--- title: "BBC’s Winter Olympics creative video campaign uses 700 3D printed figurines" url: https://www.voxelmatters.com/bbcs-winter-olympics-creative-video-campaign-uses-700-3d-printed-figurines/ date: 2026-02-06 modified: 2026-02-06 lang: en author: "Joseph Caron-Dawe" description: "For UK sports fans, BBC coverage of major sporting events is a staple of life, and the theme songs and visual idents that come with them can help shape the..." categories: - "3D Modeling" - "3D Printing Processes" - "3D Visualization" - "Entertainment" - "Micro 3D printing" - "Visual Marketing" tags: - "future" image: https://www.voxelmatters.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/bd-bbc-trails-bts-still002-640x360.jpg word_count: 375 --- # BBC’s Winter Olympics creative video campaign uses 700 3D printed figurines For UK sports fans, BBC coverage of major sporting events is a staple of life, and the theme songs and visual idents that come with them can help shape the emotional experience. With the 2026 Winter Olympics set to start today, the BBC revealed earlier this week its creative visual campaign. NOMINT, a London-based [animation](https://www.voxelmatters.com/3d-printing-behind-the-scenes-frankenstein/) studio, has produced a stop-motion film for BBC Creative that will run around the organization’s coverage of the event. Using 700 individually 3D-printed figures and 14 controlled combustion techniques, the project, directed by NOMINT co-founder Yannis Konstantinidis, centers on the campaign line "trails will blaze" and depicts Olympic athletes leaving trails of fire across frozen landscapes. [![BBC’s Winter Olympics creative video campaign uses 700 3D printed figures](https://www.voxelmatters.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/bd-bbc-trails-bts-still002-640x360.jpg)](https://www.voxelmatters.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/bd-bbc-trails-bts-still002.jpg) Image: NOMINT [![BBC’s Winter Olympics creative video campaign uses 700 3D printed figures](https://www.voxelmatters.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/bd-bbc-trails-bts-still007-640x360.jpg)](https://www.voxelmatters.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/bd-bbc-trails-bts-still007.jpg) Image: NOMINT [![BBC’s Winter Olympics creative video campaign uses 700 3D printed figures](https://www.voxelmatters.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/bd-bbc-trails-bts-still004-640x360.jpg)](https://www.voxelmatters.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/bd-bbc-trails-bts-still004.jpg) Image: NOMINT [![BBC’s Winter Olympics creative video campaign uses 700 3D printed figures](https://www.voxelmatters.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/bd-bbc-trails-bts-still009-640x360.jpg)](https://www.voxelmatters.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/bd-bbc-trails-bts-still009.jpg) Image: NOMINT The production team used replacement animation, a stop-motion technique in which each frame features a separately 3D printed figure designed and animated in software, before being physically manufactured. The studio combined this precision-based method with live fire effects, creating what Konstantinidis described as an intentionally unpredictable element within a medium that typically requires complete control. NOMINT worked with pyrotechnic technicians throughout production to manage fire safety risks. The crew used steel wire, mushroom powder, and iron filings to generate sparks, and employed light painting techniques by moving flames across space between frames. Pocket bellows were used to intensify the fire's brightness during shooting. [![BBC’s Winter Olympics creative video campaign uses 700 3D printed figures](https://www.voxelmatters.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/bd-bbc-trails-bts-still010-640x360.jpg)](https://www.voxelmatters.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/bd-bbc-trails-bts-still010.jpg) Image: NOMINT [![BBC’s Winter Olympics creative video campaign uses 700 3D printed figures](https://www.voxelmatters.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/bd-bbc-trails-bts-still005-640x360.jpg)](https://www.voxelmatters.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/bd-bbc-trails-bts-still005.jpg) Image: NOMINT [![BBC’s Winter Olympics creative video campaign uses 700 3D printed figures](https://www.voxelmatters.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/bd-bbc-trails-bts-still008-640x360.jpg)](https://www.voxelmatters.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/bd-bbc-trails-bts-still008.jpg) Image: NOMINT The proximity of live flames to the 3D printed figures and camera equipment required protective measures to prevent lens damage and camera overheating. The set modeling was inspired by the Dolomites, and the visual content was paired with a new arrangement of Verdi's Requiem performed at the Royal Albert Hall. “This project was technically demanding and creatively exhilarating,” Konstantinidis stated. “From our very first conversation with BBC Creative, we knew we had the chance to pursue the near-impossible. “It demanded absolute trust and a willingness to take real creative risks in pursuit of something extraordinary.” The production team reported significant uncertainty about results even on the first day of shooting. The fire's chaotic behavior created [visual effects](https://www.voxelmatters.com/stranger-things-season-5-vfx-included-3d-printed-body-doubles/) that the team said could not be replicated through computer-generated imagery, but which they say produced an organic aesthetic quality distinct from digital methods. And this is the final, stunning, trailer from the BBC: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wdwqYcMoaQ