A car commercial lasts about 30 seconds on your TV screen. A car appears on screen, drives around, and at the end, the model name is shown along with a slogan. But have you ever wondered what goes in to making those 30 seconds look the way it does?
The production of this particular commercial featuring the new 2015 Nissan Murano took 120 people, seven days of shooting, and days of working with computer graphics and editing to get to a final product (which you can watch at the end of this post). It seems like a lot of work for 30 seconds, right?
This shoot follows the success of Nissan’s Winter Warriors commercial from last year. That commercial showed evil zombie-like snowmen being obliterated by a Nissan Rogue and this one shows a Murano avoiding danger on an icy bridge.
The stunts involved multiple cars and sometimes up to six stunt drivers had to hit their marks on cue at the same time. It’s a huge feat of co-ordination, and the drivers had to hit their marks over and over throughout the night.
The sheer scale of the commercial was also impressive. Nissan had blocked off a bridge in Toronto and nearly a quarter-mile of it was sprayed down to look icy. It also had plastic icicles hanging on the railings, and every single car in frame had fake snow sprayed on to it. A daunting amount of preparation went into this commercial.
The camera crew used a specially modified Mercedes-Benz ML SUV for the rolling shots. The SUV carried a giant light and a camera on a giant robotic arm. This allowed the crew to get low-angle shots of the Murano at speed.
The icy bridge Murano commercial aired just yesterday and you’ve likely already seen it. I know that I’ll see car commercials completely differently now that I know what goes into making them!
Watch the finished commercial below:
