In Romania lots of kids from poorer backgrounds wait days for a warm meal. 3 out of 10 kids in Romania live under the extreme poverty line, and access to a warm meal remains a luxury for a lot of them.
With this in mind we were contacted by Mantia Ad Agency (Mercury 360) for an unusual video production. The proposed project was meant to sensitize people that came to eat at a restaurant from northern Bucharest across the street from the issue. Once we got their attention, they were invited to support the fundraiser intiated by Up România and Fundația Inovații Sociale Regina Maria, to bring a change in the lives of these children from poorer backgrounds.
The shooting would happen like this: the filming crew was hidden behind some decoration elements. Clients that entered were sat at the table we were filming.
The mics were hidden under the table, and in the tissue box we put a pen spy cam!
The camera operators would wait until the clients sat down.
The job of the waiter – an actor, of course – was to let one of the clients know that his order would take 48 hours to be cooked and served. Everything was being filmed without the clients knowledge – allowing them diverse and natural reactions, revealing the true purpose of the story at the end.
5 cameras were used, 3 Sony Fx6, one of which was hidden in a car outside the restaurant, shooting through the window. Plus a Gopro and a spy camera which we mentioned. The table dialogues were being watched on screens and listened to from behind a partition, hoping that the people will agree to appear in the commercial. Everything went well, and this is the result:
Client: Fundatia inovatii sociale Regina Maria, UP
Creative agency: Mantia / Mercury 360, Liviu Turcanu, Madalina Gheorghe
Production house: Parcfilm
Director / Producer: Tudor Hristescu
DOP: Vlad Anitei
Camera: Vlad Cantoreanu
Sound: Stefan Munteanu
Postproduction Manager: Ilinca Nanoveanu
Editor: Andreea Udrea
Color grading: Alexandru Bokor
