DDB and director Julien Ayrault’s tongue-in-cheek new spot for electrical appliance manufacturer Midea sees a mother and son face off for supremacy over the a/c remote in a surreal fusion of kung fu and parkour.
Both client and agency were looking for an creative approach with an international perspective, hiring French director Julien Ayrault, a long time collaborator with production company WAH.
近日，DDB与嗡啊泓影视制作公司联手为美的电器奉上了一场精彩的母子大战的好戏。出于艺术创意与国际元素运用的考虑，Julien Ayrault——这位与嗡啊泓长期合作的法国人——成为本片的导演的不二人选。
导演Julien Ayrault与总制片顾家文｜Julien Ayrault and main producer Gu Jiawen
Ayrault was supported by DoP Michal Tywoniuk, who had worked with Ayrault previously and boasted extensive commercial and feature film experience in China. The Frenchman explains why Tywoniuk was his first choice, “Even though we were shooting in a studio, I still wanted to give it a bit of flavor and avoid making it super bright or flat. I knew Michal would be sensitive to my ideas and would know how to use the toys I planned to shoot with.”
Ayrault的好友，摄影师Michal Tywoniuk出任本片的摄影。Tywoniuk与Ayrault之前在中国的电影与广告拍摄中多有合作。 Ayrualt解释了为什么会选择波兰人Tywoniuk作为本片的摄影师：“尽管我们是在室内完成的拍摄，我仍希望能在片中体现出一些特色，避免整部片子太单调。我知道Michal会理解我的想法，他也明白怎么去实现这些想法。”
Ayrault worked closely with client and agency in preproduction to corral the ideas into a coherant and natural storyline. He explains that humor was a key focus, “The mother and the son are not really fighting so it couldn’t look like a real fight. We wanted a bit of a twinkle in the eye and a comedy touch.”
为了能更好的体现自己的创意，Ayrault与客户和广告公司创意部紧密合作，对他来说，“幽默感”在这部戏里是最关键的部分：“我们希望母亲和儿子看起来不像是真的在对打，所以打斗动作不能太真实。我们希望片子能传递出一种让人会心一笑的狡颉的幽默感。”
DDB wanted to feature parkour to add extra spice to the action and, having shot films back in France, Ayrault felt comfortable working with the sport. With a limited delivery timeline, it would be important to capture everything live in-camera, meaning rather than work with wires or blue screen, all the acrobatics would need to be real. Ayrault tapped his network for a suitable performer, eventually sourcing Chinese national champion Shen Weichao.
DDB认为跑酷的元素融入可以为本片的动作戏增添趣味性。作为跑酷发源地法国来的导演，Ayrault对此胸有成竹。由于拍摄时间紧张，所有动作必须在前期拍摄时就完成，这意味着没有后期绿幕、没有威亚，杂耍动作需要真实呈现。为此Ayrault动用了自己的人脉资源，最终找到了中国跑酷大赛冠军沈伟超。
The director was confident that Shen’s athleticism would mean he could handle the required kung fu sequences. Nonetheless, the director spent a day working with a martial arts expert to choreograph believable and achievable moves, followed on the next three days by intensive five-hour rehearsal sessions with the lead actors.
TV actress Xu Yulan, best known for Life Revelation, was cast as the female lead.
作为跑酷高手，沈伟超对于动作戏并不陌生，Ayrault也相信他能够成功完成动作部分的拍摄。尽管如此，他仍然花了一天时间与武术指导讨论设计其中的武打场景。女主角徐玉兰，电视剧演员，曾出演《生活启示录》中胡歌的丈母娘。根据嗡啊泓影视透露，在准备阶段，徐玉兰与沈伟超每天需要花费近5个小时排练这些动作。
摄影师Michal Tywoniuk与DDB创意总监Adams Fan｜Michal Tywoniuk and ECD of DDB Adams Fan
Whilst online Kung Fu clips provided reference, Ayrault drew on an instinctive vision informed by the Jackie Chan movies he watched growing up. His ideas would be supported by Tywoniuk’s experience shooting the Chinese Kung Fu movie, ‘The Butcher, the Chef and the Swordsman’.
