F-Cell
The brief:
INP Media were commissioned to produce a film to promote the new Mercedes-Benz Hydrogen Powered F cell that car that was trialling in Los Angeles California. The film needed to show that the futuristic concept car was already a reality.
Our challenge:
Shooting an invaluable one-off prototype on public roads, combined with a limited running capacity and top speed limiter was a challenge. An added difficulty was that there was at that time only one hydrogen filling station in California. Safety, location choice and shot requirements were key.
Our solution:
We knew timelapse would play a big role in this film. Since the car could neither travel quickly nor very far, we had to use another element to give us the feel of speed, transition and looking to the future. Using timelapse photography we accomplished this..
It was also key early on to work out the worst case scenario for how many miles the car could travel on a full tank. With only one filling station in LA that we could use, we were restricted to where we could take the car to film. Taking a recce and working out the routes was vital – not only to ascertain the mileage but also to work out the best times to travel. We couldn’t afford to be stuck in traffic as we couldn’t afford to run out of fuel. None the less with careful planning and preparation we had a successful shoot.
