Brazil Production Services (BPS) prides itself in serving clients from many different nationalities who go to Brazil to film all kinds of film, TV and web projects; from the jungle to the beach, we are used to making productions happen in the most adverse of environments! At first sight, a metropolis like São Paulo can seem less daunting to our foreign clients who come to Brazil to film projects than more remote locations such as the Amazon. But experience has taught us that this concrete jungle also requires experienced guides to assist our international clients in their shoots. From chaotic traffic to specific permitting bureaus, navigating the ins and outs of São Paulo takes skill and knowledge that BPS has worked hard to acquire.
Earlier this year, BPS assisted the Swedish production company B-Reel Films in filming the São Paulo unit of their world-wide commercial shoot for the truck brand Scania. The commercial aimed to showcase some of the most important cosmopolitan hubs of the world and, right in the opening shot of the movie, we see that among these is the majestic urban centers of São Paulo. As is true of every big city in the world, filming in São Paulo requires juggling a myriad of moving parts, hiring the best local crews, liaising with government authorities and obtaining different kinds of permits and authorizations. And this is what we did on behalf of B-Reel to pull off a great shoot in São Paulo.
The creative brief that B-Reel brought required shooting at night through empty streets in urban areas of the city. Finding empty streets in São Paulo took some strategic scheduling and planning, since the city is well know for its traffic jams. The briefing also required that we hire a camera car for smooth “truck POV’ shots. In a city as modern and as well equipped as São Paulo, it was no problem for BPS to pull this off to achieve all of the moving shots required by our client.
One of the most important shots of the film was the drive-by at the Octavio Frias de Oliveira bridge (also known as the Suspended Bridge, or in Portuguese Ponte Estaiada). In order to guarantee the shot exactly as the director needed it, BPS acted as a liaison with the São Paulo Film Commission and the city’s Traffic Engineering department to close down the bridge for the shoot. The operation was a success and rendered the opening shot of the commercial.
In addition to closing the bridge and getting a camera car, BPS also assisted our clients with hiring a local drone team that could fly an Alexa Mini with primes through the city. We also sourced other local equipment rentals as well as local crew hires, insurance, planning and managing the shooting schedule, finding and permitting locations, hiring security, and all other production elements. All in all, we are proud to say, that we obtained great results.
Check out below the results of our efforts, the two finished versions of the commercial campaign, one with São Paulo specific video, as well as the worldwide campaign film.
SÃO PAULO CAMPAIGN
WORLDWIDE CAMPAIGN