AGENCIES: J. Walter Thompson, Detroit, and Ogilvy & Mather, Dearborn, Mich. CLIENT: Ford Motor Company. TIMELINE: First call to airing … 52 hours.
Saturday, Aug. 26, 2000 1:20 PM PST; Hermosa Beach, Calif. My phone rings. Executive producer Bob Ammon of J. Walter Thompson, Detroit, needs me on a plane. Ford Motor Company president/CEO Jacques Nasser wants to get an important message on national television regarding Ford’s actions concerning Firestone’s tire recall. He is available Monday morning and wants to be on air Monday night. Is this possible? There is no turn-around time for film. I tell Bob I will bring my mini DV camera (Canon GL1) and get a second one in Detroit. We agree that the film-like quality of these Canons in "FRAME" mode is the way to go. We plan to meet with Ford and agency personnel as soon as we land.
Sunday, Aug. 27, 8:40 AM PST: On the plane with Tropix Films’ executive producer, David Coulter, we discuss how to shoot this spot using two Canon mini DV cameras mounted so both are inside the glass of the teleprompter. We won’t have Mr. Nasser for long, so we’ll need wide and close focal lengths shot simultaneously. It is imperative that his eye-line not vary from either camera.
Sunday, 4:45 PM EST: Ford’s World Headquarters, Dearborn, Mich. David and I meet agency and Ford personnel to scout a suitable place to "film" Mr. Nasser the next morning. I shoot various locations on my mini DV and plug into a monitor to screen our selections. We agree on a site at Ford’s Tire Operations Center. Most crew is booked; still haven’t found a teleprompter and operator.
Sunday, 8:30 PM EST; The Pelican Club, Dearborn. Over a dinner of pretzels and beer, I discuss the shoot with JWT’s Bob Ammon and [creative director] Mike Priebe, and Ogilvy & Mather’s [worldwide management supervisor] Richard Bonner-Davies and [executive creative director] Kent Aitchison. (A two-agency shoot; a first for me.) Coulter’s cell phone rings with good news: A teleprompter and operator have been booked for tomorrow’s 6 a.m. call.
Monday, Aug. 28, 5:50 AM EST; Ford’s World Headquarters, Dearborn. We configure the two mini DV’s behind the teleprompter glass. With a little finessing, we now have, independent of each other, my Canon GL1 and a Canon XL1, side by side behind the teleprompter. The nodal points of the lenses are no more than six inches apart. Mr. Nasser’s eye-line will never vary, whichever camera we use.
Monday, 10 AM EST: Mr. Nasser is very personable and sincere in his message. After take two, he says, "We’ve got that, eh, fellas?" I say, "Just about, but I need a couple more, if you wouldn’t mind." We manage to get seven takes and, of course, the last two are the best. He wants to see a cut by 1:30 p.m. Wow. He thanks us and bounds up the stairs two at a time, to his office above. We shot 17 minutes of tape. Someone says something about instant "dailies" and I say, "They’re hourlies." Actually, they’re more like "minutelies."
Monday, 11:00 AM EST; GTN, Oak Park, Mich.: We arrive at GTN postproduction and immediately dub the mini DV cassettes to D5. The tape looks great, but will look better when we telecine tape to tape, adding a light diffusion to make it look more like film.
Monday, 1:00 PM EST: We are cutting two versions of the 90-second spot while waiting for final network and legal clearance. We’re tempted to panic, as the computer we’re editing on knows we’re in a hurry and becomes temperamental. Apertures on seats are puckering, and the meeting with Mr. Nasser is pushed till 2:30. Account guys pace. The spot must be beamed to New York no later than 4:30 p.m. EST.
Monday, 2:55 PM EST: The spot is approved by Mr. Nasser. We, meanwhile, have been color-correcting selected scenes. The overall look of the film (the tape) is pretty darn good. Engineering people, telecine artists and other post personnel are duly impressed. "That’s mini-DV? No way."
Monday, 4:45 PM EST: The spot is beamed to the networks via satellite.
Monday, 8:40 PM EST, Steve and Rocky’s Restaurant, Novi, Mich.: Mike, Bob, Dave and I look up from our earlier-than-expected dinner to see the spot air during the Tiger Woods/ Sergio Garcia golf match. We all agree it looks pretty good for a spot written, shot, edited, approved and aired in one day.
