Marco Gentile Tells Us Some #BMWstories
BMW have focussed on the assortment of folk behind the wheel, asking 'There are millions of BMW stories. What`s yours?'. We chatted to Italian director Marco Gentile about the campaignulls global spot.
It's pretty tough to generalise the 'typical' driver of a global car brand so, for their latest spot, BMW have instead focussed on the assortment of folk behind the wheel, asking 'There are millions of BMW stories. What`s yours?' Spearheading the campaign from agency Service Plan is an exciting and vibrant commercial from Italian director Marco Gentile, through Rabbicorn Media.
Spanning a gamut of BMWs, from vintage motors to the most recent models, the spot dashes between locations giving an eye-catching and exciting view of the range of motorists. Highlighting the #BMWstories hashtag, the film takes pride of place in the company's website, tying together the tales told by punters around the world via social media.
We were impressed by Marco's smart visuals, so caught up with him to chat with him about the process.
How did you get involved in the BMW project?
Through my agent Mary Spagliardi I got the board from Rabbicorn Media and I pitched on it.
How involved were you with the development of the project with the agency? Did you influence the type of 'BMW drivers' featured?
I was very involved in it. The Creative Director, Sergio Penzo, challenged me in a very good way, he wanted a very strong intro for the film and I was free to think and come up with my ideas.
It looks like the shoot went to a variety of locations. How long was the prep? What did it involve?
It was a long preparation, about 3 weeks and it involved many people, from the producers to the production service, the director of photography and many other local people in Spain. We shot in many locations from Barcelona to the desert of Monegros which is 3 hours' drive from Barcelona.
How was the shoot? Did you run in to any issues?
The shoot was hard, we had to shoot many cars and we had many lifestyle scenes to set up. Of course there were issues but we solved them all by working together.
The film switches between attractive, lifestyle shots of the drivers and flashy, high-octane shots of the cars themselves. Do you have a preference in shooting either? Is there more in the way of planning when it comes to the car 'glamour' shots?
Well as I said we shot many scenes because we had to talk to different audiences, from the luxury BMW to the more casual one, and of course the challenge was to tell all these stories with a wide range of aesthetics but maintaining the film as one coherent story.
The film opens with an excellent two-wheeled stunt reveal. How did you achieve that action?
That is the intro scene I was talking about and it was my idea. But while shooting I was wondering why I had that idea!!! It was very hard, we had to shoot with a zoom on the crane on the camera car and keeping the focus was not easy at all!!! The director of photography, Ekkehart Pollack, was great!
Editing is essential to the film's energy. Were you involved in establishing the rhythm? Was the idea for a rapid-fire montage at the end always there?
I was in the editing room every day with the editor, Tobias Suhm, and we worked very well together although it was the first time. And yes the idea of having a fast pace at the end was planned from the very beginning.
The film is on YouTube and the BMW site itself. Do you feel the pressure when you know you're engaging with a world-wide audience on such a large platform?
I always feel the right pressure of making a beautiful film, it does not matter how big the audience is.
Are you pleased with the results?
I'm very happy.
What's up next for you?
Few weeks of holidays
Marco Gentile is represented exclusively in Italy and Spain by Filmmaster Productions.
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