Having debuted at last month’s New York International Auto Show and now making the viral rounds on YouTube, the branded music video “Get Ready” is generating buzz for the North American rollout of the Fiat 500. The clip was directed by Mark Kudsi of Motion Theory for Detroit ad agency Impatto.
Featuring Vivaldi’s Concerto in D Major recreated by MassiveMusic for the new soundtrack, “Get Ready” features slick documentary-style footage of an assembly line in the new Fiat plant in Toluca, Mexico. This footage–which captures cranes, robotic arms and other factory machinery as beautiful precise objects which in motion create a mechanical ballet–is combined with four loose storylines of regular individuals getting ready in their homes.
Kudsi found inspiration in romantic comedies, in which the action is intercut between two characters eagerly preparing for a blind date with each other, uncannily matching each other’s idiosyncrasies via parallel montage. Said Kudsi, “Instead of ‘boy meets girl,’ it’s ‘driver meets car.’ We’re so connected to our cars that we often name them, talk to them, and pick them based on how we think they’ll match our personalities and lifestyle. We wanted to celebrate this connection by bringing this extraordinarily synchronized magic to the time before that first ‘meeting.’ It’s all those things we don’t see that lead to love at first sight.”
Kudsi, a commercial director who has also made a name through music videos, including the Grammy Award-winning “Boom Boom Pow” for Black Eyed Peas, deployed his trademark interplay between music, visuals, style and concept–elements which laid the foundation for the larger Fiat campaign.
“Get Ready” re-launches the Fiat in North America after an absence of almost 30 years. Kudsi and his Motion Theory production team spent two days inside the Fiat Toluca plant documenting the production line as the Fiat 500 was being made from sheet metal into finished product. An additional two days were spent on location in Los Angeles shooting the talent vignettes. All told, Kudsi accumulated 36 hours of footage, which was edited in-house by Mirada‘s Lenny Messina. Kudsi deployed a variety of cameras on the shoot, including the RED, Canon 5D and 7D and two GoPro cameras mounted onto robotic arms and inside cars as they were being assembled. As part of the same Fiat USA marketing effort, Kudsi also shot numerous interviews with Fiat customers.
The Impatto team on “Get Ready” included president/CEO Michael D’Antonio, sr. writer Parag Tembulkar, sr. art director Craig Smith, head of integrated content Gail Simon, and producers Lorraine Kraus and Kristin Loudis.
Javier Jimenez exec produced for Motion Theory, with Anna Joseph serving as line producer. The DP was Ericd Schmidt. Teri Whittaker was the production designer.
Mirada, a sister shop to Motion Theory, was the post house on the job, with an ensemble of talent consisting of creative director kudsi, VFX producer James Taylor, online producer Christina Caldwell, sr. art director Jonathan Wu, lead compositing artist Ash Wagers, compositing artists Jason Lowe, Ed Laag, Thomas Horne, Oliver Scott and Phil Guthrie, code artists Keith Pasko and Tim Stutts, designer Chris Ballard, roto artist Midori Witsken, Flame artists Danny Yoon and Matt Bramante and production manager Tina Van Delden. Mirada’s editorial contingent was comprised of editor Messina, Fred Foquet who did additional editing, online editor Jeff Aquino and assistant editor Hoa Mai.
DGA Feature Nominees: Audiard, Baker, Berger, Corbet and Mangold
The field of feature nominees for the Directors Guild of America (DGA) Awards spanning two categories is set. Nominated for the DGA honor for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Theatrical Feature Film for 2024 are: Jacques Audiard for Emilia Pérez, Sean Baker for Anora, Edward Berger for Conclave, Brady Corbet for The Brutalist, and James Mangold for A Complete Unknown.
The DGA also revealed the nominees for the Michael Apted Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in First-Time Theatrical Feature Film. The first-time narrative feature directors are: Payal Kapadia for All We Imagine as Light, Megan Park for My Old Ass, RaMell Ross for Nickel Boys, Halfdan Ullman Tondel for Armand, and Sean Wang for Diddy.
“2024 has been a truly extraordinary year for storytelling--and today’s nominees have created audacious and unique films that expand the possibilities of cinematic excellence,” said DGA president Lesli Linka Glatter. “I am thrilled to congratulate all our nominated directors for their brilliant work, which is visionary, inspirational and speaks to the depth of the human experience. To be chosen by one’s peers is the true marker of outstanding directorial achievement and what makes these nominations so very special.”
The winners will be announced at the 77th Annual DGA Awards on Saturday, February 8.
Here’s a fuller rundown of the nominees in both DGA Award categories:
THEATRICAL FEATURE FILM
Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Theatrical Feature Film for 2024 (in alphabetical order):
JACQUES AUDIARD
Emilia Pérez
(Netflix)
SEAN... Read More