Mark Toia for JEEP.

[Homer Dulu]

My friend outside of the Red ecosystem sent a link of this video to me. He didn't even know it was shot on a Red, nor did he care. It's being shared around on FB too.

Freaking amazing. Mind. Blown.

It also makes me so excited to know that this is what what my camera - the one in my hand - is truly capable of.

 

[Corey Robson]

Such powerful images Mark! Stunning. That must have been an incredible experience.

 

[Eric Lange]

A RED!!!!

Just throwing this out there... It seems there is a few of us "industry professionals" who are maybe not seeing this for what it is.
A great example of cinematography and imaging. There is are some political and social views attached to the comments here that I feel could be better served in a different forum.
This was shot to look great and to feature a product in a colorful and exotic environment that would make you take a second look. Not as any social statement on who in the images could or would like to buy or afford the product or what it represents in other contexts...

Come on lets take it for what it is. A great example of production and imagery work. Nice job Mark..

End rant.

Too much coffee and Ritalin this morning... (@me) lol

I think it's a point worth mentioning in terms of visual communication and commercial work. In general especially in the fields of documentary film making and documentary stills/photography of human subjects we always have to be painfully aware of not being exploitative of our subjects or subject matter. I can't stress that fully enough... It IS a sore or touchy subject as historically there are a few very well known photographers that have crossed that line and made their careers that way.

In the case of the Mark Toia commercial work on first viewing my read was that this footage is primarily being used to sell to the Indian market; not the USA or Europe or anything else.


From the earlier above cited article...

Quote : "The all-new Jeep Compass will be locally manufactured at FCA's Ranjangaon facility near Pune and will be rolling out in India in 2017. More details on the newest compact SUV are yet to arrive and auto giant will be revealing additional images and information about the vehicle at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November this year, where it makes its North American debut.".

As to "Who" is in the imagery that's also a kind of a patronizing assumption too. For all you know that for example the boy with the turban on with the pigments mashed in may actually attend the "Dune school" i.e. the most expensive and privileged schools in India (usually where politicians send their kids to school, maybe the "kid" is also a whiz at physics and math or something). Or the Woman at the beginning, for all you know she is the local mayor of a large province and has been practicing neurology for 40 years... ) So on and so forth. In my experience when a "film Crew' comes to town all kinds of local "Important" people get in on the act... YKWIM?

The JEEP piece is not a documentary it is 100% commercial work. Sometimes even in the film industry from time to time folks have to remind themselves that IT IS NOT REAL (LOL)... It is make believe... Ever since the earliest days of cinematography and commercial work.

The point being one has to extend the professional courtesy to Mark Toia that everything is conducted in good faith (unless stated other wise by those that actually know).



Personally I don't think it is doing Mr Toia any real justice here to split imagery from theme, as he is in essence a visual communicator through dynamic imagery. He IS telling a visual story by the compositions and arrangements he makes. Assuming I have the right end of the stick I think Mark Toia "Nailed it" AS a visual communicator. I think sometimes we forget that there is more to this than taking "Pictures" there has to be an over-arching narrative that holds up thematically and compositionally as well as technically... So I'm not seeing a split between "Job Done" and excellent work and amazing tools vs. subject matter? Remember if you are doing commercial work there is a very specific objective here that HAS TO BE MET, other wise you are not employable (cough cough).


Anyway I'm super happy that Mark is getting some exposure and super happy/eye opener on the 8K weapon. And hey you know what I hope Jeep India sell the sh*t out of those things and the new plant in Ranjangaon is a terrific success!

That's my (too much coffee and Ritalin rant over with lol)... Better do some real work before I get into too much trouble.

 

[Zeb B]

@Eric for a guy who says repeatedly we should not make assumptions . . . you make a wide variety of them yourself in defending a guy who needs no defense and certainly not yours.

Seems a bit of populist grandstanding to rant on about how we should all think and react when art is presented for comment. Are we supposed to just praise the camera, bit depth and DP with no other thoughts in our heads? I don't feel that RU would be best served with any more group think than there currently is. Dissent, insight and contextual discussion makes a website 'sticky' and engaging - not just predictable, safe position fanboyism. Monoculture is uninteresting and lacks intellectual depth.

