Written by new-contact on Feb 8, 2012. Posted in Production News

MJZ films stunt-filled anarchy on location in Buenos Aires for new Axe spot

MJZ has chosen Buenos Aires for a new action-packed spot for Axe deodorant. Unleash the Chaos shows a city devastated by crazy accidents triggered as a young man and woman accidentally push a flowerpot from a rooftop cafe. Vehicles overturn and clowns combust.

Spain and Uruguay were considered for filming, but Buenos Aires won the day as it offers the right combination of good production infrastructure, good weather, different types of urban locations and a crew base capable of handling stunt work. The team also needed a city that could offer character while having a generic quality, as the spot is being used internationally.

The bus sliding shot was particularly challenging with a pulley system to drag it across; [it was] shot with a Technocrane and other secondary stunt elements happening in unison.

Ruben Mercadal, Producer

Filming took place mostly at Diagonal Norte as it had the right kind of architecture and enabled the team to maximise their three-day shoot schedule. Park scenes were filmed at Plaza San Martin and a plate shot was taken at Puerto Madero, where a CGI monster was recently unleashed in a commercial for the French Dairy Council.

Ruben Mercadal produced the spot for BBH: “All stunts in the spot were achieved in-camera as we wanted the chaos to be as authentic as possible, shot on 35mm. The bus sliding shot was particularly challenging with a pulley system to drag it across; [it was] shot with a Technocrane and other secondary stunt elements happening in unison.

“We also had a strong stunt and SFX team that ensured all car/bike crashes were covered with the utmost precision with regards to crew and talent safety. We had lockdown on a big section of Diagonal Norte, which helped to reduce location and security issues in light of the volume of cast when all the extras were included in all the large set chaos shots.”

Mercadal advises productions to file location filming permits as early as possible for shoots in the city. The Argentinean summer is a very popular time of year for commercial shooting and the best locations are in high demand. January and February are generally the best months to get good weather.

He concludes: “It is testament to Tom [Kuntz, the Director], MJZ and Labhouse's [formerly Pioneer] hard work that we managed to capture all the footage in our ambitious script.”

Credits:
Client: Axe (Unilever)
Agency: BBH, London
BBH Creative Team: Daniel Schaefer, Szymon Rose
BBH TV Producer: Ruben Mercadal
Production Company: MJZ, London
Producer: Suza Horvat
Production Service Company: Labhouse, Buenos Aires
Director of Photography: Eduardo Grau
Director: Tom Kuntz