Some of San Francisco's most recognizable landmarks are featured in this shoot for Ikea which we put together in only a few days for a demanding three-day shoot during the rainy season. Covering this number of shots across all these diverse looks meant finding locations that were geographically clustered so that we could do multiple setups at each basecamp. Because the commercial was regional advertising for a local store grand opening there was not a lot of money in the locations budget, and that meant economizing the deals. Our longstanding relationships with local, state, and federal permit offices gave us a leg up on the challenge. The producer went home happy and Ikea's opening day found customers lined up out into the parking lot. Nice jingle, too.
Covering this number of shots across all these diverse looks meant finding locations that were geographically clustered so that we could do multiple setups at each basecamp. Because the commercial was regional advertising for a local store grand opening there was not a lot of money in the locations budget, and that meant economizing the deals. Our longstanding relationships with local, state, and federal permit offices gave us a leg up on the challenge. The producer went home happy and Ikea's opening day found customers lined up out into the parking lot. Nice jingle, too.
We made history in California by being the first location shoot to be able to control Bay Bridge traffic during a weekday. This spot is one of four pioneering groundbreakers we managed at the dawn of the millenium. We were the first commercial production ever to be permitted to control traffic on the Bay Bridge (275,000 cars per day) during a weekday, and secured our permits only by directly soliciting the Governor. You may have seen the other three in the Mitsubishi series: First, "Broadway Joe", in which we negotiated to build an environmentally sensitive football field set on a recently completed shoreline restoration project on the San Francisco waterfront AND staged an evening tickertape parade in downtown San Francisco. Predawn cleanup, no problem: we hired a battalion of streetsweepers as well as the crew that powerwashes the pentagon. City streets were restored to normal operation by six a.m., as agreed. The second was "Chat Room", for which we negotiated a permit to control traffic in the City's largest shopping district on a Friday night during the busy Christmas shopping season. Lastly, "Shaft": two nights of night shooting including the major portions of both Chinatown and North Beach for continuous takes of high-speed car to car backed by the stadium wattage of Musco Lights. The agency hired us directly for their next shoot in the City.
The agency hired us directly for their next shoot in the City.
© 2001 Baldwin Production Services