Written by new-contact on Jan 27, 2012. Posted in Production News

Henry De Czar unleashes a monster as Buenos Aires doubles for France

A monster has been unleashed on the Buenos Aires waterfront in a new ad for the French Dairy Council. The spot shows a woman enjoying a cheese snack, only to be interrupted by a monster that leaps from the water and hones in on the cheesy odour. It doesn’t end well for the woman.

The filming location needed to be convincing as somewhere in France, with greenery and good weather, but the project was looking at mid-November shoot dates. Buenos Aires ticked the right climatic and scenic boxes, and offers 14 hours of sunlight during Argentina's springtime.

When it’s winter in Europe and you need some sun, Buenos Aires is the number one destination to double Paris.

Rémi Noiriel, Executive Producer

Rémi Noiriel was the Executive Producer for Jacaranda Films: “Buenos Aires very often doubles for Europe - it’s difficult to give you a number though. When it’s winter in Europe and you need some sun, Buenos Aires is the number one destination to double Paris.”

Bangkok was initially considered as a location but was discounted because the shoot dates coincided with the city’s historic flooding. Hong Kong was too expensive. When the team settled on Buenos Aires they honed in on Puerto Madero as it offered both a scenic waterfront and an urban feel.

Yannick Dupas was the project’s Line Producer: “The challenges were that we only had one shoot day and we had to get the timing right to get the best light at dawn and dusk. We needed good crowd control for the wide-angle shot, but most challenging of all was filming without a real monster!”

A bench amounted to the only set dressing that was needed. Puerto Madero is privately owned so the team needed a permit from the Puerto Madero Corporation. The lumbering monster was of course created in post-production, with a crane rig used on location for shots where it devours the helpless businesswoman.

Credits:
Client: French Dairy Council
Agency: Euro RSCG C&O
Agency Producer: Marie-Valentine Girbal
Production Company: Henry De Czar, Paris
Producer: Corinne Dutoit-Costa
Production Service Company: Jacaranda Films, Buenos Aires
Line Producer: Yannick Dupas
Director of Photography: Miguel Olaso
Director: Ruairi Robinson