The latest spots for the BMW 7 series presented significant production challenges, with three very distinct, 60-second films needing to be shot across just four consecutive 20-hour days. For director David Gentile, it would be a job of firsts – the first time to work in China and the first time to direct full minute commercial films. SHP+ caught up with the young Italian director to hear how the ambitious job was executed.
The brief from BMW and agency Front Network was for three films that would each demonstrate a different function of the 7 series – the auto parking control, controllable from outside the car; the “autobeam adaptive headlights”; and the hand gesture controlled sound system.
Each spot needed to be a stand-alone piece. Gentile emphasised the various directions in his treatment, “I underlined that we were talking about three different films, three different looks. One was more comedy, one classic and the third more technical, darker, playing with light effects.”
For the director, working in China for the first time presented challenges, namely conducting preproduction meetings via Skype, and in Chinese. Gentile was thankful to production company MiC EP Lee Cheng for acting as an effective bridge with the client, “Lee was really helpful, he knew how to balance their needs and requests with my own.”
BMW sought to create eye-catching films that could go viral. As such they invited Gentile to come up with ideas for spicing up the spots. The director relished the opportunity to assert more creative influence, “I was really involved in the creative process, more than usual where you receive the storyboard from the agency and you just decide the cast, the fitting and then its done. I really enjoyed that.” As such, Gentile suggested using a parkour runner and a girl walking on her hands for the sports film. The idea was well-received, but challenged MiC to source a parkour professional with film experience and the right look in a limited timeframe.
The notorious 20-hour China shoot days were made more challenging by the sweltering Shanghai climate. Gentile and his team battled through with a combination of coffee, energy pills, wet towels draped on the head and power naps during the inter-location transfers. Most crucially, the production team was always on hand to offer support. Gentile explained, “the production was really well-prepared. They really understood our needs. Cathy and Polly were constantly asking if we needed anything. We felt well looked after.”
Far from being overcome by the long hours, Gentile reveled in the increased shoot time, “I’d love to shoot 20 hour days in Italy – it means more shots, more time to do what you think. Maybe 16 hours would be a good compromise.”
The language barrier emerged again on set, particularly for the headlight spot where the lead actor spoke no English. For Gentile it was a new way of working, “I’m not used to having this kind of relationship with actors. I prefer to speak to them directly, one to one, for maybe 20 minutes before the shoot. It’s especially difficult if you want to talk about a subtle feeling. Even with translation the meaning can be lost.”
Gentile relied heavily on first AD Yupang Chang to communicate his direction, paying tribute to him as “the best first AD I have ever worked with”, particularly for his ability to manage up to 70 extras at a time.
Gentile also enjoyed support on set from DoP, Luca Esposito, with whom he had worked twice before, and editor Francesco Laffredo. Esposito’s personal passion for cars and Laffredo’s advice were a crucial complement to Gentile’s direction. Moreover, the ability to speak Italian with two of his closest colleagues brought efficiency to the process. Gentile admired their work ethic under pressure, “they didn’t complain, they aren’t prima donnas – they were warriors”.
The tight schedule necessitated shooting scenes of each film across the course of the same day and night. The constant transition meant Gentile and crew constantly needed to ‘reset’ their minds.
The music in particular presented another cultural hurdle. In Europe, once the client approves reference music, composition begins allowing the final score to be made ready in time for the edit. In China however, the edit is made to reference music, with original composition beginning only once the edit is complete. Though Gentile got used to the different mental process, he is not a convert to this way of working, “I still prefer the European way, because the editor has the tempo and the cuts of the final music. In the China way, it’s using another song and the feeling is different. Plus people become attached to the music in the offline edit. When you change it they must reset their mind. That can be dangerous.”
In postproduction also, he experienced a difference in working practice, with the client exerting more influence in the color grade suite. Differing audience tastes in China led BMW to favour more saturated colours for the final film.
Nonetheless, Gentile is happy with the outcome, particularly with the sport and opera spots. With three slick spots created under trying circumstances, he has every right to be pleased with his China debut.
