This is the Massimo Motor 30 second commercial. I was really happy to be a part of this creative team and commercial shoot. John Trotto the DP, and Atom Design gave their utmost passion in delivering this commercial project. We were able to pull out all the fun rugged gear for this shoot.
The commercial starts with a holy grail time-lapse overlooking a vast beautiful field glistening with morning dew. We found this location in the pines near Flagstaff, Arizona. The location was scouted the day before, and I really needed the morning dew to give me that sparkle of specular highlights as it did the previous morning. The shot was of the sun rising over the mountain in the distance. I calculated to shoot at least 300 still images to get the sun at the height that was required to give the most drama. I processed and transformed an hour of real-time into literally a one second time-lapse clip. It was extremely challenging to edit this time lapse down to one second. My analogy and something I heard before, was like taking a telephone pole and making a toothpick out of it.
Most of the shots called for aggressive, down-and-dirty, mud-caked fast action. These UTV vehicles can really move and climb. The camera of choice was the GoPro, of course. We put them on magic arms and in all sorts of precarious places. I put one in the wheel well to show the outstanding suspension of the Massimo UTV. Since we had no room for a camera crane we mounted a Wi-Fi enabled GoPro on a 20′ boom pole. We where able to monitor and control the GoPro video from an iPad as the vehicles flew down trails. I did some steadicam shots with the GoPro next to the driver, the suspension was priceless. The Massimo drivers did a wonderful job in controlling the UTVs at high speeds on extremely rough terrain. We would try to film 2 or 3 takes at each of the locations. Charged batteries where always a plus in a very hot environment. All the clips where played back on a portable monitor for the director, Jodi Deros. I was really amazed at how the Wi-Fi worked with the GoPros from a follow vehicle that was a good distance away. Ninety-five percent of the GoPro footage was shot in 2.7k with the rest in 1080 and this was the perfect choice. All the other action or stills were shot with the Canon 5d mark II. We had the perfect locations in Sedona, and the Massimo vehicles are outstanding. They are meant to work and play in this environment. It was a pleasure to flex my creative muscles and work in one of the most beautiful locations in the Southwest.
We spent a total of 5 days filming the UTVs on Schnebly Hill Road in Sedona, Arizona. A few of the scenes where done outside of Flagstaff, Arizona. This image is of the crew, and the beautiful vista we enjoyed as we worked.