The Traveling Picture Show Company and director Kevin Goetz recently completed a new campaign for Anheuser-Busch InBev brand Budweiser Select, titled “Crafty Reflections.” The dialog heavy, four-part campaign was shot with an Arri Alexa camera system to enhance the campaign’s “man and his beer” moment.
“Being approached with an opportunity to collaborate on a four-spot package was incredible,” EP John Noble said. “We knew director Kevin Goetz would be a perfect fit for the project with his aptitude for dialogue heavy spots. Kevin was coming fresh off the set of his new film Scenic Route, starring Josh Duhamel, so the timing was right. A large portion of Scenic Route is driven by intense dialogue between the two main players, so the concept of our hero guy’s verbose reflections about his Budweiser Select seemed to match Kevin’s sensibilities.”
“It wasn’t until filming my feature film Scenic Route that I first shot with the Arri Alexa,” said Goetz. “We had numerous night shoots with a small lighting package and I was so impressed with the Alexa’s ability to hold up grain structure in the dimmest of lighting setups. It was a good choice for the spots as we were going for a dark, moody bar situation – a place where a man can reflect.”
The campaign is set in a dark, classic brick bar. The camera focuses in on one actor as the voiceover sets the stage for the reflections on this well-crafted beer.
“The Alexa worked perfectly,” he added. “We had simple lighting setups due to the lack of space, but were able to achieve what we wanted. I feel like the Alexa shoots great skin-tones and equally as great color-rendition, especially in low-light situations. A huge bonus is the fact that the Alexa spits out pro-res files and makes life a lot easier in post.”
The spots were released individually, and launched online running through summer into early fall. The 30-second spots include: “Pour,” “Craftsman-Ship,” “Snowstorm” and “Subjective.”
