Scroll down for BTS!

Beginning to end in 72h with little to no budget

This project was created from concept to final delivery in just 72 hours, as part of the qualifying examination for admission to Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg in 2021.
Please note: this is not an official advertisement for IKEA Deutschland. However, we regraded the footage for the version shown here.

CREDITS

Cast Svenson: Florian Mania
Alpakas: Luna Alpakas
Director, Producer: Anja Giele
AD, Gaffer: Sascha Muschke
DoP: Marco Eisenbarth
Office, Catering: Anna Rau
Set AL, Hygienebeauftragte: Eline Weßkamp
Sound: Jonas Engel
Sounddesign, Mastering: Vincenz Adler, HighCut Productions
Production Design: Anja Giele, Aurelia Langhanke
ACs: Gabor Baumgarten, Georg Gilstein
Editor: Pascal Klebe
Color Grading: Marco Eisenbarth

Set Dresser: , Aurelia Langhanke, Vanessa Rösgen

Filmstills, DoP Maro Eisenbarth

When I received the topic and brand—IKEA—at noon as part of the 72-hour entrance exam, we jumped straight into action. After a quick 30-minute brainstorm, we made a few calls, got in the car, and headed straight to IKEA. We bought everything we could carry that fit the color scheme and started building the concept from there.

Without the COVID restrictions in place at the time, we would never have been allowed to shoot with alpacas inside the swimming hall—let alone in the changing area. Honestly, I was a bit surprised they said yes.
Luckily, the security guard loved the alpacas, took a bunch of photos with them, and then disappeared for a McDonald’s takeout date in the back room. So… we were good to go.

We had three alpacas with us for the final three hours of the shoot, allowing us to give them breaks and ensure they were comfortable. It was a perfect coincidence that the alpaca farm was just 1km down the road, which made it possible for us to have them visit without breaking the bank.

And of course we went swimming after wrap.

DID YOU KNOW.....

Alpaca poo is considered one of the best fertilizers for orchids and can actually be quite expensive? I learned this on set when I was offered some free alpaca poo. Who knew?!

DID YOU KNOW.....

Alpacas get super nervous if they can’t see another alpaca in front of them? They’re perfectly calm as long as one of their own is in sight. So, for every alpaca shot, we had to make sure another alpaca was either behind the camera or just slightly out of frame to keep them happy and relaxed.