If you haven't already, be sure to check out our brand new commercial for Oliver’s Travels, now up on all our socials. Since this was such an amazing experience to film, we’ve decided to summarize the shoot and our crew’s time in the beautiful town of Hyeres in the South of France.

How it started - 

The crew set off from sunny Salford on the 4th of June, and headed straight down to London Stansted where they were due to fly in the early hours of the next morning. After a catch up over dinner where Producer James Shannon, Director James Clancy, Production Assistant Sasha Belford and Content Creator Hannah Wardle met with their amazing, freelance crew. Everyone was super excited to set off and start making content!

The crew flew to Marseille, which was just a few hours from Stansted and were immediately met with GLORIOUS sunshine. After picking up the production van, equipment and driving to the small town of Hyeres, the team sat down and enjoyed a meal together at one of the beautiful villas provided by Oliver’s Travels.

The three days were spent filming in various locations. Including Villa Belvedere, Villa Dupont, Chateau Sainte Marguerite, Old Town Hyeres and Le Port D'Hyeres; where we had different activities planned for each day. It was a jam packed week full of wine tasting in vineyards, private boat rides, professional chef parties and of course exploring the stunning venues OT had to offer.  Whilst this may have looked like a holiday, it was absolutely crucial that we captured everything we had planned. With as little as three days to do so, sticking to schedule was massively important. 

Working with Oliver's Travels -

We have worked with Oliver’s Travels on various projects in the past and have a great working relationship witht them. We understand the brand and what they want to achieve. In that sense, it was an easy process working with such a small crew in an intimate setting for the three days that we were abroad. The team had a level of understanding with each other, and knew exactly how the finished product should look and feel. Smaller shoots like this are fantastic when our directors have a lot of creative freedom. Being able to converse over dinner and share ideas amongst a crew of seven means that everything is communicated thoroughly. It also makes for incredible collaboration when creatives and production are able to catch up regularly.

James Shannon now states that ‘France is one of my favourite places, it's got beautiful scenery, vineyards and the variety of luxury villas that Oliver’s travels have are out of this world. They are full of character and charm and we get to document this.’ Because of the location’s aesthetic and beauty, creating that authenticity and tone of excitement came naturally to the crew. It was easy to feel inspired by the location and this can be seen through the final commercial.

The Importance of Cast - 

One of the key aspects of this film was the cast. It was important to find a family that could relax completely and show that they were having a good time on camera. The family that we cast were a delight to work with. They completely understood the brief and getting that balance of them being used to being in front of the camera whilst also making what we shoot as authentic as possible, was a walk in the park for them. 

We were essentially documenting a real holiday so there was no real need for directing performance…we captured their raw and true emotions which made the experience of shooting this even more enjoyable. We built a great relationship with the family of five and the week-long shoot brought everyone together.

In order to achieve the best performance from our cast, we had to make sure they were feeling encouraged and well looked after. Filming for three days in such intensive heat can be exhausting for the crew, let alone the cast who have to use all of their energy in front of the camera. The production team made sure the children were taking regular breaks, staying hydrated and kept them entertained whilst the crew were busy. This was of huge importance because as soon as the energy dipped, it was recognised on camera. It was a huge team effort to make sure everyone was happy and the whole process was running smoothly. 

Crew and Kit - 

James Clancy, our once in house director who has now recently moved to freelance, made the project a real easy going and feel good experience. The production team at The Gate have worked with him over numerous years and that strong partnership between Producer, Director and Crew was massively appreciated on this shoot. Whilst we were still working long hours against a tight schedule, James ensured this was a stress-free working environment and went to great lengths to make sure the team were happy, hydrated and enjoying the full experience.

We used a whole range of different cameras which made the final product appear dynamic and impactful. Being able to experiment with various pieces of equipment, even handing some of them to the cast to play around with as well, really ensured we captured the authenticity our client wanted. We used a Cinema Camera, GoPros, Drones and an Insta 360, which was the most entertaining of all! When the footage was all cut together, it really helped us showcase what an Oliver's Travels holiday entails…it’s not just about the villa it’s everything else that OT offers. Whether it be a private chef, a personal yacht experience, a wine tasting and walk through a vineyard, using multiple cameras helped us get right into the action.

A Full On Week - 

Despite having nearly a full week in Hyeres, there was so much content throughout our stay. Every minute was necessary as we ended up delivering over 100 assets for the client. This will be used throughout the year so they will never be short of content to post. It is incredibly important for us to maximize our content as much as possible, capturing a variety of different styles/formats means that we can create media for a multitude of platforms, meaning we are reaching larger audiences from just the one, initial shoot. 

In summary, we had the A team on this so it made the experience an even more amazing shoot. From pre-production to post, we had a dedicated array of people who worked incredibly well together to deliver a commercial we are massively proud of.

If you would like to see some more work from our talented directors and photographers or talk to us about an upcoming production you have then get in touch.