Here’s an interesting example of the cinematic aspirations of car promos via Bullitt, a “branded entertainment studio” founded earlier this year by the directors who brought you Captain America 2 and the Fast and Furious franchise.
For what is legitimately a “short film” promoting Lincoln, the studio tapped Diego Contreras, a freelancer and former art director who spent several years at CP+B Boulder and Anomaly before a stint at BBDO New York.
Here’s the spot, which is far more atmospheric than your average car ad:
The plot summary fills in a few of those empty spaces after the jump.
You got that the protagonist is blind, but there’s more:
“His wife has passed and his daughter has moved into the city to chase after her dream career, leading him to live an isolated life in his secluded Louisiana farm house. When, for his 70th birthday, his daughter plans a surprise journey to all the places that marked his childhood, he attempts to regain the hope and joy for life he once knew.”
The spot’s narration also comes from “a thank-you poem written by the father to his daughter,” an up-and-coming dancer who just happens to drive a Lincoln.
Unfortunately, the release doesn’t tell us anything about how Bullitt and Lincoln are promoting the work, which doesn’t appear on any of the client’s social channels. It does note that the studio aims to “break down the barriers that stand between an advertiser and their desired audience,” but we don’t know that this lovely short will be a model for auto campaigns moving forward — especially since it features the car in question for a couple of seconds at most.
Director: Diego Contreras
Cast: Lafair Hebert, Jessica Swopshire
Writer: Diego Contreras
Director Of Photography: Khalid Mohtaseb
Producer: Brendan Cochrane
Co-Producers: Diego Contreras, Khalid Mohtaseb
Production Designer: Joseph Sciacca
Location Manager: Julie Bordelon
Editor: Adam Rudd, Final Cut
Edit Assistant: Nicke Hupp
Edit Producer: Suzy Ramirez
Colorist: Diego Contreras
Sound Design & Mix: Defacto Sound
Original Score: Ryan Taubert
Gaffer / 2nd Unit DP: Daniel Stewart
1st AC: Jared Knecht
Steadycam Operator: Mike Wilson
Key Grip: Aaron “Otter” Moore
Prop Master: Madison Hatch
Art Assistant: Brooke Taylor
Aerial Photography: Aerial Imagery Works
Behind-the-scenes: David Gamboa
Key Grip: Aaron “Otter” Moore
Stylist: Saury Contreras-Armenta
Hair/Makeup: Diana Solano
Production Assistant: Robert Tarleton, Albert Dat Tim Johnson
Production Company: NYLAHD
Voiceover Writer: El Jefe
Voiceover Actor: William Bryan
Additional Cast: Michelle Jeanmard, Chubby Carrier, Jovan Williams, Gabriel Perrodin, Emmett Carson,
Patricia Hebert, Ora Hebert, Rachel Bruno, Melena Naumann, John Naumann
Tech Sponsors: Red Digital Cinema, Glyph Hard Drives