It was the launch of some of Volvo’s most important cars to date. 700 people back at the New Jersey Headquarters were holding their breath. If the launch bombed and sales didn’t make projections, many would be out of work. These images were going to be the very first shot. At the location pre-production meeting, the client reiterated the importance of the assignment. If anybody had any better ideas, please speak up. The creative director looked at him and said that he had just made a big mistake. With a mischievous smile the CD said “You shouldn’t have said that in front of them”. A chorus of voices immediately chimed in “We have some ideas.” One voice in the back said, “But, it might cost a wee bit more”. In the end, the only toy not played with was a helicopter. We tried really hard to make the case, but the client just wasn’t buying.
Behind the Curtain of a Volvo Photo Shoot from Morawski & Company on Vimeo.
An airport was rented in the dessert outside Palm Springs. During the rain shot, water was pumped so fast that for a short period of time, parts of the city had difficulty flushing toilets. The client made a joke while looking at a Polaroid and asked “Can you flop the car”? Everyone’s stomach turned. Flop the car? Flop the car meant change all the lighting. He was kidding…this time. But the night before that’s exactly what we had done. With only 20 minutes left until sunset, the crew completely changed the angle, the camera position and all of the lighting. Accomplishing in 20 minutes, what had originally taken 6 hours to setup. Can you say meltdown? The precision driver of the red car going under the strobe bank thought he’d won the Lottery. It was 103 degrees outside and he’d be inside an air conditioned car. That’s when the product guy says this is a prototype vehicle and they didn’t have time to hook up the air conditioning. BTW, the photographer adds, the windows must be rolled up because of reflections. Two hours, fifty camera passes and a case of water later he got out of a car with an interior temperature of 128 degrees. But it was a dry heat.
No assistants, precision drivers or photographers were harmed during filming. It was a great shoot. The crew worked extremely hard, and had some fun. Each and every person stepped out of their comfort zone to do things that they’d never done before. Everybody pitched in, doing whatever was needed. In the end it was all worth it. The images told a great story about this new car. The collective back at the mother ship breathed a sigh of relief. The Creative Director was a hero with his Client. The Client was a hero with his bosses. In fact, they both even sent hand-written thank you notes.
Gosh, we really liked those guys! Wonder why?
Mike Morawski
Chief Instigation Officer
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