Cortez Brothers Director Fernando Arrioja recently helmed a CG-driven spot, “Cold Practice,” for Coors Light via ad agency Bromley.
Created for the Spanish-speaking market, the spot opens on a young man enjoying a soccer game at a local bar. Upon learning that Coors Lights is the official beer sponsor of Mexico’s Primera División, the elite level of Mexican Fútbol, he is transported into the fantastical corners of his mind as he imagines Club America Coach Carlos Reinoso barking out drills at the players, such as Matías Vuoso, as they train vigorously in the snowy conditions of the Rockies.
“This project was filled with obstacles and challenges, but luckily for us, we had Fernando Arrioja,” says Henry Botello, Bromley Senior Broadcast Producer. “He had solutions, improvements, and ideas that took our vision of this commercial to the next level. Fernando’s creativity speaks for itself, with an amazing eye for framing. He directs talent to a point of comfort that gets the best possible deliveries from them. But best of all, Fernando is a well-grounded director, with the kind of personality that makes you feel like a longtime friend.”
Since scheduling issues prevented Arrioja from shooting the soccer players and coach on location in the Rocky Mountains, he worked closely with the agency creatives to determine what elements were needed to recreate an extreme soccer camp in the snow. Background plates of the Rockies, snow and mountain views were shot in Vail, Colorado. These were later incorporated into the final footage with the soccer players, who were shot in a studio in Mexico City with salt instead of snow.
“This was a fun spot,” concludes Arrioja. “The team at Bromley and I were on the same wavelength, and our close collaboration was crucial to this project’s success. They gave me a lot of flexibility as to how far we could push the concept. It would’ve been great to actually shoot the players in the Rockies, but we found a way to recreate their vigorous practice in the studio against greenscreen. Typically, you’d shoot the greenscreen components before the background plates, but this time, we did it the other way around. It was important that we matched the right plates with the right angles. The challenge was making the snowy training conditions look as real and believable as possible.”
Credits
Client: Coors
Spot Title: “Cold Practice”
Ad Agency: Bromley San Antonio, Texas
Creative Director: Ron Landreth
Associate Creative Director: Dario Campos
Executive Producer: Irene Monzon
Sr. Broadcast Producer: Henry Botello
Copywriter: Jon Erick Jaimes
Production Company: Cortez Brothers Marina del Rey, CA
Director: Fernando Arrioja
DP: Alejandro Martinez
Executive Producers: Marcos Cline Marquez & Ed Rivero
Production Supervisor: Asori Soto
Where shot: Vail, Colorado & Mexico City, Mexico
VFX Company: La Posta Buenos Aires, Argentina
Animation Supervisor: Pablo Tufaro
VFX Supervisor: Edi Walger
About The Cortez Brothers
A Los Angeles-based global production company specializing in offshore shooting, The Cortez Brothers has become a lightning rod for the worlds of entertainment and advertising, melding Hispanic/Latino culture and mainstream American sensibilities.
Founded in 2006, it brings bilingual, international talent under one roof, combining the forces of directors, writers and producers who are equally at home speaking English or Spanish. The Cortez Brothers produces a wide range of projects from feature films and television series to webisodes and commercials.
Recent clients include AT&T, Chevy, Coca-Cola, Dodge, Ford, Home Depot, McDonald’s, Pontiac, Procter & Gamble, Toyota, Verizon and Allstate. The Cortez Brothers is one of the only woman- and minority-owned production companies in the entire US. www.cortezbrothers.com
