Carousel (advertisement)

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Carousel
Michael Fakesch
Production
company		Stinkdigital, London
Produced byJohn Reardon
Jeroen Jedeloo
Iwona Echt
Followed byParallel Lines
Official websitehttp://www.philips.co.uk/cinema

Carousel is an

Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival. It is only the second online advertisement to win in the Film category, after Dove's Evolution in 2007. Scenes from Carousel were used in the music video for hip hop artist 50 Cent's single "Ok, You're Right
".

Sequence

After a credit sequence, Carousel opens on a police officer kneeling on a parked

number 219
) at the start. It scrolls past the officer, who hides a clown mask and a sack of cash, revealing that he is in fact one of the criminals. The piece then begins a fresh loop from the beginning.

Production

Background and filming

In January 2009, Philips announced its new

Tribal DDB in Amsterdam with a request to create an advertising campaign based around an educational website[2] The team assigned to the campaign knew that many, many variations on "real cinema experience" advertisements had been tried in the past,[3] and quickly came up with the idea of a piece composed of a single tracking shot.[3] The team proposed the idea to several production companies, eventually settling on London-based production house Stinkdigital. After consultation with Stinkdigital about the possibility of having the tracking shot move through a frozen moment in time,[4] the team brought on director Adam Berg, who had produced a similar advertisement for JC Jeans in 2006.[5][6]

Working together with Stinkdigital executive producer Mark Pytlik, Berg began brainstorming ideas for the piece in February, including

director of photography Fredrik Backar and post supervisor Richard Lyons accompanied the recce teams.[2] Eventually, the team discovered an old Communist university[6] which had been converted into a sports college, and gained permission to dress the location as a hospital.[4]

An

extras mostly comprised Czech dancers and stuntmen, who had the muscle control necessary to stay sufficiently still for the extended filming sessions.[4][6][7]

The path taken through the location was 100 m long,

35 mm film stock in an Arriflex 435 camera.[6] Three cranes (a Fisher, a SuperTechnoCrane 50, and a Scorpio) and a motion-controlled rig were needed to produce the range of movement the camera takes through the scenery.[6][7] Two versions of each of the shots were taken, one at 50 fps (instead of the usual 25 fps) to minimise any motion from the extras,[11] and a second "clean" shot with all extras and suspended vehicles removed, to aid in post-production editing.[6][7]

Post-production and website

Even with 90 percent of the final footage and stunts captured in-camera,

set extension.[6] When the work was completed, another telecine transfer was performed to push the contrast and blend the added effects with the live-action footage.[6][12]

Carousel had been intended from the start to be primarily web-based,

MPAA certification, and continues through a cinematic title sequence.[3] The length of the title sequence varies depending on the connection speed selected.[14]

At certain points during Carousel, viewers can elect to switch to watching one of three short films blended into the tracking shot.[10][14] When one of the films is selected, the effects which were added in post-production disappear, and the rigging used in production reappears. An actor portraying a member of the cast comes on to discuss an element of the filming or a feature of the product.[2][14] In the first, the director of photography discusses the lighting techniques used in Carousel. In the second, the director discusses the cinematic 21:9 aspect ratio and interacts with one of the extras. In the third, the VFX supervisor expands on the post-production process, and through a fake video-editing interface alters various aspects of the scene. The scripts for these short commentaries were written by Tribal DDB, with input from Stinkdigital and Redrum.[2]

The

Ambilight
feature and the ability to switch at will between 21:9 and 16:9 aspect ratios.

