COMMERCIALS NEWS

Watching paint dry has never been this worthwhile

Sat, 05 Nov 2011 12:43

Dulux Ad

Call it a wrap on any location and most crews will clean up without a trace. But Fresh Eye Films and Dulux left their locations in downtown Joburg with a bold new perspective.

While filming the Dulux campaign, a continuation of their global initiative, Let’s Colour, Fresh Eye and ad agency, Volcano, demonstrated how a touch of colour can transform an urban landscape and uplift a community.

“For me, the finest moment had to be the painting of the eight-storey block of flats, Enfield Court, overlooking Khaya Park. The transformation was pretty spectacular,” says Fresh Eye producer, Gary James.

To paint this building took from 3am to 9am, and what makes it remarkable is the process involved in filming during those six hours. The challenge was to condense it into just 10 seconds. Incorporated into that a camera move had to be absolutely fluid, something incredibly challenging in time lapse photography.

“We wanted to give the time lapse more visual interest than you’ve seen before, and the movement lets us do that,” explains Greg Francois. To do this he used a motion control camera system that literally started rolling at 3am. “We had to regulate the painters and the form the paint was taking with the steady movement of the camera on the motion track. The painters were the real heroes. Once they were rolling, there was simply no turning back or second takes.”
The highlight for Francois was literally watching paint dry because he spent much of that time with the communities: “The excitement was palpable as we watched the paint transform these environments. We were blessed to be a part of something that touches the hearts of people.”

SCREENAFRICA Print Magazine – November 2011 (view here)
By Antone Crone

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