www.lionsdailynews.com friday, june 24 , 2011

44
r Miami Ad School - Letraset
FRIDAY, JUNE 24,2011
FOCUS ON LATIN AMERICA
really tested our ability to move the set quickly from place to
place. We are also now working regularly on co-productions
with other service companies in Argentina and Brazil in order
to be able to offer a greater range of locations and production
options.”
Ocean Films’ executive producer, Cristian Marini, recently
found himself in the middle of Bolivia at over 3,000 metres
altitude on the huge and beautiful salt flats of Uyuni. “We went
to Uyuni because our client Uniqlo asked us to make a spot
there. Aesthetically it is stunning, especially in the rainy season
when the shallow water on the flats creates a huge mirror
which reflects the sky and clouds. But there is so little production
support in Bolivia that we were obliged to take almost
everything we were going to need with us.”
Following a stay in La Paz to acclimatise, the crew drove
in a convoy of 4x4s to Uyuni. “And when we got there, guess
what? No rain, so no big beautiful mirror! But just before we
were due to leave, the rain fell and we got that amazing effect
with no horizon, where you don’t know whether you are in the
sky or on the ground.”
Ocean Films has also shot in Brazil a reality show called
Short Cut To Hell for MTV India, and just finished filming the
latest spot for the Mini Cooper. Of the latter Marini says: “I
can’t say too much because it has not yet been broadcast but
the story is based around a samba drome, and involved hundreds
of extras plus a parade through the streets with all the
usual carnival trimmings and decoration. It’s a great spot and
we really enjoyed working with Thomas & Thomas.”
Another MTV project, this time a spot for MTV Brazil
made by Paranoid Films, involved an animated sequence with
each drawing appearing on a white balloon which was burst
by a needle moving down a 140-metre track. “There were 3,600
balloons, so in fact, in principle we needed a 220-metre track
but were only able to build 140 metres, so there are a couple of
edits, but they are very hard to spot,” executive producer Egisto
Betti says. “We also had to spend quite some time finding
the optimum velocity, which turned out to be 24 balloons per
frame. And, due to the nature of the job, once we had started
we just had to keep going, so we shot for 36 hours straight
through.”
The effort was worth it though, with the spot having created
a huge buzz on professional and online video sites, generating
hundreds of thousands of views. Betti says: “A simple
idea done well can be very powerful.”
Another simple idea that Paranoid has pioneered in Brazil
is presenting treatments to clients. “It is something that is normal
procedure in many other places but not in Brazil, and our
clients really appreciate that they know exactly what they’re
getting,” Betti says. “Plus we can offer a roster of foreign directors
from our offices in Paris and LA, and on a local level, Dulcidio
Caldera, who directed the MTV balloons spot, used to be
a creative director at Almap/BBDO, so he is able to act as a
bridge between the agency and the production.”
Jan Roldanus of GreenGo Films found himself on a beach
with a 15-metre mock-up whale last month. “It was a job for
LU’s Prinz biscuits where the story is about the amphibian being
saved by a group of kids who make a huge surfboard in order
to refloat it. “In terms of complication, though, the BP Sumo
cars spot was quite a challenge. It involved cars on a round
platform floating in the sea having a sumo-style contest, trying
to push each other into the water. Another complex job was for
EA Sports where we had to recreate a judo scene, a kick-box