Written by David Lewis on Oct 19, 2009. Posted in Production News

Toyota film latest spot on location in Dubai

Last month Central Films, based at the Dubai Media City, and 1st Avenue Inc from Japan co-produced a new 60 second spot for the Middle East region for Toyota Prado. The four day shoot used locations in and around Dubai to show the on-road and off-road features of the model.

Roads were closed off in Dubai's ultra-modern city locations for both day and night sequences. But how easy is it to close roads in such a fast moving modern city?

Ian Ross, Central Films' Producer, explains: "It is very, very easy and inexpensive to close roads in Dubai, including major highways. And you only need one easy-to-get-permit which covers unlimited locations for one very reasonable fee."

The story then took the car out into deep, sand-duned desert and across very rocky mountainous terrain. The desert near Dubai was used as well the mountains in the Hatta and Oman regions. Ross continues:

"This is heavy 4 x 4 territory but after five years of shooting in mountain and desert we have the best kit and crew to deal with it."

A crane-mounted flight head on a custom-made 4 x 4 tracking vehicle was used to great effect by the Dubai-based grips. Central already has a reputation for shooting very successfully in difficult and challenging locations such as Bahrain, Egypt, Greece, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.
But it's not all about inhospitable desert and mountain terrain and cutting edge architecture in this region. It is also worth considering its tropical beaches. Ross concludes:

"These are very underused considering you can shoot them nine months a year and they are only a six hour flight from Europe. And, very shoot-friendly too as we can easily close them to the public."

The film from the spot was processed at Kodak Cine Labs in Dubai. Post production was done in Bangkok and Tokyo and the spot is due to start airing at the start of November.

Client: Toyota
Central Films Dubai
Producer: Ian Ross
Production Manager: Karen Coetzee
Camera Operator: Kevin Falconer
1st Avenue Inc
Producer /Director/DoP: Manjot Bedi