We were very excited to be asked to do the launch video for the all new BMW 2 Gran Coupe last year. We needed to create something that would resonate with local audiences in Taiwan, but also stay in the same ballpark as the edgy global campaign for the 2GC. Another issue was that there were some subtle but important differences in the version of the car that would be sold in Taiwan, so the global video assets were of limited use. After a few weeks of brainstorming and discussions, we decided on an interesting shooting plan. We wanted to create a surreal California street corner in a big studio in Taipei.
We narrowed down the car features we were going to highlight, wrote the script, got it approved, and drew up the storyboard. Next, our production designer Liu Chin Fu created some set designs on Sketch Up:
We assembled a great styling team of wardrobe stylist Melina Chen, makeup artist Azzurro Kuo and hairstylist Nina Chiang. The model that was finally chosen was Anastasia from Model Management Hamburg, who the client felt was the perfect embodiment of the potential customer for the Gran Coupe - a stylish young urban professional. The final styling choice was a simple but slightly rebellious California look.
The model had a very tight schedule, and needed to fly out early the next day. In addition, we needed to rent a massive amount of Arri Skypanels to do the lighting right, so in the end we decided to shoot the commercial at Arrow Studios near Taipei in one marathon day. Gaffer Hu Wei did a spectacular job of recreating a bright sunny day indoors, over a large set, using a blinding array of skypanels and HMI's. Elan grip team gave us tremendous support with their crane and dolly work. We shot on a Red Monstro using an LPL lens mount, and Arri Signature Prime lenses.
After the edit was completed, colorist Muddy Wang did an amazing job at colorgrading the video, giving it a stunning bright modern look with a surreal vibe.
The blue finish on the car pops out amazingly well against the yellow and orange set.
Here are a few stills:
Here is a behind the scenes video, documenting the shoot day:
BMW Taiwan loved this commercial, as it was really different from what they'd done in the past and made the car look great. It received a very good response on social media, with over a million views, and the Facebook post of the short version alone getting 10,000 likes and over a thousand organic shares. This was our 5th project for BMW, and we have done 3 other commercials for BMW since then, and another one coming soon!
We ended up doing many different versions of the commercial, in 16:9, 1:1, and 9:16 formats, in 10-second, 15-second, 30-second and 45-second lengths, and the final delivery was in 4K, so it looks stunning on a big screen. Here is one of the versions:
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