Written by new-contact on Apr 21, 2011. Posted in Production News

Jupiler Force embarks on jungle trek to film ad on location in Costa Rica

Belgian brewed soft drink brand Jupiler Force has journeyed to Costa Rica for its new ad spot. The self-aware commercial shows a film crew travelling through a jungle river, dense undergrowth and mangroves so that they can, well, film a commercial.

Brazil, Honduras, New Zealand and Thailand were all considered as shoot locations. The production eventually settled on Dominical on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, as it was more practical and offered the specific locations they were looking for.

Eva Van Riet, a Producer with Rabbit, said: “The idea was that they have reached a waterfall which wasn't discovered yet - in which country or on what place on Earth didn't matter. After we decided which waterfall was the best for the end shot, we started scouting locations in the neighbourhood of this waterfall.”

We chose Dominical on the south Pacific coast because the access to the locations is easier than on the Caribbean side. Also the most important location was the waterfall and the one the client liked was in Dominical.

Lorenzo Benedick, Gabriel Carratu, Producers

Lorenzo Benedick and Gabriel Carratu, with Vagabond Films, said: “We chose Dominical on the south Pacific coast because the access to the locations is easier than on the Caribbean side. Also the most important location was the waterfall and the one the client liked was in Dominical. We tried to find the rest close to the same area because we only had three shooting days - we needed very good logistics to make this film happen.”

Access was a challenge, with small boats, all-terrain jeeps and aeroplanes being used to transport crew and equipment. The crew also had to be careful to avoid some of the local wildlife, like snakes and crocodiles.

Lander Engels, of Famous, the agency Producer, said: “The early (5pm) sunset was a challenge as we had to rush to get things done before dark. Also, the tides didn’t come up early enough to get to the mangrove by boat. It was really hot, but that was a good thing!”

There was a narrow window of time in which the mangroves flooded with sea water. The crew ended up forced to take the more physical approach to leave the mangroves once they had finished filming.

Benedick and Carratu said: “The funniest story about the mangrove was that it gets full of water from 6am to 11am. The water comes in, fills up the mangrove and then you can go with the boats, but at 10:30am the sea starts to leave and it dries up again. There’s nothing you can do. We finished walking in the middle of the dry river and in the end we had to walk for a kilometre carrying the boat as we didn’t get back to the pier on time.”

You’ll get wet. You’ll get dirty. Take an extra day for unforeseen conditions.

Lander Engels, Producer

Van Riet commented: “The experience was good. Equipment wise they don't have a lot so we brought in camera equipment from Miami. They have basic lighting equipment which was perfect for our shoot - most of the time we shot with available light.”

Engels concluded: “You’ll get wet. You’ll get dirty. Take an extra day for unforeseen conditions. Try to have something other than rice and beans for your breakfast!”

Van Riet offered: “I think Costa Rica is a great place to shoot beaches, nature and tropical forests. I would not consider it if you need a city environment because it just doesn't exist.”

Credits
Client: Jupiler
Agency: Famous, Brussels
Agency Producer: Lander Engels
Production Company: Rabbit, Brussels
Executive Producer: Ruben Goots
Producer: Eva Van Riet
Production Service Company: Vagabond Films
Producers: Lorenzo Benedick, Gabriel Carratu
Director: Dimitri Karakatsanis