Thierry Poiraud via Paranoid Paris (he is also repped by Independent Films, London), directed this spot for Réseau Ferré de France (RFF), the company responsible for managing the French national railway network. Charged with promoting RFF and its ongoing modernization of the rail network, the commercial will air on terrestrial and cable/satellite channels and is already proving to be a hit online.
Although the film was shot traditionally using ARRI Alexa cameras, Poiraud employed a variety of techniques including model making and 3D animation to create a world that marries real life and the magic of miniature railway. With an up tempo score by Metronomy, this 45-second spot takes the viewer on a whimsical and exciting journey across France that captures the full scale of RFF’s day to day operations.
We see the role the RFF plays in people’s everyday lives, transporting them as well as products along the railway network–with the occasional intervention of a giant human hand that modernizes the railway infrastructure as it continues going about its daily business.
A voiceover relates the slogan, “Building tomorrow’s network while running today’s.” An end tag carrying the RFF logo also contains the message, “Tomorrow on track today.”
Poiraud observed that working on the RFF film “reminded me of shooting my first animated films when I was a kid. We shot all over France for a month at locations I’d heard of but never visited using only a small crew. After the shoot, we recreated most of the locations as small-scale models, which my son is now playing with at home and I had the chance to put Sergio Leon’s comment that Cinemascope was invented to shoot trains into practice.”
Stars Among Those Who Lost Their Homes In L.A. Area Fires; Jamie Lee Curtis Pledges $1M To Relief Effort
Fires burning in and around Los Angeles have claimed the homes of numerous celebrities, including Billy Crystal, Jeff Bridges, and R&B star Jhené Aiko, and led to sweeping disruptions of entertainment events. Three awards ceremonies planned for this weekend have been postponed. Next week's Oscar nominations have been delayed. And tens of thousands of Angelenos are displaced and awaiting word Thursday on whether their homes survived the flames — some of them the city's most famous denizens. Thousands of structures have been destroyed but damage assessments are just beginning. More than 180,000 people are also under evacuation orders in the metropolitan area, from the Pacific Coast inland to Pasadena, a number that continues to shift as new fires erupt. Late Wednesday, a fire in the Hollywood Hills was scorching the hills near the famed Hollywood Bowl and Dolby Theatre, which is the home of the Academy Awards. That fire had been largely contained without damage to Hollywood landmarks. Here are how the fires are impacting celebrities and the Los Angeles entertainment industry: Stars whose homes have burned in the fires Celebrities like Crystal and his wife, Janice, were sharing memories of the homes they lost. The Crystals lost the home in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood that they lived in for 45 years. "Janice and I lived in our home since 1979. We raised our children and grandchildren here. Every inch of our house was filled with love. Beautiful memories that can't be taken away. We are heartbroken of course but with the love of our children and friends we will get through this," the Crystals wrote in the statement. After her learning her Pacific Palisades home was lost in the fires, Melissa Rivers says she was... Read More