning whitewall wheel and hubcap, in a 4:3 frame with black side bars. | Sets the period before the car is even shown. | |
| Still in black and white: the front wing and door mirror, a blurred landscape, then the full profile driving under power lines. | Shows the whole car as an old archive shot. | |
| Color bleeds in through horizontal scanlines, like an old TV, still inside the 4:3 frame. | Marks the handoff from past to present without a date. | |
| The car in teal, now in a letterboxed widescreen frame, passing older buildings in motion blur. | Widens the frame as the story moves forward. | |
| Full 16:9 frame among glass towers, then a low-angle close-up of the grille and round headlamp at 0:14 and the tail lamp and chrome bumper at 0:16. | Puts the original car in a city of today, detail by detail. | |
| The script "Cortina" wordmark with "현대자동차" below it over the car, then the wordmark alone on black. | Names the car only after the viewer has seen it. | |
| The Hyundai logo fades up on black. | Hands the car's legacy to the company. | |
| A navy end card with the word "Subscribe". | Gives the viewer one next step on the channel. |
Storyboard: the frames that carry the Hyundai Cortina branding video
Key frames from the finished video, in order. Select a time to play that moment above.
The first shot dates the car with grade and frame alone. 
The full profile, still in the archive look. 
Color arrives through old-TV scanlines. 
The frame widens as the story moves forward. 
Full 16:9: the original car in a city of today. 
A detail long-time fans will know: grille and round headlamp. 
The rear detail: tail lamp and chrome bumper. 
The name arrives only after 17 seconds of picture. 
The wordmark stands alone for a beat. 
The car's legacy is handed to the company.
4 decisions behind the Hyundai Cortina branding video
Decision 1
Let the frame tell the date
The video opens in black and white at 4:3 (0:02), brings color in through scanlines (0:09), letterboxes at 0:10 and fills 16:9 at 0:12. No year appears on screen.
Copy it: When your video spans years, change the grade and the frame shape instead of adding dates or a timeline.
Decision 2
Show the car for 17 seconds before naming it
The "Cortina" wordmark only appears at 0:17, after the wheel, the profile and the city drive.
Copy it: In a brand piece, let the viewer recognize the thing before you label it. The name then lands as a payoff.
Decision 3
Spend close-ups on the details people remember
The whitewall hubcap (0:02), the grille and round headlamp (0:14) and the tail lamp with chrome bumper (0:16) each get a shot of their own.
Copy it: Pick 3 details your oldest customers would know, such as a first logo or a first UI screen, and give each one a close-up.
Decision 4
Close on the names in order: product, company, next step
"Cortina" with "현대자동차" at 0:17, the wordmark alone at 0:20, the Hyundai logo at 0:22, then "Subscribe" at 0:26.
Copy it: End on the product name, then the company mark, then one action. Give each its own beat.
From a 3D Cortina model to a 30-second heritage piece
- 3D model. The Cortina was modeled to hold up in full profile and in close-up: whitewall hubcaps, chrome bumpers, grille, headlamps and tail lamps.
- Texturing and lighting. Teal paint and chrome were set to read in both the black-and-white opening and the full-color city.
- Animation. Drive passes and low-angle detail moves were animated through an old roadside and a modern street of glass towers.
- Rendering and compositing. Both environments were rendered and layered with the car, then the wordmark and logos were composited.
- Visual effects and color grading. Black and white and old-TV scanlines carry the archive look, then the grade opens up to full color as the frame widens from 4:3 to 16:9.
- Final edit and sound design. The shots were cut to 30 seconds with 13 seconds left for the wordmark, the Hyundai logo and the end card, and sound was built to pace each change.
Scope of work:
Production took 3 to 4 weeks on a budget of $1,200 to $2,000. See the 3D video production service for how a project like this is scoped.
Questions about the Hyundai Cortina branding video
Why does the Hyundai Cortina branding video open in black and white?
The black-and-white 4:3 frame from 0:01 to 0:07 dates the car before any copy appears. Hyundai calls the Cortina its first vehicle, so the opening has to read as the start of the company.
How does the video move the Cortina from the past to today without dates?
It changes the picture, not the words: color comes in through scanlines at 0:09, the frame letterboxes at 0:10 and fills 16:9 among glass towers at 0:12.
Why does the "Cortina" name only appear at 0:17?
The viewer gets 17 seconds of the car itself first: the hubcap, the profile, the city drive and the close-ups of the grille and tail lamp. The script wordmark then works as a payoff.
What is the Korean text under the Cortina wordmark?
It reads "현대자동차", Hyundai Motor's name in Korean, set under the script "Cortina" from 0:17 to 0:21. It ties the first car to the company before the Hyundai logo appears at 0:22.
How does the Hyundai video end?
The Hyundai logo on black from 0:22, then a navy end card with "Subscribe" from 0:26. Product name, company and next step each get their own beat.
What did the Hyundai Cortina branding video take to make?
3D modeling, texturing, lighting, animation, rendering, compositing, visual effects, color grading, sound design and the final edit. Production took 3 to 4 weeks on a budget of $1,200 to $2,000.
What Advids clients say
"First experience with ADVIDS and I should say that we were impressed with this company, they are professional, well organized and very patient."Ahmad Herzallah, Founder at Dartmouth
Marking a milestone and need your first product to stand for everything since?
Talk to Advids