Two World Class Firsts for Blackstone
It´s the better side of midnight for the first time in what seems ages, and as I extract my feet from boots and socks I can sit and reflect on the amazing achievements and great results from this last shoot with four cameras and two prototypes at the same time.
Images of the swooping and stunning aerial acrobatics performed by the paragliding team “Tenerfly”, mix and swirl with the fast moving vision in red, the very latest from the Audi stable, the brand new A3 Cabriolet, captured with the new prototype camera Arri Alexa Infrared.
Our mission: to produce a teaser promotion film for the unveiling and official launch at the famous German exhibition “IAA”. But until that time absolute care had to be taken to provide tight security preventing any possible leak of information or images, not an easy task considering the multiple locations and easy public access to all of them!
Crew and cast were well briefed by Audi´s own team of security, but it was obvious the event was going to cause a lot of curiosity from passer´s by. The car was homed in an impressive looking mat black truck, which was an attention grabber from the start! In addition the car (a she, obviously) was clothed in a sleek black skin which was only removed when absolute security was confirmed, and at the merest hint of unwanted observers her drape would be whisked back on with turbo charged speed, often with the driver still inside! No fear, the cover was designed with holes to be able to drive safely.
So many locations and maintaining a strict level of security alongside meant the hand picked crew had to be on their toes and move efficiently and speedily, they were impressive and bonded together from day one making the smoothest of operations.
The biggest fun part was being able to see, up close, the paraglide swooping and diving around us, they put on a spectacular display, all captured and in the cam.
Protecting the world class image of this beautiful, brand new vehicle was upmost in our minds at all times but this was not the only challenge, as we were shooting with four cameras one of them being also a first and in it´s prototype stage the Arri Alexa Infrared. Having an excellent relationship with Arri meant that we were able to establish the workings and complexities of this new baby in advance so all was ready, as M4Automotive Producer Christof said, "Rock and Roll!".
And we were rolling then on Red Epic, Arri Alexa Infrared, Canon 5D and Sony GH2, meaning double takes pretty much all the time. Lightening quick changes between the two "hero" cameras were essential but the whole event was so awe inspiring the crew was totally focused on producing a stunning film for Audi with an equally stunning camera…
