RED Video – Celebrating Stunt Performers in Cinematic Style
Check out this recent video from RED Camera
The 97th Academy Awards featured a series of six high-octane commercials celebrating the work of performers who are not usually in the spotlight. Stunt professionals not only executed a series of daring stunts without the use of CGI or green screen but also played all the extras in the ads.
The marketing spectacle, a collaborative effort involving multiple creative agencies and production companies, was described by Chris Denison, a veteran stunt coordinator and director behind the campaign, as “a love letter to stunt performers” highlighting their often overlooked contributions to moviemaking.
Watch the RED Camera Oscar Stunt Ad Here
The pitch to brands was for a series of 30-second spots each honoring a different type of stunt and all united by one visual and thematic concept.
“Each has the feel of a certain type of action film and we wanted each to have a similar cinematic language,” explains cinematographer Graham Robbins who oversaw the visuals for the entire project. “The visual language should be consistent, high class and cinematic but respectful of each brand’s unique needs. We chose RED cameras because they give you a massive amount of flexibility which is essential for a project like this.”
Each commercial starts in the world of a classic action movie and, after a rug-pull, ends in a behind the scenes film set. The MNTN shoot was inspired by Mad Max, the ad for Kiehl’s was shot with the iconic look of a Sergio Leone Western and the opening office brawl scene for Samsung was a take on John Wick. A second Samsung spot featured a stunt performer taking a 184-foot high fall off a building references Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol where Ethan Hunt scales the outside of Dubai’s Burj Khalifa. L’Oréal Paris showcased performer Samantha Win repeatedly smashing through a plate-glass window and was themed on Skyfall.
“It was so much fun to get as close as we can to a Bond look,” Robbins says. “Skyfall is one of my favorite films of all time. The L’Oréal and the Kiehl’s ads were lit more for beauty but each spot had its own unique flavor in terms of how we approached it from a lighting and color standpoint.”
Robbins first used RED’s V-RAPTOR 18 months ago and has since shot two Netflix Original features (Our Little Secret and The Wrong Paris) and more than 100 commercials with the camera. The DoP says he views modern camera systems as a platform, not just as an individual tool, and that RED checks multiple boxes.
“The huge advantage RED has is the sheer flexibility it gives you. Whether it’s the great little crash cam, a mid-sized body or the V-RAPTOR [XL], it feels like they all have their strengths and pair really well together. That’s especially important for a series of commercials like this where you’re doing such a large range of material in a dozen different places. Having that much flexibility in the camera platform is massive for me.”
Read the entire article and get the links at the RED website – https://www.red.com/stories/graham-robbins-stunts