@Russ ditto

 

[Björn Benckert]

I think we need to be more careful what message we put out. How is a Jeep- a brand derived from the killing machines used by the military industrial complex, connected with -I'm no expert on cultures- one of the most peaceful culture, religion, philosophy as we know it. It makes very little sense and I see absolutely no connection.
As for the visuals, stunning-definitely Marks hand in it...

It's a jeep, it drives trough typical Indian imagery, Jeep are coming to India to set up shop... You see absolutely no connection?

And yes, just possibly they want to market them selfs not only as killing machines but also a little bit like a quality car brand that brings something positive to the region. Advanced Industry, employment and economic growth. In india I think such values fly quite high. As they are very progressive economically, much more so than Europe and other parts of the world. The are eager to get the big factories to their towns where as in Europe we try to shut them down. So as I see it they play on some very valid strings in this commercial. But thats marketing, possibly not too much of interest in a camera forum.

 

[Eric Lange]

It's a jeep, it drives trough typical Indian imagery, Jeep are coming to India to set up shop... You see absolutely no connection?

And yes, just possibly they want to market them selfs not only as killing machines but also a little bit like a quality car brand that brings something positive to the region. Advanced Industry, employment and economic growth. In india I think such values fly quite high. As they are very progressive economically, much more so than Europe and other parts of the world. The are eager to get the big factories to their towns where as in Europe we try to shut them down. So as I see it they play on some very valid strings in this commercial. But thats marketing, possibly not too much of interest in a camera forum.

+1 absolutely...

India has had in the past a very strict policy of controlling or stopping foreign investment all together (for several decades now). So it is indeed a very careful and subtle campaign that is required to promote the idea of foreign partnerships on this scale... It is thorny and difficult and controversial subject in India. So the "Message" that is visually communicated is that this is an auspicious happening for India and Jeep... (In a good way).

But in any case I could watch Mark's Jeep piece again and again and again yearning to see more. Very nice. And to see more 8k footage in general.

 

[Jacek Zakowicz]

It's a jeep, it drives trough typical Indian imagery, Jeep are coming to India to set up shop... You see absolutely no connection?

And yes, just possibly they want to market them selfs not only as killing machines but also a little bit like a quality car brand that brings something positive to the region. Advanced Industry, employment and economic growth. In india I think such values fly quite high. As they are very progressive economically, much more so than Europe and other parts of the world. The are eager to get the big factories to their towns where as in Europe we try to shut them down. So as I see it they play on some very valid strings in this commercial. But thats marketing, possibly not too much of interest in a camera forum.

I'm glad it appeals to you Bjorn.

 

[Zeb B]

LOL you guys crack me up . . . "don't discuss topics other than camera gear on RU" . . . but . . . 'let me tell you how every Indian person thinks about the amazing marvel called Western Industrial Development'. If you don't want to discuss things other than gear and image quality . . . then maybe stop with the greenhouse grown Western POV ;-)

"They are eager to get the big factories to their towns"
"I'm sure there are more than a handful literal Gurus that would think a Jeep is pretty awesome but might actually prefer a Mercedes or a BMW"

India is a country of 1.3 Billion (4X USA) people and is considered to be the most diverse spiritually, politically and culturally place on the planet. To even suggest that there is any kind of consensus of Indians lusting after all things Western is laughable. Many there have moved way beyond the adolescent human condition called materialism . . . like literally 2000 years ago.

To the OP: Mark is the man, a huge asset to RED and would be the guy any Director should trust to get the high risk shot when it counted the most

 

[Björn Benckert]

I'm glad it appeals to you Bjorn.

What appeals to me was not what I tried to explain. More that I think they hit their target. But India is a different market then what we got here when it comes to advertising and commercials, I only worked on a few but learned enough to realize that it is approached very differently and often hard for us Europeans to understand. So yes, I might be completely wrong, maybe they hate it and find it offensive. But gut feel tells me different.

 

[Jacek Zakowicz]

What appeals to me was not what I tried to explain. More that I think they hit their target. But India is a different market then what we got here when it comes to advertising and commercials, I only worked on a few but learned enough to realize that it is approached very differently and often hard for us Europeans to understand. So yes, I might be completely wrong, maybe they hate it and find it offensive. But gut feel tells me different.

