MAD MEDIA General Tire Commercial Shoot w/ UTVUnderground!

JoeyD23

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Jan 9, 2009
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UTVUG Goes MAD MEDIA (UPDATED PICTURES CHECK IT)





UTVUnderground goes MAD MEDIA!



I was fortunate enough to get called up by the Martelli Brothers of Mad Media to come along and assist on a commercial they were shooting this week for General Tire. The commercial's theme is Carl Renezeder goes to work, obviously with Carl being the talent for the shoot. It was an amazing experience to say the least, to be able to sit back on set and see how this extremely talented group of producers, directors, and assistants are able to take raw video and turn it into media marketing magic.

For those unfamiliar with Mad Media they are the creative genius behind the Ken Block/DC Shoes Gymkhana viral video series as well as the media minds for campaigns being ran by Monster Energy with famous Trophy Truck driver Ballistic BJ Baldwin. You may have more recently seen their work on FuelTV as the creators of the Mint 400 and Powerdays 300 television shows. With their roots deeply embeded in Skate Boarding and Surfing it is only natural that Mad Media would transfer into off road bringing their well honed skills and knowledge and turn the off road media world upside down with their amazing creations!





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This video was just released last week showing behind the scenes footage of the making of Gymkhana 3.





On Tuesday morning I loaded up the UTVUnderground 2011 Polaris RZR4 and headed northbound to Glen Helen Raceway. The Mad Media crew was wrapping up in car shots of Carl on I-15 where CHP shut the freeway down just long enough for Mad Media to get the shots they needed. Without going into too much detail the idea of the commercial is for Carl to be driving this awesome Ford Raptor to work, get hung up in traffic, and in true off road style rip off the road and hit the trails to finally land him at his office/race shop!

Once shooting wrapped they loaded up (or should I say REPO'd as the team calls it) and headed on down to where I was waiting along with the professional camera rigging experts at Glen Helen. Once at Glen Helen I was brought up to speed by director and Mad Media founder Matt Martelli on the premise and direction of the shoot and where and how I could assist as they proceeded to make GT media gold!!!

A few of us loaded up into the RZR4 and blasted into the hills of Glen Helens couple hundred acre compound. We ran around looking for all the prime filming locations and setting our plans for helicopter filming which would take place the next morning. We pre-ran much of the location and in the process impressed the Mad Media team with just how capable these UTV's are. Hills that they thought we would surely roll down or simply not make up were conquered with ease as the 4wd RZR4 just kept on going where we needed it to go. Not to mention we did it in most cases with 4 adults and equipment to boot!

Day 1 ended with capturing images of the Ford Raptor laced up with a nice set of Method Race Wheels and General Tire Grabber's doing work around the landscape with rigged Cannon SLR cameras capturing up close shots of the wheels and tires in action. I learned quickly that these guys not only have the eyes and creativity to create amazing action films but also have the equipment and know how to make it all happen. Creativity and the eye to for see a nice shot is only part of the equation here. You need to have hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of equipment and then pure experts in lighting, editing, FX, and technical practices to turn your vision into a promising and desirable product. Mad Media does not lack in any of these areas, and as I learned they not only excel at what they do but their entire team is on board with the vision set forth by the extremely talented and well rounded Martelli Brothers, Joshua and Matt.









Mad Media Senior Producer Ryan Holdridge verify's camera angles and composition before the Raptor heads off for filming of the tight angle wheel/tire shots.






Day 2 kicks off with a 5:30am start. Lighting is prime in the morning but more importantly day light burns fast when your trying to capture as much film as possible in a day. While Carl Renezeder is the prime star of the show, in true Hollywood fashion a stunt driver was called in to do the dirty work of really running the Ford Raptor through its paces. No ordinary stunt driver was employed, Mad Media reached out to famed son of a legend and Trophy Truck driver Chad Ragland to come in and partake in the process of creating this amazing commercial for General Tire. One would argue after the day was wrapped that this could have easily become a project Ford should have bought into as the images and video produced not only turned out to be "BANGERS" (as the team would call them) for GT but also for Ford in showing what all this Raptor could do as a showroom stock vehicle!

Once routes were set and the Helicopter and camera men were in place the fun began to happen! I learned by sitting back, observing, and listening that the truck doesn't always need to be WOT to get the desired high speed action sequences. So much more of it has to do with camera angle and how those cameras are focused to make things appear to be much more severe in terms of terrain and speed. Now with that said there was no pussy footin' taking place here. Chad was flat out driving and we got the pics to prove it!








