TVC: Commonwealth Bank, Amelie style
There is an ongoing love affair between established filmmakers and TVC work, and the new Commonwealth Bank campaign is a perfect example of this phenomenon, having been helmed by acclaimed French director Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Amelie, Micmacs).
How did this high-profile filmmaker end up shooting a poodle in the streets of Melbourne? Miguel Gonzalez writes.
The new CBA campaign is a departure from the previous ‘Agency’ concept.
“The main message is still the same, that the bank is determined to support the community in different ways (Grants, which presents a little girl in pure Amelie style and highlights the staff’s community efforts) and to solve your problems quickly (Bulldog, in which the romantic advances of a CGI-enhanced bulldog are frustrated by the bank’s quick service) or by calling you back if they don’t answer first time (Call You Back, the melodramatic story of a housewife rescued by bank staff),” explained Goodby, Silverstein and Partners executive producer Chris Moore.
According to the San Francisco-based Australian, the concepts came before the talent.
“The concepts take you into a very surreal, magical world. The ideas came first, and talking to the creatives, Steve Simpson and Erick Vervroegen, we thought it would be great to have Jean-Pierre Jeunet or even Jonathan Glazer, because of their style.
“If you watch Amelie or Micmacs, there’s very distinctive voice over narrations, a lot of close ups, very unique angles, and Jeunet uses the camera to push in a lot. The spots seemed very suited to him, to his style and timing,” explained Moore.
A director like Jeunet is in high demand and can afford to be extremely selective. The CBA campaign was the first time in 18 months that he actually talked to an agency, and the first commercials he has done in years.
“We had one initial conversation and he gave us the boards. Call You Back and Bulldog came back as scripted and it was exactly what we shot. For Grants, we sat down with him and we went through the script, and with a couple of comments from him we rewrote it,” said Moore.
The production of this campaign was split in two, with the first three spots shot in Melbourne in May. The agency recruited the services of the company that represents Jeunet for TVC work, Grand Large Inc., which in turn hired the Melbourne office of New Zealand’s Robber’s Dog Films to bring together a local crew, talent and locations, and facilitate the production of the spots.
The three spots were shot over four days, with two studio days for Grants and two exterior location days for Call You Back and Bulldog.
“We kept the schedule as flexible as possible so we could re-arrange the days as close to the shoot as possible to avoid being rained out,” explained line producer Claris Harvey.
“It’s pretty much the same budget as the previous campaigns. We shot in Melbourne because we got great value for money in Australia. We discussed the storyboards, what he wanted, so it didn’t have to be any bigger, so it was quite contained,” explained Moore.
The production brought LA-based editor Hank Corwin to work on the spots.
“By the time we started our second day he was already cutting,” said Moore. “We left Melbourne four days after we finished shooting, with the cuts that we presented to the client.”
Post-production took place in Paris, not only because of Jeunet’s previous working relationship with VFX house BUF Cie – the director also wanted to be in France for the World Cup.
The first two spots went to air in late June, and the third one, Bulldog, required more CG work than originally expected. It was completed in early July.
These commercials were not conceived as a 3D production, but cinema advertising company Val Morgan approached the Bank and suggested a stereoscopic conversion. The client loved the test footage presented by Val Morgan, and the TVCs were converted to 3D by Park Road Post in New Zealand.
The agency is still putting together the concepts for the next set of spots in the campaign, which are set to be shot in Melbourne in late August or early September, and scheduled to air before the end of the year.
Hola Miguel,
Un gusto saludarte. sabes quien fue el DOP del proyecto ?
Saludos
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