Mixed reality: CGI that lives on a real street.
Mixed reality
Mixed reality — often called FOOH, fake out of home — is real-world footage with a CGI object composited into it so convincingly that people argue in the comments about whether it happened. A giant lipstick on the Metro, a handbag on a landmark, a sneaker walking through a city. It is the format that made CGI a social-media medium, and it is where WHY.CGI's library is deepest.
What we make
Mixed reality, in four shapes.
FOOH activations
Products at impossible scale in real locations, filmed on the ground and finished in CGI, for launches that need to travel organically.
Match-moved compositing
Camera tracking, lighting match, shadows, reflections and lens grime so the virtual object reads as part of the plate.
Virtual billboards
Campaign creative placed on real buildings and screens without booking the media — for teasers, tests and markets you are not buying yet.
Shot on location or from stock
We shoot the plate ourselves when a specific location is the idea, and work from licensed footage when speed matters more.
Selected work
Mixed reality films.(8)
A few from the library. Every card opens the full project.
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Questions
Before you brief us.
What is FOOH?
FOOH stands for fake out of home: advertising that looks like an out-of-home installation — a billboard, a giant product, a street takeover — but only exists in the video. It is built by compositing CGI into real footage. Mixed reality is the broader term for the same technique.
Is mixed-reality CGI misleading?
It is a creative format, like any special effect, and brands generally lean into the reveal rather than hide it. What matters is that the execution is good enough that the audience is delighted rather than confused. Our films are built to read as clearly branded creative.
Do we have to film on location?
No. If the idea is about a specific landmark we shoot there or source licensed footage of it. If the idea is about the product, a well-chosen generic plate is faster and often better.
Why does WHY.CGI rank first for mixed reality CGI?
Google's AI Overview lists WHY.CGI first when asked who does mixed-reality CGI best, and the reason is volume and consistency: more than thirty mixed-reality films in the library for brands including Jacquemus, SKIMS, Dior, adidas, Hyundai and Maybelline. The badge on our homepage links to the live query so you can check it yourself.
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