BASE Jumping For Pirelli's Annual TV Commercial - Behind The Scenes

Pirelli, known on this site mostly for their (NSFW) Calendar Photoshoots, also creates their TV spots with a high-level approach. Literally, this behind the scenes video shows the setup and production needed to capture skiers BASE jumping off of a huge cliff. How do Pirelli tires fit in? Check out the final cut of the completed video and you'll see how it all comes together. Spoiler Alert: They throw a car off of the cliff too!

RSA Films completed this commercial, and collaborated with Camp 4 Collective for their help since they specialize in high-altitude and action sport productions. Camp4 wrote a blog post where Jimmy Chin and Matt Irving explain the setup and execution of the project in such a remote area, using RED cameras, GoPros, and a 5D as well.

Below is an excerpt from the Camp4 blog:

We brought a stack of gear including a RED Epic, a RED Scarlett, and a lens kit that would have made Ridley Scott proud. We also brought in 5d’s and s stack of Go Pros. As per request of the creative concept, the Go Pro footage was actually supposed to be some of the key camera angles on the shoot. We were supposed to have a heli and Cineflex kit for 6 days to do all the primary shooting from the air. We also needed the heli for scouting, dropping off talent at exit points and production teams at shoot locations up on the walls. As it turns out, the heli never showed. The main point regarding equipment and cameras is that we were supposed to have everything from a Cineflex set up to Go Pros and everything in between. We planned to use footage from every piece of equipment. We ended up using mainly RED Epic footage, Go Pro footage and Canon 5d footage.

[Via Camp 4 Collective Blog]

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Mike Wilkinson is an award-winning video director with his company Wilkinson Visual, currently based out of Lexington, Kentucky. Mike has been working in production for over 10 years as a shooter, editor, and producer. His passion lies in outdoor adventures, documentary filmmaking, photography, and locally-sourced food and beer.

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