Photo of Silver Model 3 in wheat field taken Aug or Sept 2015 ?

[Trev Page]

Tesla is excellent at CG models of their cars. All of the design studio images of Model S and X are done in CG. That's why the pictures are so consistent.

Lastly, the Model 3 was the best kept secret @ Tesla for the last few years. The only way they can maintain secrecy like that is to never let the car leave the design studio. And that means for publicity shots too.

Now that the reveal is over, the very ext day the silver prototype was photographed in the wild doing a video shoot.

 

[xmetal]

No, they did not tote this car around the country (or world) to take photos when not even employees got the slightest glimpse before the reveal. Every square inch of road anywhere in the world is likely to have someone with a camera about 5 seconds away and there is no way they could have driven these around without someone, somewhere getting a quick snap.

I'm almost 100% positive those shots are all CG. Just google for "photo realistic car rendering" if you want to see what folks can do.

Screen Shot 2016-04-06 At 12.42.28 PM

• xmetal
• Apr 6, 2016

 

[zambono]

looks like european km markers on that pic

 

[TEG]

If you were like me, you would feel like that tower in the background of one of the photos was a challenge to be found.

After doing various Google searches and scans through map sites, you would come to think this was in Hütterberg...

 

[TEG]

Warnitzer Weg - 19071 Brüsewitz - 1.328 Meter

Those fields might be filled with canola plants.

 

[TEG]

Bing Maps - Driving Directions, Traffic and Road Conditions

 

[TEG]

If you continue up that road past the trees you get to a windmill farm !

 

[hcsharp]

I'm awestruck by your ability to find that field. Nothing more to say.

 

[brianman]

Part of me thinks TEG should be employed by the NSA. Part of me thinks he shouldn't be.

 

[Johan]

Excellent TEG! Well done. It's like that time that you found that street in San Fransisco.

I still don't think they brought the car to Germany to shoot it.

 

[MP3Mike]

Part of me thinks TEG should be employed by the NSA. Part of me thinks he shouldn't be.

Maybe he is.

 

[aronth5]

Part of me thinks TEG should be employed by the NSA. Part of me thinks he shouldn't be.

Maybe he is.

The only thing we know for sure is that TEG is awesome!
Just think how good he will be when he reaches 17k posts. After all practice makes perfect

 

[stopcrazypp]

I agree with the others that it seems unlikely for them to have shipped the car to Germany just to do a few photos. There is just such a huge risk of a leak for very little reward.

 

[int32_t]

Note that in many of the Germany photos the wheels are carefully hidden from view. This would be the hardest part to get right in a CG-photo merge, I think ... therefore my guess is that they're all very well done computer-generated images.

 

[TEG]

They do show wheels in some of the images...

I have been assuming that all of those press package "photos" were some kind of CGI since they seem unusually "clean". There isn't a spec of dust on any of the cars. The windows all seem overly tinted, and you don't see little details... like no printing on the sides of the tires. I wonder if maybe they took a photo of some car at that location and then had CGI morph it into the Model 3.

 

[TEG]

Here is an example of (presumed) CGI vs a real photo:

Notice how the one on the right, you see some of the tire texture, and some of the suspension bits through and above the wheel.
The (apparent) CGI version just looks too clean and perfect. And what is that thin green line under the "CGI" one?

If it was an unmodified photo, I would have expected to see some reflection in the side of the car, of the camera person who took the photo.
Stil, if it is CGI, it is impressive how detailed of a model they have an how it can simulate reflections of tree and sunlight and shadows.
The rendering software must be able to guess about the 3D positioning of trees and sun from queues in a 2D photo.
(I would guess some technician was moving joysticks around with 3D software until they got the shading and lighting to look just the way they wanted.)

 

[Ubbe]

If you were like me, you would feel like that tower in the background of one of the photos was a challenge to be found.

Amazing detective work TEG!
The cars ar probably CGI as others have noted.while the backgrounds are commissioned work or stock photos. Do Tesla have an own photographer?