HDRI or modeled scene for enviroment

[buggy]

I will be animating a few gadgets -- mostly simple orbits around them, and would like them to look as attractive as possible.
I was just looking at the concept Lexus camera orbit video clip in the Octane showcase:
http://home.otoy.com/render/octane-render/showcase/
... and I am wondering if this has been created with an HDRI scene around it (set to visible in Octane), or if it is rendered in an actual 3D architectural setting (or a combination of a 3D scene plus a hidden HDRI environment for the lighting solution). If the surroundings are simply an HDRI environment, are there any techniques to get the floor to look like it is integral with the environment?
I tested a bunch of free HDRI panoramas in the environment channel set to visible, but the results weren't great. I could purchase one if I find a good source and it looks like it will perform well. Also, if I orbit around the subject, even if it is a panoramic HDRI, it seems like it may be tricky to get the subject to match up to the panorama, with respect to scale and camera angle.

I don't have a lot of time to spend building a scene, but may do so if necessary.
Any tips on creating good animations like this will be much appreciated!

[reckless]

Looks like HDRI to me. There seems to be no parallax happening between objects like the pillars and the glass wall etc.
For merging the floor you can try assigning a diffuse material to the ground plane and checking the 'matte' option in the material.

In some of the tutorial I have seen, people just eye ball the camera match.
There are some camera matching options in max well which I have never used, and cant remember the name of.

[FrankPooleFloating]

It couldn't hurt to have HDR Light Studio in your arsenal. This may be just thing you are looking for.

http://www.hdrlightstudio.com/

[p3taoctane]

Silly question... is HDRI Light Studio live interactive with the stand alone?

[whersmy]

Nope, gotta import the object, tune lights, export hdr map

[p3taoctane]

Thanks

[riggles]

The Lexus clip is an HDRI background, which is a perfectly legitimate approach. If you want parallax and subject/background interaction, you'll need something more. This can either be in the form of fully modeled background elements or projection mapping, depending on the shot and your desired results.

[buggy]

Thank you for all the helpful responses. It's out of my budget for the time being, but the HDR Light Studio looks like it would be a useful tool. I'm using the Octane Max plugin, and it mentions compatibility with Octane, so perhaps in the future. . .

In the meantime, like most things that turn out well, I can see that producing good scenes will just take some patience and trial and error
I don't need to interact with the background and as Riggles says, pure HDRI is a legitimate approach. I'll just need to do some more experimentation to come up with some attractive lighting solutions/environments. I'll also try Reckless' tip for the matte option.

Thanks again!