Written by new-contact on Jan 5, 2015. Posted in Production News

Radical Media films Spain for BMW tale of early man and wild horses

Radical Media filmed on location in the Almeria region of southern Spain for a new spot for the BMW i8. Curiosity explores the development of modern driving by showing early man discovering the freedom and power of horseback riding. The animal then morphs into a BMW.

Several weeks of scouting in Spain helped the team focus on Almeria. A location was found where the stuntmen could safely interact with the horses and that also offered good driving conditions for the final transition shot.

Getting a realistic look for the human character was also important, to avoid a “comedy caveman” visual.

“We spent days raking the floor for stones and unwanted debris that could hurt our horses or damage the i8,” explains Dave Clark, Head of TV for agency FCB Inferno.

“Knowing that we would always be up against time and light we had two i8’s transported to Almeria so that we could ready one while the other was being shot. Our wardrobe department made sure that our stuntmen could walk and run properly by concealing Nike trainers under their leather booties.”

Filming with horses meant there was a limit to how much footage the team could shoot each day, but there were replacements on standby in case any of those being filmed began to tire.

We spent days raking the floor for stones and unwanted debris that could hurt our horses or damage the i8.

Dave Clark, FCB Inferno

“Jumping on and riding horses bareback is, apparently, a rather dangerous pastime so we made sure we employed two stuntmen who were made up identically and who both feature in the final ad,” Clark continues.

Prolific director Tarsem was hired to helm the shoot. “Tarsem had the most hunger,” adds Al Young, Chief Creative Director of FCB Inferno: “And importantly, he wanted to do it all in-camera and keep it visceral rather than relying on CGI.”

Local servicing came from Goodgate Productions.

Credits:
Client: BMW
Director: Tarsem
Agency: FCB Inferno London
Agency Producer: Dave Clarke
Chief Creative Officer: Al Young
Executive Creative Director: Owen Lee
Production Company: Radical Media
Production Service Company: Goodgate Productions