Rest of the World, the agency of record for Visit San Antonio (VSA), in partnership with Chamoy Creative, recently engaged full-service production studio Bella and director Rob Adamo to produce the cross-media brand films at the heart of this yearโs national Visit San Antonio campaign.
Building on Rest of the Worldโs mission to bring multicultural spirit and creativity to the mainstream, Creative Directors Sergio Alcocer and Chamoyโs Alejandro Perez-Segnini developed two extended scripts for this campaign. With the envisioned brand films running just over two minutes apiece, each presents a novel approach: โThe Many Stories of San Antonioโ follows a visitor and a local (Anna and Amy) as they experience the cityโs renowned cuisine, explore vibrant markets, and visit breathtaking parks together; while โThe Many Secrets of San Antonioโ highlights many individualsโ unique interests to showcase the cityโs most beloved offerings and its globally acclaimed attractions accordingly.
In the hands of Adamo and the team at Bella, including editors Brandon Roten and Jonathan Rogers, these extended brand films came to life beautifully, along with a massive volume of world-class original print imagery. As further credit to the agency and production collaborators, their premium content also appears in numerous :30 and :15 versions, in both English and Spanish languages. Featured extensively across each of VSAโs social media channels, through the agencyโs innovative media plan, the spots also continue to appear via CTV and online placements.
โOur campaign is about sharing unique stories where San Antonio plays a pivotal role as a vibrant protagonist,โ Alcocer explained. โTo achieve this, we needed to collaborate with a director who not only creates beautiful visuals but is also a master storyteller. Rob excelled in this capacity, doing a phenomenal job of capturing the spirit and essence of our campaign.โ
โAfter working on so many tourism campaigns across the country, we are in awe of Visit San Antonioโs outstanding efforts to deeply involve all key parties early,โ said Perry. โWe are most grateful to their team for opening every door possible to make this campaign everything it could be.โ
To use Adamoโs word, the agencyโs scripts rocked. โThey are so detailed and genuine,โ he began. โI loved the adventure story scripted between Anna and Amy in โMany Stories,โ and then we had the chance to do something totally different and anthemic, with a diverse set of characters in โMany Secrets.โ
โWhile the two scripts are very different,โ Adamo continued, โthey share a common spirit, where the adventure, history, culture, and natural wonder of San Antonio is all on full display. These are experiences of a lifetime for these characters that inspire our audience to book visits for themselves.โ
The production and post team from Bella was led by executive producer David Perry and also included director of photography Keenan Newman, live-action producers Amanda Dillingham, Cesar Velasco and John Rains, and post producers Erin OโHara and Rockie Britzmann.
Ultra-Dynamic Production and Post
While the filmmakersโ dedication to meticulous research and preparation involved exhaustive location scouting, Adamo, his colleagues, and the agencyโs team also worked very closely with Michael Druck Casting, CSA. โWe always know that the more we plan, the more freedom we will have on set to embrace the magic of spontaneity,โ the director added. โFor our on-camera talents, we committed ourselves to finding people capable of transmitting real and raw emotions.โ
On locations all across San Antonio, over several days and nights, Adamo, Newman, and their crew captured a virtual ton of live-action footage. In the course of detailing the teamโs contributions, Newman first shared high praise for the projectโs producers. โWith up to seven locations per day, Cesar, Amanda, and John overcame one road block after another,โ he said. โThey had to move at light speed to set up the crew for success and still leave room for improvisation, ideation, and whimsy. They put us in situations where we could capture the most cinematic moments, experiences, and images.โ
Next, Newman called out camera assistants Ryan Zarate (1st) and Ryan Sultemeier (2nd). โTheir ability to attack creative problems in real-time allowed us to adapt to challenges we faced and kept us moving at an impossible pace,โ he continued. โThe beauty you see in the cinematography is a reflection of the preparation and focus The Ryans delivered on set.โ
Finally, Newman illuminated the extraordinary work of gaffer Rich Bond and key grip Eric Gerzymisch. โRich and Eric showed me that with some ingenuity, focus and a fun, inventive spirit, lighting scenes with limited resources and limited time is not only possible, but can significantly impact the beauty of the image,โ Newman added.
Operating with a tight timeline for delivery and an extensive list of deliverables, Bella optimized its post-production workflow for its artists working remotely across North America and Mexico. Using the Suite Studios cloud storage system and collaborating closely with Executive Creative Director Abby Diamond and Producer Bernardo Castro from music and sound company Tomgirl, the combined editorial and audio team simultaneously developed the edit, music, sound design, and mix prior to picture lock. Leveraging their painstaking efforts, this approach gave the clients ready access to all deliverables for their approval in rapid succession.
Bellaโs Perry also had more to say. โThis project captures how Bella comes together alongside our partners and does everything necessary to achieve a projectโs objectives, with a total commitment to excellence, collaboration, transparent communication, and positive experience,โ he said. โEvery member of this projectโs rockstar team really cared about making this campaign special, went above and beyond, and pushed every element to be exceptional. That level of commitment and focus on a great experience for everyone involved is what Bella is all about.โ
For Rest of the World, credits also include Account Director Demica Lopez, Senior Producer Michael McLaughin, and Production Coordinator Ernesto Castillo. Complete project credits are available upon request.
To learn more about San Antonio and this campaign, visit https://www.visitsanantonio.com.
About Bella
Bella (https://bella.film) is a full-service production studio for the next generation. A global home for artists committed to pushing creative boundaries, we partner with agencies and brands who want to shape culture by producing bold and inspiring work.
