Noted feature filmmaker Robert Altman—whose current release, Gosford Park, has earned numerous industry kudos, including winning a Golden Globe and an inaugural American Film Institute AFI Award for best director of the year—has made a foray into the spot arena, helming a Parisienne cigarettes commercial via bicoastal production house Villains.
Titled "Parisienne People," the cinema ad debuts this month in Switzerland movie theaters. The spot consists of a single shot through an airy, sunlit, crowded restaurant. The commercial’s simplicity and perspective make it intriguing. The camera gives us a ground-level view of restaurant-goers, showing primarily their feet and and lower legs, generally going no higher than waist level. While the choreography must have been meticulous, the movement looks unplanned and effortless.
We open on two pairs of shoes—one male and one female—worn by a couple seated in a waiting area. Another two feet—presumably of a female maitre d’—approach. The couple rises to follow the maitre d’, leading us on a tour through the little stories unfolding under the tables and about the restaurant. While the many visual tales are typical Altman, this sound design includes no voices, overlapping or otherwise. Instead there is debonair piano accompaniment, feet pattering on the glossy wooden floor, and the civilized tinkling of cutlery and glassware.
We pass a table where a woman plays "footsie" with her male companion. Catching the camera’s eye, another pair of walking feet proceeds to the lower shelf of a dessert table. The man attached to those feet kneels down (we never see his face) and helps himself to pastries, which he arranges on a plate. Apparently he is a waiter, and he continues his intricate journey across the room, avoiding furniture and perambulating customers.
Hot on the trail of the waiter’s dress shoes, we’re led to another below-the-table shot. Here we see a woman’s elegant shoe rise from the floor, carrying with it a sticky wad of stretched-out, chewed gum. Beneath another table a snippy little canine strains at its leash, next to the white anklets and shiny red shoes of its owner. Suddenly the deft waiter stumbles, sending the plate and pastries across the floor. The dog barks wildly in response to the mishap, as the waiter drops down on all fours to clean up.
The camera then leads us a few feet over to the piano player, taking us up to the instrument’s keyboard. A package of Parisiennes is perched atop the piano, next to a single lit cigarette in an ashtray and a propped-up sheet-music cover reading, "Parisienne People by Robert Altman." The understated product shot ends the commercial and our mini-tour of this fashionable bistro. Visual jests and allusions along the way have included a "peinture fraiche" sign, revealed when the two waiting patrons arise from their bench; and the thrice-tapping heels of the young dog-owner’s ruby-red slippers.
Altman initially approached Villains about his possibly taking on select ad assignments. Villains owner/executive producer Robin Benson related that she was "honored" at the prospect of working with the acclaimed filmmaker. Shortly thereafter, Villains was able to secure the Parisienne project via Marc Oberon of CDM Production, Paris, who acted as an intermediary between Villains and Zurich-based Media Screen, which coveted Altman for the job. No ad agency was involved, as Altman got the opportunity to serve as creative director, shaping the ad’s conceptual framework.
Villains provided Altman with a supporting cast that included executive producer Richard Goldstein and producer Jane Frazer. The cinema spot was shot on stage in London by DP Oliver Stapleton.
London-based freelance editor Amanda Pollack, aided by assistant editor Will MacNeil, cut "Parisienne People." Colorist was Chris Beaten of Pepper Post, London, which also served as the online post facility. Audio engineer was Nick Wollage of Air Edel, London. Patrick Doyle, also of Air Edel, was composed the music.
