Written by Tom Deehan on Feb 1, 2017. Posted in On Location / Production News

Bang Bang Films shoots jaw-dropping stunts in South Africa for QNB commercial

Production service company, Bang Bang Films has taken to the rooftops of Cape Town in their latest commercial for Qatar National Bank. The spot features a number of high-octane stunts including surfing down an escalator and leaping from the top of a skyscraper.

The commercial’s central star, footballer Xavier Creus had his scenes shot in Dubai with the use of green screen. Stunt doubles from Los Angeles were used for the South African portion of the shoot.

Anna Mira D’Ercole, Executive Producer of Bang Bang Films explains: “the challenges were many but all of the jumps were free body – so height and architecture had a big impact on our choice of locations. This was particularly so for the first big jump in the film – we had to choose a building that was quite flat in its facade, but had a certain character and texture to fit the brief.”

She continues: “it was also quite difficult to gain permission from the corporate body of each building as they were not too keen to have a crazy guy jumping from their rooftop with no safety lines, even though all the additional safety precautions were in place as well as special stunt insurance. Luckily however, we had a great stunt team, an amazing crew and a great international production company (City Films) that supported us in every single step of the way.”

Due to its location variety, South Africa is a popular hub for all types of productions. Farm Film’s commercial for Nissan features Cape Town’s City Bowl area alongside and vast countryside landscapes.

South Africa’s production industry also benefits from a local incentive scheme. International projects that spend a minimum of R12 million or 50% of their budget in the region can receive a rebate of up to 25%.

Bang Bang Films - QNB from Bang Bang Films on Vimeo.