LS Productions Secures Stunning Scottish Route in Seamless Co-Production for Mazda's Latest Models
Mazda has unveiled its picturesque series of new spots ‘Together Is A Wonderful Place To Be’ to promote its latest CX-5 and MX-5 RF models. Created by Antidote, Carnage Films and LS Productions, the series of idents capture sentimental moments on the road.
Directed by Tom Barbor-Might, the panoramic idents feature real couples and families as they journey in their Mazda CX-5’s and MX-5 RF’s. Carnage Films – the world's first specialist automotive commercial film production company - collaborated with LS Productions on the mammoth task of a fast-paced shoot with 21 idents and 58 storyboards on location in just two-days. Having worked on multiple jobs in the iconic area - VW Golf, Esquire, Pringle, Mr Porter and Quant - LS Productions were well-equipped to devise an impressively seamless production.
Tim Ashton, Creative Director at Antidote, says: "Open Roads, epic landscapes and telling, touching moments of togetherness create a truly wonderful driving experience. Something we can all relate to and that we all remember fondly. Through Tom’s stunning cinematic direction, a central thought of ‘together is a wonderful place to be’ and a crack production team, Mazda and Film4 are presented as perfect partners."
The creative required portions of Scotland’s famous North Coast 500 route (NC500) – one of the best driving routes in the world. Utilising their specialised knowledge of spectacular Scottish locations and dramatic roads, 11 sites across the Gairloch and Kylesku area were secured by LS Productions.
To pull off the production efficiently, LS Productions’ Location Manager Amy Morement instinctively sourced precise locations on the route, knowing that it would allow for multiple aesthetics in close proximity. It fell to LS Productions Senior Producer, Ellen De Faux to manage the complex logistics of the shoot, aided by Amy’s unmatched knowledge of the iconic 516-mile route and advice from the Highland Council.
Amy Morement says: “The production required multiple locations, such as a beach that we could drive a car on, a farm with Highland cows, a road beside a meadow and a loch-side road. We had to pinpoint the best areas that avoided extensive unit moves and one beach immediately sprung to mind.”
She continues: “I used the area between the beach and one of the most famous views of NC500 as a starting point for our location research. It required a lot of scouting, detailed research into land owners and conversations with local council and police, but we work incredibly hard at maintaining relationships across Scotland so it all came together seamlessly!”
The crew had to work at a fast-pace to capture the quantity of idents and manoeuvre multiple units in the shooting days. Nothing was cut from the demanding schedule and LS even used their relationships with local farmers to ensure they could shoot their cows in the backdrop to achieve the desired creative.
Ellen De Faux says: "A fantastic job to service for our friends at Carnage. Scheduling was key for achieving a job of this scale in the timeframe set out. At times, we had three units out simultaneously in order to achieve the most from our crew and the locations in the natural light – perfect conditions for the CX-5 and MX-5 RF against the stunning landscapes.”
“Shooting in Scotland at this time of year is a true joy – daylight hours are long with stunning light and the golden hour just keeps going. We had five days without a cloud in the sky. Make sure to check out the ads for yourself - I promise they were shot in Scotland!” says Ellen De Faux.
Neil Edson, Producer at Carnage says: “There is nowhere more beautiful than the Highlands of Scotland to shoot in and the whole shoot couldn’t have been achieved without the support of LS Productions. The number of locations and the weather always made this shoot complex but with a fantastic and dedicated team from LS led by Ellen we knew we were in safe hands. And luckily the weather was a dream!”
The spots are now live on social channels and digital.
