No Holds Barred in New Mercedes Benz G-Class Film by AKKURAT Studios
data-src=https://creativecow.net/wp-content/uploads/avatars/263018/5fa08c562aaf4-bpthumb.jpg data-srcset=https://creativecow.net/wp-content/uploads/avatars/263018/5fa08c561c0e7-bpfull.jpg 2x class=lazyload avatar avatar-80 photo height=80 width=80 />
Brie Clayton March 4, 2021
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Ballerina is the latest film created by Antoni Garage and directed by Francisco Sendino for the luxury automaker's iconic SUV model.
In Mercedes Benz's latest spot, directed by AKKURAT Studios' Francisco Sendino for Antoni Garage, the film opens treating viewers to a beautiful ballet performance. It's not long before the dance transitions and takes everyone on an exciting, wild ride. It's all part of the campaign's story in paying homage to the luxury brand's G-Class off-roader and its most iconic interior feature that's been adorning the vehicle for 42 years - the grab handle bar. Starring professional ballerina Lia Kemendi, the humorous new 40 second film proves that the slogan Nothing holds like the G-Class really does in fact, hold true.
data-src=https://gcs.creativecow.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/04155928/Ballerina2_1200-1024x681.jpg alt= class=lazyload wp-image-2405215 data-srcset=https://gcs.creativecow.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/04155928/Ballerina2_1200-1024x681.jpg 1024w, https://gcs.creativecow.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/04155928/Ballerina2_1200-300x200.jpg 300w, https://gcs.creativecow.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/04155928/Ballerina2_1200-768x511.jpg 768w, https://gcs.creativecow.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/04155928/Ballerina2_1200-624x415.jpg 624w, https://gcs.creativecow.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/04155928/Ballerina2_1200.jpg 1200w data-sizes=(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px />Award-winning director Francisco Sendino seamlessly juxtaposes elegant and graceful dance frames with a powerful and thrilling off-road experience. The idea was for the film to be a comedic analogy between two handle bars. As the ballerina trains in her studio, her forceful interaction - first with the breaking of her ballet barre and then with the gripping of the handle bar in the car - demonstrates the Mercedes Benz G-Class feature's indestructibility compared to the endurance of a normal object. The ballet barre handrail shifts to that of the automobile's grab handle bar - its co-driver clinging on as the SUV soars over sandy, bumpy, dirt hill terrain. It's a playful contrast between two dynamic dexterities: dancing and driving.
The breaking and crumbling of the ballet bar you see in the commercial is real, explains AKKURAT Studios' director Francisco Sendino. Together with my production designer and an SFX team, we meticulously designed the object and tested its breaking ability multiple times to set the right explosive power when our ballerina Lia Kemendi tears it out. We only had two tries available to rip that bar off the wall. During the first try, it only came off halfway. The second and last try is the one you can see in the film. There was quite some pressure on our dancer, but she was extremely confident and teared it out like a pro.
data-src=https://gcs.creativecow.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/04155945/ballerina3_1200-1024x681.jpg alt= class=lazyload wp-image-2405216 data-srcset=https://gcs.creativecow.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/04155945/ballerina3_1200-1024x681.jpg 1024w, https://gcs.creativecow.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/04155945/ballerina3_1200-300x200.jpg 300w, https://gcs.creativecow.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/04155945/ballerina3_1200-768x511.jpg 768w, https://gcs.creativecow.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/04155945/ballerina3_1200-624x415.jpg 624w, https://gcs.creativecow.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/04155945/ballerina3_1200.jpg 1200w data-sizes=(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px />Shot in Germany, the film utilized two locations. The renowned K nig Galerie in Berlin served as the dancer's studio. A dirt quarry located two hours from the German capital provided the perfect backdrop for the G-Class driver's off-road adventure.
Says Sendino of selecting the film's locations, I already had a space in mind when creating the treatment for this film, and that was the K nig Galerie. It's one of the city's most iconic spots and is a former brutalist church that's been converted into a contemporary art space. We got really lucky in being able to shoot inside it. I wanted the ballet scene of the film to take place inside an abstract location with full focus on the ballerina and the breaking of the barre, so I created the ballet barre cube you see in the spot. I didn't want to go for that more fancy, typical Black Swan -like ballet studio with mirrors and barres. The aim was for contemporary and clean. The dance style also needed to reflect a mix between classical ballet and modern dance, very impulsive and of-the-moment. It had to fit just right with the brutalist modern architecture and let our ballerina appear even stronger.
data-src=https://gcs.creativecow.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/04155955/ballerina4_1200-1024x681.jpg alt= class=lazyload wp-image-2405217 data-srcset=https://gcs.creativecow.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/04155955/ballerina4_1200-1024x681.jpg 1024w, https://gcs.creativecow.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/04155955/ballerina4_1200-300x200.jpg 300w, https://gcs.creativecow.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/04155955/ballerina4_1200-768x511.jpg 768w, https://gcs.creativecow.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/04155955/ballerina4_1200-624x415.jpg 624w, https://gcs.creativecow.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/04155955/ballerina4_1200.jpg 1200w data-sizes=(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px /> We shot most of the dynamic dance parts with a steady cam, shares Sendino. For my DP and me, it just ma
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No Holds Barred in New Mercedes Benz G-Class Film by AKKURAT Studios 
