Volvo Breathe Free
In March this year, Stink Films began a project that was unlike anything anybody had experienced before. It was a commercial directed by Eliot Rausch for Volvo, a large international production across three countries with a team distributed across nine countries – all remote! Not unusual in the industry. True now. Except that it all happened amidst a global pandemic — and they were the first to do it.
今年3月，Stink影业开启了一项史无前例的项目。这是一部由 Eliot Rausch为沃尔沃执导的广告，而该项目的制片横跨了三个国家，团队分布于九个国家，如此大规模的国际制片项目——工作竟都是远程完成！时至今日，远程办公对业界人士来说并不是什么新鲜事。但这个项目始于新冠疫情最紧张的时期—— 而他们是第一家敢于尝试新方式的公司。
Eliot Rausch
In the following six months, the team had to face unprecedented challenges to accomplish the three-minute-long film. SHP+ talked with Stink’s managing director Desmond Loh to find out about their experience and his take on what changes will linger in the industry. “It was simultaneously exciting and intense,” says Loh. “A constant and gradual discovery, and a growing understanding of a new process.” Eliot Rausch
在项目进行的六个月里，为了完成这部时长三分钟的影片，摄制组不得不面对前所未有的挑战。SHP+有幸采访到了Stink影业的董事总经理Desmond Loh，了解了他们的经历，以及他认为行业中哪些变化将会再持续一段时间。“这既令人兴奋又紧张，”Loh说。“持续地、不断地去发现，对新事物的理解也在不断地加深。”
监制Brenda(左)和 MD Desmond(右)
With an ascending emotional tone, the film portrays various types of people in the unconscious act of breathing. It urges us to cherish the air that surrounds us as it promotes a new built-in air cleaning feature in Volvo cars. It’s part of a more extensive global campaign that has been around for a few years concerning sustainable and conscious living. “The script was always relevant. Even with all the climate change issues we already faced, we took the air we breathed for granted. But COVID-19 struck. The world noticed,” Loh says.
影片以一种不断升华的情感基调，描绘了各类人在进行无意识的呼吸。提醒人们珍惜身边的空气，并推广了沃尔沃汽车新型的内置空气清洁功能。该项目其实是另一个范围更广，已经运营了几年的全球宣传活动的一部分，活动主题为可持续发展和良知生活。“剧本内容其实一直与我们的生活相关。即使已经面临了种种气候变化的问题，人们仍然把呼吸的空气视为理所当然的存在。但新冠的一击当头棒喝。提醒了世界，”Loh告诉我们。
It was a truly international endeavor. Volvo, the client, was in Sweden and China. Grey Group, the agency, between Hong Kong and Shanghai. Part of the production team was in Taiwan. The shooting took place in Norway, Denmark, and China. The styling director, Damian Huang, was in Singapore. Rausch directed from multiple screens from Los Angeles. And post-production spanned the UK, US, and China.
该项目是真真正正的“国际”大制作。客户沃尔沃，主要的办公室在瑞典和中国。而代理Grey Group则主要在香港和上海办公。一半的制片团队人在台湾。影片的摄制地点包括挪威，丹麦和中国。时装设计总监Damian Huang位于新加坡。Rausch导演通过不同的屏幕，在洛杉矶进行指导。影片的后期工作则分别由英国，美国和中国的团队成员完成。
On location in Norway 挪威
On location in Denmark 丹麦
On location in China 中国
Still, aside from the location and technical scout and some preliminary meetings, hardly anyone traveled. Online communication was crucial, as Loh explains: “We had to cut 99% of international travel. But the show had to go on, even without the physical presence of our director. It was more necessary that the teams on the ground met for discussion. They could always make calls with our director and production designer in LA.”
然而，除了地点、技术调试沟通和一些初步会议，几乎没有人出差去外地。线上交流至关重要，正如Loh跟我们说的那样:“ 我们不得不削减99%的国际旅行。但即使没有导演本人在场，片子也得继续拍下去。比起与导演本人会面，更重要的是当地的团队开小组会讨论。如有任何问题，他们随时可以打电话给我们在洛杉矶的导演和艺术指导。”
When the teams physically met, there was social distancing to cope with. In Scandinavia, requirements were stricter. Onset, the code only allowed a few crew members. Also, the families and couples featured in the film had to be actual families and couples, which limited the casting options. Still, the project went according to plan and with no delays. Industry experience and intuition played a significant role.
