How OTO Film and ORKA Delivered for Biedronka
The advice to not work with animals or children on set is repeated often and yet sometimes the situation absolutely calls for it like in the series of spots for Polish supermarket chain, Biedronka. The spots were produced by OTO Film, with post production by ORKA - both are part of the OTO Family. In the films, a group of children plays basketball, rides scooters, and goes climbing indoors while powered by ‘Gang Mocniaków’ - animated nutritious products that aim to help children and parents select the right food when they shop.
The relationship between Biedronka, OTO Film, and ORKA is a long-standing one, says OTO Film’s senior producer Agnieszka Zając, which means that the client trusts OTO to first deliver on the production and then ORKA on the finishing elements. For the three spots, all made last year, Agnieszka ensured that everyone on the production had previous experience of working with children, especially the director and their assistant. An entertainer was invited to the set to engage the children in play while they prepared to shoot.
Today, we spoke to Agnieszka about how the crew prepared for the productions, why working together with ORKA on post production makes the end result better, and why dealing with surprises is part and parcel of the job.
LBB> What was the brief from the brand and agency and how did you work with them to bring their ideas to life?
Agnieszka> The Biedronka supermarket chain is one of the most popular stores in Poland. The brand’s goal is to attract as many customers as possible - through low prices, good quality and promotions. Both the client and the agency take great care to surprise the market, to respond to competition, and to stand out in the advertising world. Implementing the agency's ideas is a challenge - time, cost, flexibility. If you accept these three factors, you will understand the style of work we do for Biedronka. This makes us a very good partner in providing ideas.
LBB> How did you scout the best location for each commercial, ensuring that the three look cohesive together and tie in with the brand colours?
Agnieszka> In the search for locations we are always guided by the script of the film, keeping in mind that the target of Biedronka is the middle class consumer. We work with several location scouting companies. We share the findings with the set designer and the director who ultimately choose. During PPM we show the objects to the client. The locations, before the production, are transformed to suit the brief - we use brand colours to quickly create associations between the film and the brand.
LBB> What was the casting process like?
Agnieszka> We usually work with one casting director who knows the client very well and he makes sure that the cast does not repeat itself. The casting brief is usually prepared by the director and a selection is presented to the client, alongside back up actors.
LBB> How did you approach working with the children? Did you have any particular methods to get the best performances from them - especially when they’re carrying out stunts and acting against characters they can’t see?
Agnieszka> Working with children is always difficult. When there are scripts with children as protagonists, we carefully select a director who has experience in working with children. Another person who makes working with children on set more efficient is a suitable director's assistant - who also specialises in working with children. We are all more patient on the set, we provide all kinds of delicacies and surprises for the little actors - to keep them in a good mood. We often employ an entertainer who plays with children while they prepare for the shoot.
In the summer, we shot a very large ‘Loyalty’ campaign - three films with three children who had to act without seeing the mascots. For the shooting we made grey mascots that were similar in size to the originals. The mascots were post-produced in 3D... so these real grey mascots, in a sense, replaced the future animated ones on the set. This helped children create the right reactions. In this particular case, we were looking for very athletic and brave children.
LBB> How did OTO Film and ORKA work to integrate the Gang Mocniaków - as well as the other VFX elements - seamlessly into the live action?
Agnieszka> ORKA is a post production house with which we cooperate on a permanent basis. We know each other very well. We have extensive experience and hundreds of joint plans. Before the shooting, we meet several times with the director and ORKA and we determine, shot by shot, what the scope of post production work is. You could say that it is difficult for us to be surprised - we are always 100% prepared. Years of work and an experienced team are the key to success.
LBB> You mention the use of 360 camera rigs - how were they used? And did you utilise any other specialist equipment?
Agnieszka> We are using that kind of equipment to show the viewer the full panorama view which is necessary to achieve the right emotions and to fully describe the space.
LBB> How did you achieve the shots of the boys flying on the scooter and jumping up to the basketball hoop?
Agnieszka> Both scenes were fully secured by the stunt crew. Boys were equipped with a special harness that was covered by costumes, connected with metal links to the crane above. At the second end of metal links, three members of the stunt crew were fully controlling the level of flight of the main hero. In post production, metal links were removed.
LBB> How did OTO Film and ORKA work together as sister companies on this campaign, and how did the process benefit from it?
Agnieszka> We have a developed cooperation system that’s been honed over many years of working together and we can rely on each other - the proof of how well we work together are the returning clients.
LBB> How does this campaign reflect the ways in which OTO Film and ORKA hope to collaborate in future?
Agnieszka> Together we are able to approach very difficult tenders and, consequently, production. The future is very promising!
LBB> How are OTO Film and ORKA set up to facilitate seamless collaboration between the two?
Agnieszka> The long term cooperation between ORKA and OTO means that everyone knows what to do, each party participates in the work at every stage of production. We are a holding company - we are connected by joint meetings, the flow of information is much better than it would be with external companies.
LBB> Did you take away any useful learnings from the experience?
Agnieszka> The work of a producer is a series of extraordinary adventures, gathering enormous experience, and anticipating situations. The number of films produced certainly has a positive impact on the next production. The production of ‘Loyalty’ was certainly a challenge. Shooting in Poland in the summer is very risky - because the weather plays tricks on us. Therefore, in addition to looking for outdoor locations, we were forced by the weather to move one of the films indoors within a few days, within the same budget. The production was combined with a lot of post production.
LBB> Did you face any interesting challenges? How did you overcome them?
Agnieszka> Every production is an interesting challenge. Despite years of experience and hundreds of plans, each production is different. We always face challenges. During the production of films for Biedronka, I encountered a lot of surprising situations that we had to deal with - but as we know, this is part of our profession.
For example: a few years ago, we produced a spot for the European Football Championships, which took place in Poland. Biedronka was one of the sponsors. The main and only hero was Kuba Blaszczykowski - captain of the Polish football team, a great football player. The shots were simple - the pitch and Kuba - but the film started with Kuba as a six year old child. We spent two or three weeks looking for little boys playing football who looked similar to Kuba and it was a challenge! Finally, after two weeks we had a young hero who was almost identical. Working in production is very interesting and very hard. We learn something new every day and that's why we like what we do.