Release and reception

The release of Carousel was a huge success. In just over two weeks, it had been viewed over half a million times, with visitors to the minisite spending an average of 5m20s watching the film. Of these, 50 percent used one or more of the interactive features of the site.[11] A number of celebrities commented on the quality of the ad; actor Ashton Kutcher pointed followers of his Twitter account to it,[4] and hip hop artist Kanye West referred to it as "hands down the best video of the year".[9]

In June 2009, Philips collaborated with hip hop artist

Ok You're Right". The video begins by zooming into a Philips 21:9 LCD television, and contains footage from Carousel, as well as scenes of 50 Cent dressed as one of the robbers.[15] The video was directed by Chris Romero, and featured 150 listeners of radio station Hot 97 as extras.[16]

Carousel received much critical acclaim from within the advertising industry. Editors of the

Levi's-brand jeans.[22] In the Cyber category, Carousel's prime competition was believed to be the Whopper Sacrifice campaign for Burger King.[23] The 22 members of the awarding jury unanimously voted Carousel the winner for the Grand Prix in the Film category,[24] and the winner of a Silver award in the Cyber category.[25]

A member of the awarding jury later said of the piece: "Philips' Carousel is a prime example of forward thinking. Not only is it a remarkable, highly watchable film in its own right, but viewers could scroll across the piece online to discover films hidden within the film. One winds up spending ten or 11 minutes with the brand voluntarily – what is that worth to a client?"

Evolution in 2007),[27] Carousel's win, and the potential effect on the future of the category, was widely remarked upon within the advertising industry. Rae Ann Fera of Boards commented: "The Grand Prix winner was thrilling for [several] reasons. First, that an online-only film with well-integrated interactivity won the top Film award further signals the future direction of the industry."[28] Campaign declared that "It took the prize at Cannes not because it was made for online, but because it succeeds where many ordinary ads fail – it draws viewers in voluntarily"[13]

References in other media

Media outlets made comparisons between Carousel and the opening scenes of the 2008 film The Dark Knight, in which criminals wearing clown masks rob a bank under instructions from the Joker.[17][29]

The first episode of the

10th season of CSI starts with a cold open that uses a similar time-frozen tracking shot.[30][31] The Other Guys
features a similar scene, except it shows the antics of the protagonists at a bar.

The launch trailer for the 2013 video game Payday 2 is strongly based on Carousel, depicting a similar still scene of robbers wearing clown masks battling police.[32]

The opening credits scene of the 2016 film Deadpool is based on this ad. Director Adam Berg had, at one stage, been in the running to direct the movie.

