Much has been made of the performance of the classic car market over the last 12 months – some commentators believe it has even out-performed gold – but the reality is that values have been growing steadily since 1998. Hilton & Moss was founded on pure passion for the classic car and their mantra, ‘Achieving Perfection’ is what they strive to do. They have become the go-to company for anything related to restoration, service, sales, track days, and storage of the world’s most precious classic cars. 

For their new commercial they wanted a film that reflected their premium heritage and position at the top of this specialist market, with sleek black and white photography that captures the craft of their mechanics and the beauty of their classic cars, infused with a dynamic, modern cinematic energy.  

So it made total sense for the brand to approach Great Guns’ Calum Macdiarmid, a director known for his graphic beauty work and edgy, fashion-focused music videos such as Chloe Black’s ‘27 Club’ and his most recent promo ‘Siren Song’ for the band Three Laws, working here in conjunction with one of his regular DOPs, Ian Murray.

“During the shoot, the client brought out a few of their showroom cars including their recently restored, iconic, Mercedes 300 SL, valued at a cool £1.4M. Even hanging lamps above it was nerve-racking,” states Calum. “Racing it around these private roads had my producer, Tom, checking Great Guns’ insurance policy with some frequency!”  

“The shoot comprised of luxuriously controlled lighting set-ups juxtaposed with visceral, energetic moving shots.  I even gathered a couple of shots myself by hanging out of a car with my own personal camera (and Lomo anamorphic lens), held a couple of centimetres or so above the ground”.