BMW The Heart of Joy: Octowaltz

How do you capture the joy of driving – without showing a car? For BMW and Jung von Matt, we turned the precision and emotion of the new “Heart of Joy” control unit into a poetic visual: a CG octopus dancing a waltz. Shot against real underwater footage from South Africa, the film blends high-end animation, cinematic craft, and an original orchestral score into a global campaign that reimagines automotive storytelling. No car, just pure movement and emotion.

Director: Diarmid | Agency: Jung von Matt

BMW

Animation , Film Production

The Task

Reimagine the feeling of driving a BMW – without ever showing a car. Jung von Matt challenged us to translate the precision, control, and joy of BMW’s new “Heart of Joy” central control unit into an emotional visual experience: Teaching an octopus how to dance.

The Solution

We teamed up with Untold Studios and created a CG octopus that performs a flawless waltz on the ocean floor – elegant, expressive, and completely unexpected. The underwater backplates were shot on location in South Africa, providing an authentic, natural backdrop for the choreography. The film pushed technical and creative boundaries: from character animation to cleaning up the live-action plates to the fluid choreography, we distilled the soul of driving into pure movement.

The Result

A global campaign that redefines how automotive brands communicate emotion and performance. Set to an original score composed and performed by a live orchestra, Octowaltz blends high-end animation, cinematic craft, and poetic storytelling into a film that’s as surprising as it is memorable. No car, no compromise — just joy, rhythm, and a dancing octopus.

Behind the Scenes

Recent Work