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Posted on 19/06/20 5:40:08 PM |
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DavidMac
Director of Photoshop Posts: 5522 Reply  |
Blast from the past
One of the things I have done in the weeks of enforced idleness is go through a whole heap of boxes of old photographs and videos. I came across something I thought was lost. Directors of Photography have 'showreels' which they use to demonstrate their abilities. It's the equivalent of an artist or photographer's folio. They are usually tailored to a particular need. A documentary reel, an advertising reel, excerpts from a movie, etc. I have found an old tape of my commercials showreel from 1975, forty five years ago! I thought it might amuse some of you. You may even remember seeing one them. A good number are in French but it doesn't matter ........ they aren't exactly complicated plots. Back then there was no video outside of the hugely expensive 2" reel to reel videotape. The reel went out to potential clients as 35mm film print which was returned to me after viewing. So this one is pretty scratched in places from repeated use. There are also slight 'tears' in the video image in places as it has deteriorated with time. None of it severe enough to spoil your fun. The spots here were all made between 1968 and 1975 so they are shot between 45 and 52 years ago! Some are very dated and some still look surprisingly good. The shooting and post is all completely pre-digital. The spots were shot on 50 ASA Eastman negative balanced for tungsten. Daylight was shot with an 85 filter. Grading and colouring was 35mm film lab grading. So only overall exposure and overall colour cast were adjustable. Everything else had to be done with the lighting or in camera using filters. If you got it wrong there was NO rescue! Once the graded film print was made it was transferred to videotape with no further adjustments. They weren't possible in those days. Visual effects were all in camera. Many DOP's made their own improvised effects filters and diffusions. I carried about thirty of my own. Blue screen existed in film of course but was very little used in ads as it was very difficult and not always very convincing. So quite large sets were built just for thirty second ads. There is a spot that opens with Darth Vader. The corridor was built specially for just a few seconds of film! The street outside the barber's shop is a studio build as well - and it's only in the background through a window. There were no easily available compositing effects either. Things like the Fiat ad with the van being parachuted from a plane were simply done for real! No FX at all. One thing this reel does show is that, unlike effects and pizzaz, good ideas can be timeless. The very last ad with the school kids is as relevant now as it was then. It won the Palme D'Or at Cannes and for some years was in the top ten TV ads of all time. Fashion and technical quality aside it could have been shot yesterday! So there we are. It looks pretty damn basic by today's standards but fifty years ago it was considered hot stuff! These are the ads that put me on the professional map. They were the start of everything. I hope you enjoy watching them. I really enjoyed shooting them. To have had a job all my life that I just loved is such a rare privilege. Blast from the Past _________________ The subtlety and conviction of any Photoshop effect is invariably inversely proportional to the number of knobs on it ....... |
Posted on 20/06/20 00:10:48 AM |
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lwc
Hole in One Posts: 3092 Reply  |
Re: Blast from the past
Fun to watch... certainly great memories for you David. What tidbits can you offer about the part featuring the American Civil War as a setting...? |
Posted on 21/06/20 10:32:57 AM |
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tooquilos
Wizard of Oz Posts: 2884 Reply  |
Re: Blast from the past
David, really enjoyed watching all of them. Not only from a 'historical' point of view but also that fact that you were involved in making them. Fantastic. Loved the Darth Varder, futuristic one. The guy uses mini cassette tapes.  _________________ Wicked Witch of the West:I'll get you, my pretty! And your little dog, too! |
Posted on 21/06/20 10:40:28 AM |
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DavidMac
Director of Photoshop Posts: 5522 Reply |
Re: Blast from the past
Hi tech back then. 
The idea that coal could heat Britain's homes for another three hundred years has lost some traction too ............. _________________ The subtlety and conviction of any Photoshop effect is invariably inversely proportional to the number of knobs on it ....... |
Posted on 21/06/20 8:22:59 PM |
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Steve Caplin
Administrator Posts: 6987 Reply  |
Re: Blast from the past
Ah - I remember that Sure ad on the rope bridge! Those French iced tea ads are splendid. Loved the Manikin, and The Times. And Darth Vader. They really had budgets, didn't they. |
Posted on 22/06/20 09:57:04 AM |
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DavidMac
Director of Photoshop Posts: 5522 Reply |
Re: Blast from the past
Shot close by Natchez, Mississippi. Can't remember the name of the particular antebellum mansion we used. The campaign was accused of racism back in France and the spots bombed. The only thing I do remember, vividly, about this shoot was the wardrobe mistress! She was so completely useless she had to be dismissed at the end of day one. It turned out that the 'mistress' part of her title was of rather more significance than the 'wardrobe' part. She was the local Mississippi producer's girlfriend. She hadn't a clue what she was supposed to be doing ......... he had wanted to impress her by taking her on a movie set! She was a tall girl with two of the biggest breasts I have ever seen. It transpired she was in fact a stripper from Nevada called Champagne Rita because her specialty was drinking from a full glass of champagne held in the grip of her impressive cleavage.
Sadly she was replaced too quickly to give us a demo ................ 
It's hard to get actors or experienced extras in that part of America. The soldiers were from one of those societies of amateurs who re-construct the civil war. They camped in tents in a field next door and were so stoned most of the time that it took some quite skilled direction and editing to make any sense out of them. On the other hand it gave us some entertaining evenings ...........  _________________ The subtlety and conviction of any Photoshop effect is invariably inversely proportional to the number of knobs on it ....... |
Posted on 22/06/20 10:23:11 AM |
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DavidMac
Director of Photoshop Posts: 5522 Reply |
Re: Blast from the past
One of a series of similar ideas. Three Shot in Guatemala and three in the Philippines. Directed by Tony Scott. Amazing fun!
See my reply to Loyd above regarding the French tea ads. The others are pretty much my favourites too.
Huge budgets undreamt of nowadays for the most part. On the other hand Steve these are mostly 'high end' ads for big clients and the top director's of the day. They are not exactly typical. The other difference is that now clients are international. The best advertising holds a mirror to the culture it is aimed at. Back then advertising was very national and clients were ready to run with edgy ideas that would appeal to their national audience. Nowadays they want to make just one ad that will serve all of Europe. The basis of many choices now is no longer what will really appeal to Brits, or French, or Germans, or whoever. It's become more a question of finding ideas that don't in some way trample on one nationalities toes. I have sat in on client meetings that would make you weep as you watch an original and clever idea sink beneath the weight of compromise from frightened detergent manufacturers terrified that what will make a Spaniard laugh will offend a Pole ....... _________________ The subtlety and conviction of any Photoshop effect is invariably inversely proportional to the number of knobs on it ....... |
Posted on 22/06/20 10:23:26 AM |
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lwc
Hole in One Posts: 3092 Reply |
Re: Blast from the past
I can only imagine... great story, I'm glad I asked. |