References

  1. ^ "Philips premieres the ultimate home cinematic viewing experience with the Cinema 21:9 LCD TV", Philips (Press release), January 2009.
  2. ^ a b c d Clarke, Christine; "Nobody Move Archived September 16, 2011, at the Wayback Machine", Boards, June 1, 2009. Retrieved September 22, 2009.
  3. ^ a b c d e Dawson, Neil; "Close-Up: How to make a big-screen blockbuster[permanent dead link]", Campaign, May 1, 2009. Retrieved September 22, 2009.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g White, Ed; "Stink’s Adam Berg takes us behind Philips “Carousel” Archived February 17, 2012, at the Wayback Machine", Boards, April 21, 2009. Retrieved September 22, 2009.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Cannes On Location: Adam Berg and Mark Pytlik Archived February 17, 2012, at the Wayback Machine", Boards, July 14, 2009. Retrieved September 22, 2009.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Stasukevich, Iain; "Carousel Showcases Philips' New Widescreen TV[permanent dead link]", American Cinematographer, August 12, 2009. Retrieved September 22, 2009 via Moving Picture Company website.
  7. ^
    Tribal DDB. Retrieved September 22, 2009, via Boards
    website.
  8. ^ a b "Blaze of Glory Archived April 26, 2009, at the Wayback Machine", Shots, April 16, 2009. Retrieved September 22, 2009.
  9. ^ a b Clarke, Christine; White, Ed; "Behind Philips "Carousel" Archived February 17, 2012, at the Wayback Machine", Boards, June 30, 2009. Retrieved September 22, 2009.
  10. ^ a b c d "Philips "Carousel" Archived 2009-08-24 at the Wayback Machine", Redrum website, 2009. Retrieved September 22, 2009.
  11. ^ a b Smith, Nicola; "Video advertising Archived 2011-07-21 at the Wayback Machine", New Media Age, July 22, 2009. Retrieved September 22, 2009.
  12. ^ a b c "Philips, Carousel Archived July 14, 2011, at the Wayback Machine", Moving Picture Company website, 2009. Retrieved September 22, 2009.
  13. ^ a b Maymann, Jimmy; Goodman, Jason; "Double Standards – Has 'carousel'opened the doors to online film?[permanent dead link]", Campaign, July 24, 2009. Retrieved September 22, 2009.
  14. ^
    Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival
    website, July 2009. Retrieved September 22, 2009.
  15. ^ 50 Cent; "50 Cent – "Ok, You're Right" Official Music Video Archived July 5, 2009, at the Wayback Machine", This is 50 (official website), July 1, 2009. Retrieved September 22, 2009.
  16. ^ "50 Cent Sports Clown Mask In New Video Archived June 26, 2009, at the Wayback Machine" This is 50 (official website), June 20, 2009. Retrieved September 22, 2009.
  17. ^ a b "Top Spots Archived 2012-02-17 at the Wayback Machine", Boards, May 1, 2009. Retrieved September 22, 2009.
  18. ^ Howard, Theresa; "Fewer ads entered at Cannes Lions as fewer people attend", USA Today, June 21, 2009. Retrieved September 12, 2009.
  19. ^ Agarwal, Sapna; "Indian entries, registrations to Cannes Lions see a drop", Business Standard, June 19, 2009. Retrieved September 12, 2009.
  20. Advertising Age
    , June 22, 2009. Retrieved September 22, 2009.
  21. ^ Bussey, Noel; "Online films tipped for Cannes success[permanent dead link]", Campaign, June 25, 2009. Retrieved September 22, 2009.
  22. ^ a b Parpis, Eleftheria; "Cannes Picks", Adweek, June 21, 2009. Retrieved September 22, 2009.
  23. ^ "Creativity's Cannes Picks: BMW's Kinetic Sculpture, 'The Great Schlep,' Whopper Sacrifice, Fiat's Eco Drive and the Obama Campaign", Creativity, June 22, 2009. Retrieved September 22, 2009.
  24. ^ "Film Grand Prix for Carousel Archived August 5, 2009, at the Wayback Machine", Shots, June 27, 2009. Retrieved September 22, 2009.
  25. ^ "Five Film Lions for Canada; Obama Wins Titanium & Integrated Grand Prix Archived July 1, 2009, at the Wayback Machine", Marketing Week, June 27, 2009. Retrieved September 22, 2009.
  26. ^ "Close-Up – How Cannes 2009 was won[permanent dead link]", Campaign, July 3, 2009. Retrieved September 22, 2009.
  27. ^ Nettleton, Kate; "Tribal DDB Amsterdam's "carousel" for Philips scoops Cannes Lions 2009 Film Grand Prix[permanent dead link]", Campaign, June 27, 2009. Retrieved September 22, 2009.
  28. ^ Fera, Rae Ann; "What a Thriller Archived September 15, 2011, at the Wayback Machine", Boards, June 29, 2009. Retrieved September 22, 2009.
  29. ^ Geier, Thom; "'Dark Knight'-inspired short film 'Carousel' – who needs the Joker when you've got evil clowns?", Entertainment Weekly, April 18, 2009. Retrieved September 22, 2009.
  30. ^ "Shots - News". Archived from the original on October 4, 2009. Retrieved December 19, 2009.
  31. ^ "Philips Carousel « I Design Your Eyes". Archived from the original on June 7, 2010. Retrieved December 19, 2009.
  32. ^ "'Payday 2' Launch Trailer: Cinematic Footage Released In Conjunction With Game Release". International Business Times. August 13, 2013. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
Preceded by
Believe
Cannes Lions Film Grand Prix Winner

2009 		Succeeded by

External links

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