Ayrault透露他从小就喜欢中国功夫，成龙和李小龙的功夫片从小就伴随着他成长至今。片中的动作场景也借由摄影师Tywoniuk之手得到了很好的体现——这位曾经担任电影《刀剑笑》的摄影指导的波兰人对于动作戏摄影的把控可以说是炉火纯青。
Ayrault describes the humorous interplay between kung fu and parkour as the mother and son fight for the remote control as, “a bit of a Tom & jerry idea”. He credits DDB creative, and an open-minded client, with the extra ‘delirium’ elements like lighting dollar bills, mad haircuts and fighting kangaroos on the TV. “The client was very open to playing with things. They wanted to have fun”, he explains.
Ayrault将功夫与跑酷的融合，母亲与儿子的斗争描述为“猫和老鼠般的灵感”。他觉得这些应该归功于DDB的创意人员和开放的客户。加上一些恶搞的元素如用美元点烟，母亲暴走时的发型以及突然切入的袋鼠打架，“客户对于这些看似无关元素的融合表现的接受度很高。他们也想要享受这个广告与制作过程。”
With visions aligned and freedom to express himself, Ayrault describes a vibrant on-set atmosphere for the one-day shoot. Xu particularly brought a positive energy, dancing between takes to the music Ayrault likes to blast on set. To capture the motion he felt would be critical to the film’s success, Ayrault set up 360 tracks around the actors, using a telescopic technocrane to achieve camera moves that wouldn’t be possible with a jib arm or dolly.
Ayrault为我们描述了拍摄当天的情景——徐玉兰为整个剧组带来了满满的正能量，她随着Ayrault在拍摄现场播放的歌曲跳舞。为了捕捉到每一个动作细节，剧组在演员周围铺设了360度的轨道，用了大摇臂来实现相机走位，而非旋臂或者移动摄影车。
The spot marks another collaboration between Ayrault and his ‘brothers’ at WAH. The production company first hired him for a Guang Ming milk commercial six years ago that received ‘massive exposure’ and proved to be a major launch pad in China for the director. They have since worked together on numerous jobs.
这则广告是Ayrault与他称之为兄弟的嗡啊泓影视制作公司的又一次精彩合作。6年前当Julien Ayrault第一次来到中国时，正是嗡啊泓给了他第一次在中国执导的机会。当年那则光明乳业的广告收获了巨大的反响，最终成为Ayrault在中国影视业的敲门砖。此后的数年内他们紧密合作，出产了许多高质量的广告片。
Ayrault credits his old friends for ensuring a happy, highly efficient and smoothly executed shoot, “JJ [WAH EP and owner] and I have known each other a long time. He knows what I like and what I want, and gives me freedom to work, and with the people I want to work with. They are very supportive and do everything they can to help you work comfortably. They have great attention to detail. They appear very relaxed, but they really have everything under control.”
Ayrault高度评价了他的好友吴春杰（嗡啊泓总经理与执行制片人）：“我和吴春杰是老朋友了。他知道我喜欢什么，我想要什么，能给我很大的自由创作空间。他们一直很支持我，并尽其所能让我能在一个舒适的环境内工作。在工作方面，嗡啊泓很重视细节——他们能够精确掌控拍摄时的每一个细节，而这一切都是在一种轻松愉快的氛围中完成的。”
Credits
- Agency: DDB
- ECD: Adams Fan
- Copywriter: Jana Chen
- Art Director: Lei Lu
- Senior Producer: Cherry Wang
- Production Company: WAH 嗡啊泓
- Executive Producer: Wu Youyin 吴有音, Wu Chunjie 吴春杰
- Main Producer: Gu Jiawen 顾家文
- Producer: Chris, Li Qian 李谦
- Director: Julien Ayrault
- Cinematographer: Michal Tywoniuk
- Art Director: Dong Xinggui 董兴贵
- Actor & Actress: Shen Weichao 沈伟超, Xu Yulan 徐玉兰
- Post Production: Patch Studio
- Music: Mix Studio
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