Strongbow filmed new campaign in Mexico City

“[We filmed] in downtown Mexico City, near the Palace of Fine Arts in a very traditional neighbourhood called Tepito, in an old French-looking neighbourhood called Roma, and in an old semi-abandoned house in downtown,” says Dalia Sierra, head of production at service company Kinema Films.

The campaign in fact combined practical and digital effects, and the production team spent three days dressing the street locations for the practical elements of the shoot.

“We did physical effects as much as possible,” says Sierra. “We did tests for many items, like the apple rollers, apples falling and apples exploding.

"We also did a gigantic apple that was accidentally burned by the sculptor a day before shooting so he ended up making another one throughout the night.”

Despite the work involved combining the practical with the digital, controlling the busy urban location was one of the main challenges.

“Mexico City is a very big city with over 22 million people, so shooting on the streets in downtown is quite an endeavour,” says Sierra. “Controlling traffic, controlling the crowds of people, and closing down a street for three days was quite an accomplishment.”

Credits:
Client: Strongbow
Agency: Cloudfactory, Amsterdam
Production Company: Sonny
Executive Producer: Helen Kenny
Producer: Alicia Richards
Director: Fredrik Bond
Director of Photography: Hoyte van Hoytema
Production Service Company: Kinema Films

Editor's note (28/4/17): This article has been amended as it originally incorrectly stated that Mexico City was used as a double for New York.