当团队线下会面时，他们还得注意遵守社交距离。在北欧，社交距离的相关规定十分严格。根据规定，片场只允许保留几位工作人员。此外，影片中出现的家庭和情侣必须是真实的家庭和情侣，这就限制了演员的选择。尽管如此，项目还是按计划进行，没有任何延误。行业经验和直觉发挥了重要作用。
It wouldn’t be an easy script to produce, even in normal times. In Shanghai, the team had to build an artificial jiu-jitsu studio and create artificial rain for a scene at The Bund. “Eliot is a jiu-jitsu practitioner himself. He is demanding with the authenticity of the set and the cast. For the artificial rain, we had to block both ends of Dianchi Lu. The rain machine was 30 meters tall with a 150 ton-crane,” says Loh. The script also included an underwater scene in Lofoten, Norway. Kjetil Astrup, who shot all the underwater scenes in the latest James Bond film “No Time To Die”, was in charge of cinematography.
但即使是在非疫情期间，这也是一本充满挑战的剧本。在上海，摄制团队必须建造一间仿真柔道工作室，并为外滩拍摄的外景部分安排人工降雨。“导演Eliot本人就是一名柔道爱好者，他对布景和演员的真实性有一定要求。为了安排人工降雨，我们不得不封锁滇池路的两端。造雨机有30米高，配有150吨的起重机，”Loh告诉我们。剧本中还有部分在挪威罗浮敦的水下场景。Kjetil Astrup在最新的詹姆斯·邦德电影《生死关头》中拍摄了所有的水下场景，而他负责该项目的摄影。
From Singapore, Damian Huang directed three other stylists on-site in China, Denmark, and Norway. They sourced everything from local tailors and shops. “It was like divide and conquer,” laughs Loh. “We used the situation to our best advantage. Damian is our regular collaborator, so we had absolute trust in his vision and taste.” He also points out that they had the same intimacy with Rausch‘s work, which eased unexpected issues that could have arisen from new partnerships in such uncommon times.
人在新加坡的Damian Huang远程指导了位于中国、丹麦和挪威的三名现场造型师。他们从当地的裁缝店和商店采购齐了所有物料。“这就像分而治之”Loh笑着说。“我们只能尽量打好手里的牌，Damian是我们的长期合作伙伴，他的品味和眼光我们绝对信得过。” 他还指出，大家对导演Rausch有着同样的亲切感，这减缓了在这一特别时期新合作可能带来的磨合与意外。
“It felt like diving into unknown territories. I think we were the first in the world to handle a production of this scale at that time when the outbreak was at its peak. [Now,] I think everyone in the industry has adjusted to the new normality,” Loh says.
“这感觉就像潜入了未知的领域。我想我们是世界上第一个，在疫情高峰期，还能处理这种规模项目的制片团队。当然‘现在’业界所有人都已经习惯了这种新常态，”Loh说。
He notes that the new scenario creates more opportunities to work with local talent and overcome communication barriers. But one thing is for sure, “remote shoots are here to stay,” Loh warns. “I would like to encourage all clients and agencies to explore remote shoot. It’s all possible! Pandemic and travel restrictions shouldn’t be an obstacle for international creative exchange in the industry,” he emphasizes.
他指出，新方式也带来了新机遇，创造了更多与本地人才合作、克服沟通障碍的机会。但有一件事是肯定的：“远程拍摄将继续存在，”Loh提醒我们并强调说：“我想鼓励所有的客户和机构都试试远程拍摄。这是完全可行的! 疫情和旅行限制不应成为行业国际创意交流的阻碍。”
Throughout the project, passion and purposeful work motivated the team, and experience controlled their anxieties. It was all worth it when they saw the results on the director’s cut. “No one was prepared for this,” says Loh. “Still, everyone took a leap of faith and worked as a team. Nothing can beat the human connection.”
在整个项目中，对行业的热情，明确的目标都激励着团队，而丰富的行业经验缓解了大家的焦虑。当看到导演剪辑的效果时，他们觉得这一切都是值得的。“大家都有点措手不及”Loh说：“但每个人都有信心，大家团队协作。没有什么能打败人与人之间的联系。
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