Boxing champion British soldier stars in new 3D army billboard advert
A British soldier turned boxing champion has a starring role in a new British Army billboard 3D advertisement.
Lance Sergeant Natty Ngwenya who serves with the 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards is featured in the billboard that will use 3D animation and real-time lighting effects to recreate a dramatic humanitarian mission.
As part of the British Army's recruitment campaign, 'You Belong Here', their newest campaign aims to talk directly to young people by showing that there is a place for them within the British Army and challenging their misconceptions that they do not believe they would fit in.
The boxing champion LSgt Ngwenya, and 2019 Army Sportsman of the Year award winner, wore a motion capture suit to film studio sequences for the 3D advert which will be seen on large format outdoor screens in major UK locations, including Manchester, Glasgow, Nottingham and in London's Westfield Stratford City on Boxing Day and December 27.
The high-tech commercial is powered by outdoor advertising company 'Ocean Outdoor' which used its real-time DeepScreen® 3D creation tool to build a hurricane scene and a 3D animation of the soldier.
Adding to the clever special effects, the time of day in the ad changes as daylight fades in real life.
In the billboard scene, a helicopter circles under storm clouds as LSgt Ngwenya runs towards the front of the large screen, peering out and over its edge and down towards the viewers on the ground below.
He calls on viewers to get stuck in and help the Army distribute aid supplies and assistance.
LSgt Ngwenya, who lives in London, said: "I was excited to step out of my comfort zone. I feel comfortable in the boxing ring, I feel comfortable in the field as a soldier, but this was something entirely new. Working with the producers and directors has widened my horizons and to actually see it come to life is brilliant.
"In most campaigns, you don't really see people wearing their cap badges and flashes, so when I saw the coloured grenade on my beret it made me really proud."
LSgt Ngwenya joined the Grenadier Guards in 2009, aged 19.
He has since carved out a successful career as a heavyweight boxer, joining the Army team in 2014, going on to represent England multiple times and winning the GB Championship three times.
"I was always competitive as a kid and that's what drew me to the Army," he said.
The boxing champion added: "I never knew, for example, about the sporting opportunities. I've achieved so much and never looked back. There's so much more to the Army than meets the eye."
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