宝马七系最新广告片的拍摄和制作过程，无疑是一次重量级的挑战。三只风格迥异的一分钟影片，制作团队每天工作20小时，连续工作四天得以拍摄完成。对导演David Gentile而言，这次的工作意味着很多个“第一次”——第一次在中国工作，第一次导演一分钟的商业广告。SHP+与这位年轻的意大利导演聊了聊，他是如何掌控这份充满野心的工作的。
根据宝马和代理商Front Network的要求，三部影片分别展示七系不同的几种功能，可从车外操控的自动停车控制系统，自动感应大灯和手势控制的音响系统。
每个影片都需要独立成片。Gentile强调了他三种不同的处理方向：“需要强调的是，我们是在制作三个不同的片子，三种不同的视觉呈现。通过不同的光线效果来达到不同的效果：一个幽默，一个更为传统经典，而第三个更加深沉，富有科技感。”
对导演来说，第一次在中国工作意味着很多挑战，比如通过Skype同中文开前期会议。Gentile非常感谢制作公司MiC的EP Lee Cheng， 在他和客户之间起到的桥梁作用。“Lee的帮助非常大，他知道如何平衡客户需求和我自己的要求。”
宝马希望以影片抓人眼球，广泛传播，于是他们邀请了Gentile来为之增光添彩。导演同样希望能抓住这个难得的机会，来实现更多的创意上的影响。“相比按部就班的过程：收到代理商的故事脚本、决定卡司、试镜然后拍摄完成，我这次比以前更沉浸在创意过程之中。我非常享受这个过程。”为此，Gentile提议用一个跑酷选手和一个用手行走的女孩来拍摄运动主题的影片。这个创意被欣然采纳，但随之而来的问题是，MiC公司很难找到有拍摄经验的跑酷选手，而时间有限，也很难找到合适的整体风格。
在中国拍摄20小时本已十分不易，上海闷热的天气更为工作增加一重挑战。咖啡、能量药、搭在头上的湿毛巾、转移拍摄地点时打盹……Gentile和他的团队用这些方法来同充满挑战的工作环境做斗争。最重要的是，制作团队总是在一旁给予支持。Gentile解释：“制作团队准备得十分充分。他们非常明白我们的需求。Cathy和Polly总是询问我们是否需要帮助。我们得到了充分的关照。”
然而Gentile并没有被长时间的工作吓倒，完全相反，他陶醉在增加的这些时间之中。“我想在意大利尝试一天拍摄20小时——这意味着可以拍摄更多素材，从而有更多的时间去实践你的想法。16个小时或许是一个比较折衷的时间。”
拍摄过程中，语言障碍再次出现。尤其是在拍摄车前灯镜头时，主要演员并不会讲英文。对Gentile来说，这无疑是一种新的工作方式。“和演员这样交流我并不习惯。我更喜欢在拍摄前大约二十分钟一对一地直接同他们对话。当你想描述十分微妙的感受时，这显得尤其困难。即使可以通过翻译，但其中的意义也可能流失。”
Gentile十分依赖第一导演助理，他与之一起沟通拍摄方向。Gentile将这位AD誉为“我合作过的所有的第一导演助理里最棒的”，他尤其赞赏其一次管理70位临时演员的能力。
DoP的Luca Esposito和编辑Francesco Laffredo也对Gentile鼎力相助。Esposito个人对汽车充满了热情，Gentile曾与之合作过两次。而Laffredo则提供了很多有用的意见，二者都对拍摄起到了关键的作用。此外，可以与两位最亲密的同事讲意大利语，这也为整个拍摄过程提供了便利。Gentile十分欣赏他们能在压力之下依旧遵循职业伦理。“他们并没有抱怨。他们不是皇帝——他们是勇士！”
时间紧迫，每个影片都要求在夜以继日地拍摄，并且三条穿插进行。不断的转变，意味着导演和团队都需要不断“重置”他们的想法。
文化障碍在音乐方面尤其得以体现。在欧洲，一旦客户确认了参考音乐，音乐创作在等到剪辑最终完成才能尘埃落定。而在中国，剪辑要根据参考音乐来，音乐从一开始就决定好了。“我依然更喜欢欧洲的工作方式，由编辑来掌控整体节奏，并决定最后的音乐剪辑。在中国的工作方式中，使用其他的音乐，会让整个气氛变得不同。在线下版本中，人们与音乐的联系更加密切。改变音乐，也意味着他们要重置自己的感受。这是有些危险的。”
在后期制作时，他同样感受到了不同的工作方式上。客户在色彩分级调整上给予了更多的意见，对成片施加了更大的影响。考虑中国观众的口味不同，宝马在最后的成片中采用了饱和度更高的颜色。
无论如何，Gentile都对最终成果表示满意，尤其是运动和戏剧的部分。在新环境中做出尝试并且实现创意，他有理由对自己在中国的首次亮相感到开心。
Credits
- Client : BMW (China)
- Agency : Front Network (China)
- Creative Director : Kurt Li ; Zhao Yu
- Account Director : Kan Tong
- Production company : MiC (Made In China Films)
- Director : Davide Gentile
- Producer : Lee Cheng
- Dop : Luca Esposito
- Editor : Francesco Loffredo
- 1st AD : Yupang Chang
- Post supervisor : Juice Wang
- Post producer : Sunny Xu
- Post company : Film Valley (Shanghai)
- Music / Sound Design : Daniele Carmosino (Danca)
- 客户： BMW （中国）
- 代理商：Front Network（中国）
- 创意总监：Kurt Li ; Zhao Yu
- 客户总监 ： Kan Tong
- 制作公司： MiC （Made In China Films）
- 导演：Davide Gentile
- 制作人：Lee Cheng
- Dop ： Luca Esposito
- 编辑： Francesco Loffredo
- 1st AD ：Yupang Chang
- 后期主管 ： Juice Wang
- 后期制作：Sunny Xu
- 后期制作公司： Film Valley （上海）
- 音乐/声音设计： Daniele Carmosino (Danca)
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