How BritBox brought filmmaking to life

The new campaign for streaming service BritBox is a 90-second film that highlights the skill and expertise needed to make quality TV programmes.

At the same time, in the campaign's making, we witness that same skill and expertise put to use in order to create the commercial. With rigorous planning, highly choreographed camera moves, constant supervision and ultimate professionalism, a whole host of departments came together to bring the spot, called See it Differently, to life. 

Seeing behind the curtain of film production, and all the incredible craft and talented people on set was part of the idea.

Below, Uncommon's Global Creative Partner, Sam Walker, discusses the challenges of shooting for 14 hours straight, the immense amount of pre-production work, and why the whole crew had to be 'on' the entire time. 

What was the brief from the client? 

BritBox is a specialty streaming service for 'The Best of British' content that takes the viewer on a slightly different journey than what they’re used to in their general entertainment. The brief was to raise awareness of BritBox amongst television viewers who may be unfamiliar with the craft, and the breadth, of British TV. 

Above: The new BritBox campaign, See it Differently. 

How long did it take to get to the final idea, and what was it that felt right about that approach?

We had quite a few ideas in the running for a while, but this one was there right from the start and rose to the top. It evolved and changed from the first presentation, covering different genres and ‘hero’ characters, but ultimately the singularity of the idea never changed.

[Nicos] has an incredible attention to detail and experience of in-camera practical animation, so he was the perfect fit.

The in-camera nature was part of the idea from day one. Seeing behind the curtain of film production, and all the incredible craft and talented people on set was part of the idea, helping the audience, literally, 'see it differently'. In an era of AI automation, BritBox wanted to show the value of film craftsmanship and the expertise that goes into making their shows. 

Why was Nicos Livesey the best director to take this?

Nicos Livesey was the first director who popped into my head when writing this film. I’ve always loved his BBC film for the World Cup, and the physical craft that went into making that animation, so he seemed like the perfect fit for this project. He has an incredible attention to detail and experience of in-camera practical animation, so he was the perfect. We had a great understanding and worked very well together right from the start.

Above: The behind the scenes of See it Differently, giving a wider perspective of the campaign's shoot. 

Were all the scenes in the film really done consecutively and, if so, why did you make that choice, and what did it bring to the campaign? 

Yes, the whole film is entirely in-camera and done in a sequence of consecutive, single-take, highly choreographed shots. The only cuts are where we legally had to cut for lunch. Other than that it’s one take, lasting a total of 14 hours, 45 minutes, 31 seconds of continuous shooting. Hopefully the ‘witness cam’ behind the scenes film gives some insight to the commitment to the idea and the belief in the process.

To be honest, cutting gave us almost more problems than shooting - if we cut at the end of the day, we’d then have to match absolutely precisely, not just her makeup, but her exact position, frame number on the motion control unit, and literally everyone on set too.

The only cuts are where we legally had to cut for lunch. Other than that it’s one take, lasting a total of 14 hours, 45 minutes, 31 seconds of continuous shooting.

There was no going back and redoing anything, or any multiple takes of any of the scenes. The shoot was like watching a live action performance, in slow-motion. It was more akin to a stunt shoot, where you have to prep and prep and prep, and then once you’re rolling you have to capture it and react live, in real time.

For me, this was the only way to shoot this idea. The truth of the idea was in the endeavour of the production. Our hero had to be central to the scene for the entire time, and we had to witness her changing in front of our eyes, and then we were led entirely by how long these different processes take.

Above: The actor needed to be able to portray different characters, while also remaining incredibly still.

What was the casting process like, and what were you looking for in the actor who got the part? 

We needed someone who could be a regular person then, in the next second, a lady of the manor, then a dead body, a detective, and a SWAT team police officer. But equally importantly, they also needed to be very controlled with their physical movements; literally be able to stand completely still for long periods of time, then be able to perform as a different character, before going back to standing completely motionless again. 

With this in mind we looked for models and dancers, actors with complete control of their physicality and used to holding poses for long periods of time.

Can you tell us about the pre-production process and the planning involved in shooting this?

I’m not sure I’ve ever done a shoot that involved this level of planning, at every step, in every frame. And the more we thought about it, the more complicated it got. We started with a very detailed pre-vis which was complex enough but then transferring that into reality presented its own challenges. What looks simple enough in a pre-vis is massively more complicated in reality.

I’m not sure I’ve ever done a shoot that involved this level of planning, at every step, in every frame. And the more we thought about it, the more complicated it got. 

We had to plan out literally everything before we started shooting. Each of the sections had to be completely rehearsed and more importantly, timed. If the skeleton section, for example, took four hours in reality, but it only took a couple of seconds on screen to transform, how fast would the motion control unit move to match the pre-vis move? 

Rob Blishen, our 1st AD, had to figure this all out with our Motion Control Unit Operator, and it was mind-meltingly complicated. Reality had to hit the timings of the pre-vis, but then the motion control speed had to hit the timings of reality, and that changed from scene-to-scene. With smooth transitions in between. 

Time had to be slowed down and speeded up in front of the camera, even as far as having her stand up… if she stood up too fast the camera wouldn’t even see the move. So even the most basic of moves like standing up or sitting down gave us quite big problems.

Above: Uncommon's Global Creative Partner, Sam Walker, and Walker on the set of the BritBox shoot.

We see hair and make-up, wardrobe, lighting, set design, camera operators... was the idea to show as many departments and their contributions as possible? 

The idea was to show the audience all the expertise that goes into making these amazing shows. We subtly go through a chronological series of film and television production techniques. 

On a traditional film set, you do a take, cut, reset, and the crew who aren’t needed for that shot often go off and get a cup of tea, but on this shoot everybody was ‘on’ the entire time. 

From matte paintings and backdrops, through special effects make-up, prosthetics and art direction, through miniature sets, back projections, and tricks of the eye, to in-camera explosions and the latest CGI LED screen walls (also in-camera). All using the people who actually create the screen magic, rather than extras. The lighting, too, changes continuously throughout reflecting not just the different genres but giving a dynamism to the transformation scenes too.

The spot is a love letter to filmmaking; did that give the project an extra dimension for you?

Absolutely. I’ve always loved that film shoots bring together a completely disparate group of experts, from different fields, to create a single vision. It was great to highlight the crew and hero them in front of the camera. It took everyone a while to understand this wasn’t going to be a normal shoot like everyone was used to. 

On a traditional film set, you do a take, cut, reset, and the crew who aren’t needed for that shot often go off and get a cup of tea, but on this shoot everybody was ‘on’ the entire time. All departments needed to understand they would nearly always be on camera, and the jobs they do every day were now part of a carefully choreographed performance. Even how the grips moved some new lighting or rigging had to be done at a specific time, at a specific speed, and in a specific place.

Above: The crew on set prepping for the skeleton scene. 

The music adds a lot of drama and intensity; what is the track, and why did you choose it? 

The track is a composition called Secrets, by Tom Player. We felt the track added weight to the pictures and gave us a series of emotional beats throughout the different genres. We started with the base composition and then shaped it to hit the four different genres, changing in instrumentation and building to a climax.

The making of film is fascinating; will that be available for the public to view? 

Yes, the ‘witness cam’ video will be available for everyone to see. The spot is kind of a 'behind the scenes' film in itself, but then there’s a whole other layer of understanding when you see how it was done from a wider perspective. 

The spot is kind of a 'behind the scenes' film in itself, but then there’s a whole other layer of understanding when you see how it was done from a wider perspective. 

It also gives the viewer a greater appreciation of what our actress had to go through to achieve the film. 14 hours 45 minutes and 31 seconds is a long time to stand completely still.