However much you plan ahead when producing a commercial, once the cameras are ready to roll surprises do still happen.
Author: Michael Moffett
Published: 31 Jul 2013
Producing an ad often involves several of weeks of planning and then a shoot of a day or two. So too was the case when Spanish production services company Camino Media and production company Jumbo A got together in Paris for TVC, to create a set of three videos for Yamaha.
However, before the camera was ready to roll the crew had to deal with an unexpected surprise. Michael Moffett, managing director and executive producer for Camino Media describes his experiences on the production.
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Working in Europe with clients from far afield has prepared us to expect the unexpected. So it wasn’t entirely a surprise when we learned that Thai celebrities slated to ride Yamaha scooters through Paris for a TVC shoot we’d been planning for weeks, didn’t have the necessary license to drive through Parisian streets.
What’s more, the brief now called for shots showing custom license plates in frame while the scooter was being driven. Jumbo A producer Jakrapon “Neng” Chawalitkulaboot delivered us the news.
“Regulations are more relaxed in Bangkok,” explains Neng. The strict requirements in Paris took us by surprise. Fortunately, Camino proposed and put into action solutions our director could work with.”
Normal garage plates provided by our motorcycle care specialists wouldn’t do in these circumstances. So we immediately asked Yamaha to register the prototype scooters in Thailand while we processed International Motor Insurance “green cards” in France. This permitted the three scooters imported for the shoot to meet French requirements for circulation. Thai plates were on our tracking vehicles and our client's custom plates on the scooter without any need to fix it in post.
One and Only Fino from Camino Media on Vimeo.
In the meantime, when accident insurance for the Thai talent proved difficult to arrange in Thailand, we extended our own accident insurance to cover them. Unfortunately, only one of the three Thai celebs had paperwork in order to drive legally in Paris. Too much was at stake for this tightly scheduled commercial shoot to risk any delays caused by questioning traffic cops.
The reality check took us all back to the storyboard with director Don Padungvichean. We added a three-wheel tracking vehicle to our camera car package to allow for more angles set against the backdrops of iconic Paris, and our production manager stepped in as a second stand-in driver at no extra cost.
Yamaha fans in Thailand could never guess just how singular an experience The One and Only Fino TVC campaign shoot was in Paris. And that’s what it’s all about from a storyteller’s point of view. Let the good times roll.
KFTV likes to thank Camino Media for sharing their experiences with us. If you like to find out more than visit the Camino Media website.
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