How do you brand pre-sale developments that are yet to be built? Traditionally, you can use architectural rendering to show a slice of life moment; you can create animations with the property and its surroundings, take photos of models living the life in the shops and restaurants in the neighborhood; However, none of these methods can tell a compelling story or show what it is like to live in the property, breath the air, bathe the sun and smell the fragrance. This is exactly what we were charged with achieving in our latest project with Concord Pacific. Our client wanted to see a young family embedded in their state-of-the-art development in the upcoming Oasis at Brentwood. With a never-before-seen water feature based on the concept of cenote beaches found in Mexico, we had a tall order to recreate the grandeur of this enormous water feature inside a virtual set. This means the camera angles need to be wide, the camera movements need to be stretched out and above all, the film set needed to be enormous.
To accommodate the actors, crew and equipment, we needed to create a greenscreen set that is at least 30x30ft. In addition, to shield the set from Vancouver’s unpredictable downpour, everything needed to be indoors. Luckily, our resourceful team managed to scout and rent out the lobby to the downtown Westin Bayshore hotel. Through careful planning and numerous visits, we were able to measure and layout the entire set; including, power generation, traffic flow, crew accommodation, equipment storage and catering space.
Unlike previous productions, our team was completely absorbed with preproduction and so we had the privilege to hire some state-of-the-art backup to take care of production. Eagle Camera Support Systems Ltd operated the mechanical crane (the giraffe-looking monstrosity) that gave us the grand sweeping motions from high to low. Talco Lighting Services brought enough firepower to light up the dim hotel lobby to look like a sun-scorched beach. And last but not least, Matt Schelling, handled all of the storyboard, directing, editing and visual effects. With the whole team assembled and ready to go, we were able to complete all of the filming within budget, on time and up to quality.
Please take some time to watch the 45 second creative in the link here.
The finalized commercial starts off with the young family enjoying a day at an exotic beach. As the background dissolved and faded away, we see the beach morph into the modern luxurious condo with stunning interior and amenities. The storyline reflects the central design philosophy of a paradise within the city and this vision would not be possible without the technological innovation and collaboration we’ve had in this project.
