Uber Eats gifts you four minutes of horror…and US$1m in discount codes this Halloween. (Sadly, you have to be in the US to redeem them.)
The creepy Uber Eats campaign like no other features actress, Keke Palmer, and was directed by Great Guns USA’s, Dan Trachtenberg, a known talent in the genre, having directed such Hollywood thrillers as 10 Cloverfield Lane and Prey.
The story by agency, Kamp Grizzly, takes place on Halloween night, when a trio of friends comes to the dreadful realisation that they’re running low on candy. Keke Palmer’s character explains how one family vanished on Halloween after the same thing happened to them, as she rushes to order more on Uber Eats – but at that moment, the electricity goes out. What ensues is classic horror as the friends nervously split up, each pursued by a malevolent masked figure in the shadows that will teach them never to run out of candy again.
Trachtenberg’s first challenge was to condense suspenseful horror, by definition requiring build up over time, into a mere few minutes. He conquered this by blending quick, shocking moments of action with slow, tension-building scenes, helped by David Trachtenberg’s economical editing. Drawing from his previous experience working on a range of thrillers, Dan also used shot construction and sequence design to deliver jolts or build tension in classic horror ways, mathematically crafting a campaign fit for the genre.
One scene which required particular creative problem solving was when the pumpkin-masked menace smashes in Tyler Ritter’s (‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D’) face. Dan’s vision was for it to cause a gush of what initially looks like blood, until it nears Tyler’s glasses on the ground and comes into focus, revealing it to be red candy. On location, the crew realised that it would be physically impossible to craft the shot due to the camera’s position and its distance from the glasses. Director of photography, Jeff Cutter, and production designer, Noel McCarthy found a way, constructing faux flooring as a ramp to place the glasses in shallow focus, using the old school movie magic technique of forced perspective to save the shot.
Dan Trachtenberg commented, “I had so much fun crafting this creative campaign, filled with inspiration from other horror movies (see how many references you can spot). In particular, I’d like to thank our editor, David Trachtenberg, for his deft economic storytelling and knowledge of genre convention, as well as the award-winning special effects, makeup, and design maestro Alec Gillis (whom I had just worked with on Prey) for his creation of those genuinely chilling masks.”
Oliver Fuselier, managing director and executive producer at Great Guns USA, added, “When I was contacted by the agency producer, I knew from the get-go that Dan was the guy. This was one of those projects that was so exciting due to the story element, yet so scary due to the timeline; but, when you have a great story, a great director and production team, alongside an amazing agency team and client, it all works out in the end. We are very proud to have been a part of this project.”
Credits
Production Company: Great Guns USA
Managing Director & Executive Producer: Oliver Fuselier
Freelance Executive Producer: Adam Bloom
Head of Production: Becca Radin
Executive Assistant: Kelsy Haden
Director: Dan Trachtenberg
Line Producer: Lawrence Lewis
Production Supervisor: Lisa Houle
Assistant Production Supervisor; Adrienne Durazo
1st AD: Jason Lombardo
DoP: Jeff Cutter
1st AC Bryant Marcontel
Gaffer: Dave “Blue” Thompson
Key Grip: Rick Stribling
Agency: Kamp Grizzly
Chief Creative Officer: Dan Portrait
Executive Creative Director: Yogi Hakim
Creative Director: Simon Armour
Senior Creatives: Tim Semple, Nicole Blauw
Associate Creative Director: Luke Yablonsky
Copywriter: Logan Corcoran
Designer: Judd Ortiz
Head of Strategy: Tai Foster
Director of Creative Ops: Jamie Boyda
Head of Account Management: Peter Christenberry
Account Director: Kevin Fuller
Project Manager: Kat Olsen
Head of Production: Jade Clark
Executive Producer: Guy Fiorita
Producer: Persis Koch
Associate Producer: Andy Moond
Talent Manager: Mir Harris
Post Producer: Laura Ocean
Production Designer: Noel McCarthy
Editorial House: The Little Farm
Editor: David Trachtenberg
VFX: The Artery
Sound Design & Music: JSM
Audio Post: Lime Studios
Colour, Final Mix & Finishing: Company 3