The skills employed to create a 30 second film is amazing. Everyone from helicopter pilot, camera men, directors, and assistants all have to be on their A-Game to make this stuff go down!







The first half of day 2 was consumed with aerial filming but once the helicopter was a wrap it was on to shooting the ground "BANGERS"! This is where I and the RZR4 were kept busy. Shuttling producers, directors, and assistants from location to location and getting guys and their equipment to where they needed to be in a timely fashion all while making sure I or the RZR4 were never in the way or in the shot. Once set up I was able to tag along with Vincent Knakal the Director of Photography for Mad Media and see how a super pro photographer is able to also do still work amongst the madness of filming. Vinny is called upon by Matt/Josh and their team to not only document their experiences on set but also capture images quality enough to be used in conjunction with the video campaigns. Vinny's images will be seen in print and online around the world and give that solid one look feel to the customers marketing campaign. So not only will Mad Media produce a slamming video commercial but they will have coinciding print media marketing material that all matches the look and feel!







Matt & Vinny capturing some epic shots for GT






The highlight of the day for me was when I was asked if I was ready to do some stunt driving. Most that know me know I am down to do whatever in a UTV especially if that involves going fast. So Mad Media rigged the RZR4 up with a camera set up that makes Go-Pro's quiver. Ryan (producer) and Myself harnessed in with the goal of driving the RZR4 as fast as we could while Chad Ragland in the Ford Raptor would run behind us doing what he could to keep up....lol.....well not really, he could easily keep up but the goal was to get some cool POV (Point Of View) from the back of the RZR4 to the front of the Raptor. After a few solid runs along the mountain ridges we headed back to watch the footage and make sure we had some good usable stuff in there. Turns out we had some amazing footage, some of which should make the commercial, but definitely make some sort of reel that we can show off to the Underground!







With the RZR4 rigged we set off to capture front angle shots of the Raptor and General Tires hauling the mail!






As we stood around talking about the RZR4 it was obvious the team was thrilled at just how versatile and capable the Polaris machine was. Chad Ragland admitted to driving the Raptor as hard as he possibly could during our chase sequence. Not only did it help get the shoot done in general due to its ability to haul equipment and staff but it also helped to open these guys eyes as to how amazing these machines truly are as not only work horses but play machines as well. We finished the day with some cold beers before watching the sun set behind the Glen Helen sky line. Loaded up we headed back home excited to see how the final product will look! Until the the nationally televised spot has been edited I will have to leave you with these stills I was able to get during the shoot. Enjoy and HANG ON, the film is coming sooon........................


LINKS!


Mad Media

YouTube - ????? ??????????? MadMedia

General Tire - Off-Road and Performance Tires







Mad Media working to capture the shot!


The RZR4 ready on stand by to do work!


Only the best equipment is used to capture the work!


General Tire hired Mad Media for a reason, they are the best in the business at what they do!































MORE MAD MEDIA WORK

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"It was a real pleasure to have Joey and UTVUnderground out on our shoot. Having the support of a fully rigged UTV for getting around Glen Helen helped us stay on schedule - which was awesome. We can't believe that some of the hills we climbed and how well Joey stayed ahead of Chad on some of the shots we did. It's safe to say we are converts! We'll take two please! Joey brought us up to speed on what's what in the UTV world and suffice to say we'd love to get our crew out and shoot some stuff with this amazing class of vehicles. Till then you guys keep charging and stay safe. Hope to see you all out at the Mint 400 in a few weeks!" - The Martelli Brothers




The Mad Media Posse!



Joshua Martelli (right) and Myself



Setting the GAME PLAN at Sunrise



Pre running a river bed with Mad Media to ensure the perfect shot



Chad Ragland in the GT Ford Raptor chasing me in the RZR4 which is rigged with camera equipment



The Mad Media team making sure they captured the "SHOT" I think we were filming Chad jumping here...



While trying to park out of the way I ALMOST put the RZR4 on its side....you can see the rear tire isnt on the ground the 3 that are look like they are ready to roll over...lol



Matt Martelli (left) and myself just livin' it up while DOIN' WORK!



Eddie and Myself having some fun in the RZR4


Thank you to Vincent Knakal and Mad Media for providing these new images of the event. Vinny has mad skills!!!!
 
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