Drew with VW
Last Friday, I gave you an exclusive look at four “Fast vs. Fast” spots from Volkswagen. They were released to the public yesterday so today, I’m excited to give you a look behind the scenes to hear more about the shoot and what the folks in front of the camera lens thought of the vehicles.
The videos were shot at Willow Springs Raceway in Lancaster, CA. Willow Springs was the perfect facility for this shoot – there are a variety of tracks designed for different types of racing, including a road course, short track and drift track.
The shooting process was quite spectacular. The cameraman sat inside a matte black SUV equipped with a roof-mounted robotic camera that rotates 360 degrees around the vehicle and moves from several feet above the roofline down to mere inches above the pavement. This made for some pretty amazing driving shots. Furthermore, as you’ll see from the image of the GTI below, the interiors of the vehicles were chock full of mini-HD cameras to capture the action from inside.
I also had a chance to interview the talent. One of the coolest components of the entire shoot was having Eric Norris as our stunt driver. Eric is traditionally a racecar driver and has competed in all types of motorsports throughout his life, which guaranteed us that these cars would be pushed to the limit. He was very excited to do the shoot and, after two days of shooting, he told us that the GTI was his favorite car to drive out of the three: “It’s light and agile, which was perfect for the different tracks we filmed on at the Willow Springs facilities.”
The first talent to shoot was J-Flo, the wickedly fast Beat Boxer. He got tossed around quite a bit in the Tornado Red 2012 GTI but said that he loved its looks. He added, “the stock rims look amazing, and I was really surprised by the power and handling on the short track. I just wish I hadn’t eaten lunch right before Eric raced me around.”
Our speed talker, Fran Capo, was very entertaining during her shoot. Eric drifted her left and right through turns as she blasted through the Gettysburg Address, and while she enjoyed filming in the GLI, she kept telling me, “I love the blue Golf R. It’s a stunning color. I mean, that GLI was fast, but, if I could take one [car] home, it would be the Golf R.”
John Taylor, speed guitarist, was thrilled to be there. “I can’t believe I’m getting paid to do this. I feel like a celebrity.” He admittedly wasn’t a car guy before he stepped foot in the GLI but was shocked by how Eric was able to maneuver the car.
My favorite filming sequence to watch was the speed Rubik’s Cuber, Anthony Brooks. I watched him practice solving the cube as he was waiting to shoot and it was remarkable. He told me, “I was really anxious to get out onto the track, and it ended up being a lot of fun. I’ve been doing these Rubik’s Cubes now for a few years and never thought it would take me here. I expected the [Golf R] to perform really well, but I was shocked by how nice the interior was.”
To watch the videos again and for more information on our Twitter giveaway of several props used in the shoot, visit our most recent post.
Motion sickness aside, which car would you want to ride in?