This wasn’t the year for “epic” productions for reasons that are obvious. The Glenlivet went against the tide, however, with its commercial by Crispin Porter Bogusky London and Prettybird (Australian) director, Tom Noakes. Ironically, the commercial is called Against The Tide but that references not a year of restricted ad making but The Glenlivet’s shedding of Scotch’s past. The brand wanted to show people that it was part of a new way of drinking that had left whisky’s strict norms and rigid traditions behind.

Noakes took The Stable behind the scenes of the production that involved a 20-metre long, 5 metre-high hydraulic conveyer belt and a fearsome array of flying objects:

The Stable: This was your second film in Glenlivet’s Breaking Walls campaign. Did it help that you had a history with the brand, the campaign and its teams?

Tom Noakes: It was a pleasure to be invited back for the second instalment. This round felt much more relaxed and trusting than our introductory effort on breaking walls. We knew what was important for The Glenlivet, we were well acquainted with George Smith’s narrative and that enabled us to push the cinematic language we worked so hard to establish in Breaking Walls into a bolder, richer and stranger direction.

TS: What were the greatest challenges making the new film? How did you achieve the film’s visual effects?

TN: In Against the Tide, we decided to continue the in-camera approach we established in Breaking Walls. However, the logistics this time round were much more challenging. Instead of a character exploding through walls, we had to throw the walls at our character atop a treadmill. So this required us to build a giant treadmill, crafting weight conscious sets atop, and choreograph these insane stunts down to the inch and second. It was a great experience, though, and great to work with my production company Prettybird’s executive producers, Juliette Larthe and Ted Thornton, and producer Hannah Cooper.

TS:  What film/ad film styles are you drawn to in particular?

TN: I love visual metaphor, taking how something ‘feels’ to a character and broadcasting that feeling through some grand cinematic metaphor. That’s the unique power of cinema, in that when used correctly, it can artfully project the unspoken.

TS: What do you think are your three greatest ads and why?

TN: Arhhhh, I’m going to be very boring and throw a paw up for Glazer. Everyone points to Guinness Surfer but I actually love the Dreamers instalment in that series. His mysterious Channel 4 idents are sublime. I know he’s over-referenced, but their greatness is for the exact reason I quote above – he’s trying to convey difficult emotions and feeling states using metaphor. And something I love about Glazer and the creatives and brands he works with, is that they’re comfortable living in disorder. They don’t feel compelled to explain everything and make it all ‘neat’ and palatable for audiences, and that’s a very bold space to live in for advertising. 

On a tangent I love Miles Jay’s Malkovich spot for Squarespace. It’s such a concise, rich and moving character study executed in 90 seconds that you could almost think you’ve just watched a feature film.

TS: Tell me about your film, Nursery Rhymes?

TN: Nursery Rhymes is a short film I directed a few years ago that went on to enjoy a healthy festival run and some craft awards. It was written and plucked from the brilliant mind of long-time collaborator, Will Goodfellow, and produced under our filmmaking collective, Studio Goono, with help from my wonderful local reps, Scoundrel Films. It’s a single shot film about a shirtless metalhead kid singing Old McDonald had a Farm, on the side of a highway. You can watch it on Vimeo. 

TS: Your work is very international. What differences really stand out for you about production in the countries in which you have worked?  

TN: I’m not intentionally international, I just follow my nose with scripts and the kind of scripts I’m interested are rare to come by, so I have to chase them instead of them chasing me. I’ve worked quite extensively in Cape Town and Slovenia, and I’m floored by their resourcefulness and fearlessness in taking on these mammoth productions. Taming the impossible and turning into possible. Especially when you have a shithead director asking it to be “all in-camera”.

Credits:

Director: Tom Noakes 
Production Company: Prettybird UK
Executive Producers: Juliette Larthe & Ted Thornton
Producer: Hannah Cooper

Director of Photography: Steve Annis
1st AD: Jim Cole
Production Designer: Mikey Hollywood
VFX Supervisor: Guillaume Weiss

Service Production Company: Division Productions 
Executive Producer: Rok Bukovec
Line Producer: Urska Vardijan
Production Manager: Vlaho Krile 
Production Coordinator: Ursa Purkart
1st AC: Robert Remskar
Key Grip: Kristjan Pogacar
Gaffer: Jernej Prebil 
Art Director: Natasa Rogelj 
Styling: Monika Lorber 
Make-Up Artist: Alja Susnik 
Stunt Coordinator: Marko Knafelc 
Production Driver: Marko Tominec 

Agency: Crispin Porter Bogusky
Producer: Marcus Eley 
Executive Creative Director: Dave Day 
Copywriter: Manu Diaz 
Art Director: Miguel Gonzalo 
Account: Paul Wilde 
Account Manager: Tiffany Beard