Whilst most production companies were winding down for the holidays, we were gearing up for one of the biggest broadcast moments in the world.
Our Super Bowl campaign for Fidelity Canada landed with just over a month between award and shoot, Christmas sitting squarely in the middle of pre-production. Add four time zones into the mix (Manchester, New York, Toronto and Cape Town), and this was never going to be a straightforward run-up.
Being involved from the earliest creative stages of this project fostered a genuinely meaningful collaboration between agency and client. Ideas were shaped together, with an open exchange that allowed both sides to challenge, refine, and elevate the concept. This level of shared ownership made the process particularly rewarding, resulting in a campaign that reflects a unified vision rather than a singular perspective, and one we're truly proud of.
As Senior Producer Joshua Boswell puts it:
“The biggest logistical turnaround on this job was the timezones and turnaround time. We had just over a month between production sign-off and shoot and within that period we had Christmas too! We were working between four different time zones: Cape Town, Manchester, New York and Toronto, so there was small windows to get all the key people on to calls.”
With Director Charlie Mysak flying in from New York and a large crew on the ground in South Africa, alignment was everything. We partnered with Orange Films in Cape Town, embedding their team into key meetings early so there was total clarity on the brief and Charlie’s vision from day one.
“We were very lucky to work with our partners Orange Films in Cape Town. The team at Orange put together a great crew who were incorporated into the team and attended key meetings so that they had a really clear understanding of the brief and Charlie’s vision.”
On a job of this scale, clarity isn’t a luxury, it’s survival.
“When working on a job of this scale on this turnaround I find the key thing is to keep everyone pushing in the same direction. It only takes one misunderstanding to create a delay which the schedule doesn’t allow for. Really clear communication from top to bottom means that you can keep everyone focused.”
Once wheels hit the ground in Cape Town, the pace didn’t let up. The film spans 20 years of story, compressed into 2.3 shooting days. Eleven scenes. At least one major unit move per day. And, of course, a few “nice-to-haves” that somehow always make the cut.
Producer Liv Johnson:
“Each day started on around 4 - 6 hours of sleep, so LOTS of coffee from Plato was needed. Every day was jam-packed, with at least one major unit move each day, shooting 11 scenes - plus a few sneaky, extra ‘nice-to-have’ shots that Charlie wanted to get in - all spanning 20 years compressed into 2.3 days. Pinpointing the busiest moment feels impossible because it feels like a whirlwind now looking back. My hard work really goes into the pre-production, it’s all the prep so that the days run as smoothly as they can.”
And this was all happening at peak season.
“SO fun fact Cape Town basically shuts down from December 19th to early January. Our week leading up to the holidays was a little manic, long days, evening video calls, speedy approvals. There wasn’t much contingency time, every decision had to be fast, but it forced us to be creative with scheduling and planning, which ended up being a huge learning experience.”
There was no room for hesitation, just decisive production thinking and trust across departments.
“As the logistics were so enormous, it was actually surprisingly really nice to have all the key elements locked in three weeks before the shoot. It gave us a solid two weeks of quiet to finesse the details without the noise. Although I would never recommend shooting the first week in January, it’s like the feeling of shooting on a Monday morning after a busy weekend off x 100, but we did it!”
And when it came to the location itself, Cape Town proved exactly why it’s one of the world’s great production hubs.
“Cape Town was a production dream. The moment we saw the creative, it was a no-brainer really. The city offers amazing incentives for filming, reduced permit fees, traffic police support, and straightforward work permits for international crew. Plus the weather, with over 14 hours of daylight made scheduling scenes super flexible. Plus, the crew out there were exceptional. They were fast paced & incredibly skilled. Essential for a shoot as intense and precise as this one (shout out to Lance, the 1st AD, for keeping the military operation running smoothly!). No ask was too big, and everyone did it with a smile.”
Under Charlie’s direction, the craft stayed front and centre, cinematic, restrained and emotionally grounded. No excess. No noise. Just proper storytelling on the biggest stage going.
Four time zones. Christmas in the middle. Twenty years of story told in under three days. Calm heads and proper graft, just what GATE do best.
If you’re thinking about what we could make together next, we’d love to chat. Get in contact with us here.