Consider it a skateboard with hubcaps, a compact audio disc player, headlights and room for five riders. That’s the extreme sports context in which the Daewoo Lanos automobile wants to be judged. And to that end, London agency Duckworth Finn Grubb Waters has placed the car in a U-shaped half-pipe, an imposing architectural structure in which skateboarders execute daring stunts, gaining enough momentum to spin and flip in mid-air.
In this :30, entitled "Aerial Fantasy," a Lanos automobile appears to be climbing one side of the half-pipe and then builds up speed to show its derring-do a la the professional, Gen-X skateboarder. The car then makes a hairpin turn and returns down the same side of the half pipe and then back up the other to show off yet another gravity defying stunt. It’s the ultimate demonstration of how the car handles, lending a new dimension to a genre normally steeped in cars motoring along twisting mountain roads, or high speed excursions down the Autobahn. Meanwhile as the Lanos is put through its paces on the half-pipe, accompanying skateboarders are simultaneously doing their thing.
The parting shot shows a skateboarder and the Lanos exiting the half pipe by sliding down stairway railings at the same time. Director Daniel Barber of Rose Hackney Barber, London, teamed with DP Steve Chivers and an effects team at The Mill, London, to make the heart-stopping action a reality on film. The shoot took place in London’s docklands where a huge half-pipe was fitted with roller coaster runners. Attached to a large crane, hoisted up in the air and unceremoniously dropped from above, the Lanos landed on the roller coaster tracks and naturally swept backwards and forwards through the pipe. Attached to the base of the Lanos was a pivot that made the car spin around in the air at the ends of the pipe. This special pivot rig was actually operated by a stuntman inside the car, providing him with some control over the movement. The action was shot in a variety of formats, including a DV camera that was placed inside the car to give a behind-the-steering wheel perspective.
Flame artist Jason Watts of the Mill removed all the visible roller coaster tracks, the crane and additional rigging from the half-pipe. He also added parts to the car that were obscured by the rigging. The Mill also composited separate shots of skateboarders into the scene. And for the final sequence, the car rig on the handrailing had to be removed via Flame. Watts added sparks to the base of the car to simulate friction when the Lanos’ metal body rides along the banister railing. Watts headed an ensemble of Flame artists at The Mill that also consisted of Dave Phillips, Dave Houghton and Phil Crowe. Post producer was Pippa Halfnight.
"Aerial Fantasy" was edited by Rick Russell of Final Cut, London. The spot began airing throughout much of Europe last month and is slated to make its U.K. debut in January.
The creative ensemble for Duckworth Finn Grubb Waters included creative director Paul Grubb, art director Mike London and copywriter James Fryer. Kate Mulloy, the agency’s head of production, served as producer on the spot.
