The holy grail for filmmakers is to attain realism—not to be confused with that often sub-intelligent phenomenon known as reality TV. The artistic goal is for movie scenes to play realistic to the nth degree. This serves—as they say in cinema school—to help "suspend the disbelief" of audiences.
With tongue firmly planted in cheek, Canal +, a movie and sports channel in Europe, stakes its claim on believability via a cinema/television spot which thrusts us right into the middle of a medieval battlefield. In this ad titled "Visigoths," we witness an epic confrontation pitting proud, fearlessly brave warriors against each other. The men clash violently, inflicting death and destruction for as far as the eye can see. Soldiers fall victim to weaponry ranging from steel swords to maces to catapulted fireballs.
Thankfully this is merely the lensing of a scene for a Canal+ feature-length film, so the carnage is make-believe—or is it? A French language super asks (per an English translation), "How do the actors manage to play dead so well?"
Clearly, we are getting a behind-the-scenes peek at the making of an epic feature, with incredible period piece detail and huge production value, replete with a cast of hundreds, if not thousands of combatants. We hear the director yell, "Cut," and then ask for a "playback." His instructions are repeated over a megaphone by the assistant director.
But what price realism? Much to our amazement, the answer to the earlier supered query is that a number of actors have actually been killed off in the staged battle. Production assistants cover the bodies with sheets and carry the corpses off the ravaged battlefield.
Relaxing on his canvas chair, the director calmly instructs his assistant director to put the cast and crew in motion to "do it again." The actors are instructed to get in position for filming to begin. One thespian grimaces at the thought of having to put his life on the line again—but apparently the alternative is even more dismaying: getting out of show business.
The director takes a sip of what’s presumably coffee from a cup, as the carnage is about to resume. A super against a black background simply reads, "Everything about movies," followed by Canal + and its slogan, "The Movie Channel."
"Visigoths" was directed by Baker Smith, who’s partnered with executive producer Bonnie Goldfarb in Santa Monica-based Harvest. The job was co-produced by Harvest and Paris production house Premiere Heure. Goldfarb executive produced for Harvest; her counterparts at Premiere Heure were Patrice Haddad and Olivia Castelnau.
BETC Euro RSCG’s creative team included creative director Stephane Xiberras and the core writing/art directing duo of Marc Rosier and Jean-Marc Tramoni.
The spot was shot on location in Prague by DP John Mathieson. Sirena Films, Prague, provided production services.
"Visigoths" was edited by Paris-based freelancer Herve Schneid. Music and audio services were provided by Le Sound, Paris.