I rest my case:
Let me quote myself
"we need to be careful about the message we put out"
What appeals to a Viking may not appeal to a Hindu monk (portrayed in that commercial)

 

[Eric Lange]

https://www.facebook.com/JeepIndia

68K likes,

8000 shares since October 1, (of the video).

900+ comments... *

When a campaign achieves it's desired goals, (especially in advertising where some of the most usefully creative people on the planet work), that is super awesome.

RED also has a significant presence in India too... No? So that kinda looks like a win win to me (Sorry to be all commercial an'all and overly on-message lol ).

I'll bug out...

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

*.. And not of all of those comments sound like they are from "Click-farm" in Mumbai either.... ;-) As a matter of fact a lot of those comments (on the JeepIndia FB page) sound very similar (in tone and expectation) as RedUsers comments and posts when waiting for their new gear/kit.

 

[Dr. Sassi]

I love it. There is that feeling that the images always hit the mark (no pun intended) to what could bring home the most intense experience in that very second. Unleashed. A humbling and motivational experience on my side at the same moment.
@Mark, I have asked years before, but again: it would be wonderful to have a hands-on weekend with you. If you ever do one or any kind of class, please reserve a seat for me!

 

[Nikhil Kamkolkar]

Awesome imagery! Listen, IRL, this won't look as gorgeous. I'm from India, and yeah, the beauty is definitely in the EYE of the beholder. If you can't see it, you can't capture it. So kudos to Mark for seeing it and capturing it.

Also, this made me miss my old Jeep Wrangler (FB cover photo) so bad!

 

[Alain M]

Amazing....

 

[Stefan Antonescu]

I think this thread should mainly be about celebrating a very talented and humble person. Constructive criticism and discussions are always welcome but lets not forget that this is a camera forum...

Mark is a huge inspiration and I rise my glass to him.

 

[Björn Benckert]

I rest my case:
Let me quote myself
"we need to be careful about the message we put out"
What appeals to a Viking may not appeal to a Hindu monk (portrayed in that commercial)

We are a bit derailed here, as its a camera forum and the topic of the films are a bit of topic.

But, I can only guess they are not trying to sell an expansive SUV car to hindu munks. And if you mean hindu munks would be offended / feeling used to be pictured in the film, then Jeep will get to hear about it, but normally they do quite a bit of research and tests before and after they make a film like this and take precautions. And to me this is a film that shows the glory of india in more than a very respectful way. But again maybe this is like painting ugly Pictures of Mohammed I would not know. I leave that to those that do know.

And I just mean that I think / guess the target is something like the "suit, tie and family success" kind of guys in india and the focus from the creatives was to play on those guys pride that they have for their heritage. And yes, that I think Toia and the creative team has done in a nice way.

 

[Scot Yount]

Mesmerizing piece Mark!

Have a few questions for you.

1. What was the budget (if you can share)?

2. What was the post workflow? Did you edit this? If so what NLE? R3Ds or proxies? You mention you did the finishing on a laptop on plane. Did you finish in Resolve or NLE? I assume you are using new color spaces?

3. what is your typical crew size for this kind of project?

4. would love to know any info you can provide about lenses and lighting. I assume a lot of modifiers were used.

A lot of questions and I know you are super busy right now with the feature, so whatever you are able to answer I'll be grateful.

Great job as usual! I'm sure we'll be hearing about your feature soon. You are destined to be doing movies.

Did Mark Toia ever weigh in on any of this...would love to hear the answers to these questions!

 

[Brent G Miller Jr]

Absolutely speechless. I got choked up.

 

[Tom Hamilton]

Agree with both Zeb and Philip on this.

I fall in this camp too. Stunning imagery, Mark's talents on full display, india is a cinematographer's dream. But the presence of a soccer-mom SUV popping up here and there (albeit in a quiet and unassuming way) was a little jarring, interrupted the magical flow as it were.

I've often thought about the associative propensity in marketing to co-opt huge things for mundane purposes, would I use Humpback Whale song to sell washing machines?

 

[Kevin D'Haeze]

I've often thought about the associative propensity in marketing to co-opt huge things for mundane purposes, would I use Humpback Whale song to sell washing machines?

Well, sure... the krill would be like all of the dirt particles, and the whale is sweeping them all up... keeping that ocean squeaky clean!
j/k... I understand your point. I think much of it relates to how memorable the images are to the viewers.