Shake from abbotkinney2 on Vimeo.

Director Marc Wilkins, repped by Bicoastal Rabbit in the U.S., captures a slice of Kiev nightlife frozen in time in the sultry and atmospheric new 2:20 “Shake,” for the Ukrainian alcoholic beverage of the same name, produced direct-to-client by Radioaktive Films, Kiev. “Shake” brings the same ‘time-slice’ film technique used in the now-famed Philips “Carousel” to a debaucherous night out on the town.

Click HERE to see an early off-line edit of “Shake,” revealing some of the technique behind the spot.

Says Wilkins, “In Adam Berg’s Philips ‘Carousel,’ I finally saw a ‘frozen story’ told in a filmic way without being stiff and clumsy. The solution is actually a ‘fake time-slice,’ where people pretend to freeze—standing still on set—and the camera moves through frozen time. As a fan of unusual storytelling, I was excited to experiment with this approach myself.”

The spot consists of a single shot, opening on a statuesque model frozen in a pose on a city street. As the camera pulls back, we see the scene around her: a crowd of club-goers and a doorman opening the velvet ropes for her, all frozen completely still. The camera continues to move inside the nightclub as techno music throbs, passing more motionless beautiful people, picking up the same model again later on in the evening, locked in mid-stride away from the bar carrying a bottle of Shake.

Continuing to move through the club, where drinks are frozen mid-pour and revelers’ hair is suspended mid-dance, the camera picks up the model again. On the dance floor, we see a well-dressed, handsome man in the midst of reaching out to her. The camera continues to push past her, once again maneuvering through the clubscape of statue-like partiers. The camera’s serpentine movement through the club continues to pick up the model and her new boyfriend at intervals throughout the night: taking over the DJ booth, spraying champagne and, finally, locked in a steamy embrace. The two minute-plus camera move continues across the floor before picking up the couple one last time—this time, she is frozen in mid-motion again as she leads the handsome stranger by the hand towards the exit, where the dawning sunlight pours through the open door. In her boyfriend’s hand are two bottles of Shake.

Continues Wilkins, “We put a strong emphasis on casting. We were looking for actors who were very skilled in freezing their movement and facial expressions, which was surprisingly difficult to find.”

To create the seamless camera move, Wilkins used six different steadicam shots, shooting at 50fps with the Arri Alexa. “Shooting at 50fps helped the actors maintain their frozen pose, but also forced us to move the steadicam even faster. In post, we didn’t have the time or budget for a lot of VFX, so we had to do as much as possible in-camera. This adds a level of realism that I’m really proud of,” says Wilkins.

“Shake” is currently airing in the Ukraine only.

About Rabbit

Launched in 2009, Rabbit is a bi-coastal production company representing a diverse and unique roster of directors, producers, designers, VFX artists and brand experience builders.

We handle all aspects of production, from preproduction through delivery – across platforms, disciplines, technologies and genres – and have developed a creative ecosystem that allows us to draw upon top global talent to fit the needs of any project.

At Rabbit, the only constant is our commitment to learn, collaborate, and celebrate the power of creative thinking.

Credits:
Client: SHAKE Cocktails
Title: “Shake” 2:20
Airdate: Currently airing in the Ukraine
Shoot Location: Kiev, Ukraine
Production Company: Radioaktive Films, Kiev, Ukraine
Executive Producers: Darko Skulsky, Roman Kindrachuk
Line-Producer: Lera Filshina
Director: Marc Raymond Wilkins
Cinematography: Pascal Walder
Creative Director: Alexander Strizhelchik
Production-Design: Piotr Wyrzykowski
Styling: Dasha Filshina, Sveta Petrova
Edit: Sam Puglise-Kipley, The Whitehouse + Yuri Reznichenko
Sound Design: Fabio Fonda
VFX: Chimney Pot, Kiev
Telecine: Fergus McCall, The Mill

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