Maker Series - Chapter 51
Westbound & Outbound
Tim Walker, Westbound Films, UK
Lotus Emeya Global campaign film directed by Tim Walker, produced by Westbound Films
Fabrik: Hey Tim, thanks so much for being a part of our maker series. Before we talk about your work with Lotus, tell us a bit about yourself.
Tim: "I'm a filmmaker, director and photographer and run a production company - Westbound Films. I've been working in the industry since 2000 and after an early career making boardsports content and music commercials I set up the company in 2007. We work mainly in advertising and shortform documentary content for brands such as Patagonia, Eastpak, Berghaus, Jaguar Land Rover, Porsche, Tesla and have also recently been working on a series of mini docs with The Royal Parks charity in London, that's work I've really been enjoying."
Fabrik: So you've directed a campaign for the Lotus Emeya and it was produced by your production company Westbound Films, how do you begin to navigate a job like this?
Tim: "We had been commissioned to cover the global press drive for the Emeya, a 15-day event where automotive journalists and influencers from around the world were invited to experience the car on a beautiful two-day drive from Munich down to the Austrian Alps and back. Our remit was to create a library of B-roll shots and high-quality stills of the car ahead of the event, then offer production support for presented pieces to camera, driving and tracking shots, as well as general stills coverage for the journalists as required.
When the Lotus marketing team reviewed our previous work for Jaguar Land Rover, Porsche, and others, they decided to add a campaign aspect to the shoot. We were then tasked with creating a 60-second hero film and key photography to help launch the car. With the additional budget, we managed to squeeze in four days of tracking, along with high-end camera and lens rentals. We also secured the closure of a private toll road, Rossfeld Panoramastrasse, in the Bavarian Alps. It was certainly not easy with the limited prep time, but the two producers, Hannah and Louise, did an amazing job on this.
The DP, Matt, and I conducted a comprehensive 1,000 km recce of the region. We flew back, and I then drove the Westbound van and kit out to Germany. We had five days of full-on commercial-level shooting at dawn and dusk, both in Munich and down in the mountains. It was heavy going, but supported by a fantastic and funny crew, this was a brilliant shoot.
Once we wrapped on this, we went straight into 15 days of the press launch. Our editor flew out and was cutting the library footage on-site, as well as preparing and delivering any bespoke material shot for the journalists. It was absolutely hardcore but also really exciting. Hanging out of the van in a harness, shooting the car on the Austrian alpine roads, was a lot of fun.
Once back in the UK, I got to work on the campaign edit. The Lotus composer worked on the music and sound design, and once locked, we graded the piece at Cheat with Karol Cybulski. I finished the online and versioning myself back at Westbound and delivered it to Lotus for digital distribution."
BTS captured by Oscar Lumley
Fabrik: It sounds like a pretty sizeable shoot with a lot of complicated logistics - do you have to approach a shoot like this differently when working with a car?
Tim: "Yes, it was a chunky one for sure, but Lou Allen, the freelance producer we brought in to help, has worked in automotive filmmaking for 20 years. We've also made various pieces for Jaguar Land Rover together through another agency, so we already have a good working relationship in place. Lou was a fantastic support, and between herself and my wife, Hannah (who runs Westbound with me), they managed to get the budgeting, crewing, and logistics hammered into shape while I worked on the treatment, recce, and technical approach.
We also had the support of a local service production company, InMotion, which supplied the tracking vehicle and helped arrange our road closure. They also provided the blocking team required to run the rolling traffic light roadblock whilst also ensuring that no vehicles joined the closed route via any smaller side roads. It takes a lot of people!
To answer your question regarding whether it's a different approach with a car involved—yes, safety is, of course, a big aspect. The experience and skill of the precision drivers of both the hero and camera cars are very important. It's a choreographed dance as the vehicles move around each other while the camera arm is positioned, the head is operated, and the focus is kept sharp. Constant and clear communication is definitely key!"
Still from the Lotus Emeya global campaign captured by Tim Walker
Fabrik: Considering you directed the shoot & produced it with your production company, how much of the overall campaign idea comes from yourself & how much comes from the client?
Tim: "The client proposed the outline structure of a "grand tour" style film, featuring an anonymous driver leaving the city and heading out for an exhilarating drive in a high-performance vehicle. I worked on a director's treatment with input and visual references from Matt regarding how we would approach the piece stylistically. The glass-roofed Petuel Tunnel in Munich was a key backdrop we wanted to utilise, as was the Rossfeld Panoramastrasse, a beautiful alpine road in the German Alps."
Top: BTS captured by Oscar Lumley, Bottom: Still from the Lotus Emeya global campaign captured by Oscar Lumley
Fabrik: As part of the campaign, you followed influencers across Germany to the Austrian Alps. Realistically, how much work goes into shoot a road trip like that?
Tim: "A lot! However, once we'd created a great selection of shots to use as B-roll in each of the journalist's pieces, we weren't looking to cover the whole thing. There were also 10 cars on the road and only one production team.
How we made this work was by figuring out key places to meet up with various journalists and working out a schedule so we could shoot bespoke material with as many as possible. This included tracking shots on a particularly epic stretch of road known as the Riedberg Pass. Some of the journalists were using cameras of their own and just needed our support for a presented piece to camera or to cover shots of them at the wheel. The articles and video pieces came out really nicely, and the car itself was extremely well received."
BTS captured by Oscar Lumley
Fabrik: For the more technologically minded out there, can you give us an idea of some of the gear you took with you?
Tim: "We rented an Arri Alexa Mini LF, Angeniueux EZ 45-135 and 22-60 Zooms, Canon FD Primes plus a load more of the usual peripherals out in Munich. We also hired a Mercedes ML63 AMG tracking vehicle with Scorpio Arm, driver and arm operator. We took a load of the Westbound gear out too which included our Kinefinity Mavo Edge 6K with clamping gear, Canon C70, Zeiss ZF Primes, Canon Zooms. Stills were captured with the Canon R5C and our photographer Oscar Lumley shot with a Sony A7R with Sony G Master Zooms and Sigma Art Primes."
BTS captured by Oscar Lumley
Fabrik: We just want to give a quick shoutout to your DP for this job Matt Ham, another Fabrik user who we featured recently. Have you got any fun BTS stories you can share with us?
Tim: "It was great to work with Matt on this. We're friends as well as colleagues, and he was the perfect person to shoot this with me. He has lots of automotive experience and is a great travel companion. The recce was really fun in its own right, and we certainly got to see a lot of Bavaria and Austria.
One funny memory that comes to mind from the shoot itself is when, deliriously tired from a pre-dawn call time, we headed for a crew lunch in a highly traditional Bavarian restaurant. Bizarrely, a robotic waiter salesman happened to be touting his wares—sending a mildly disturbing 3-foot-high smiley-faced robot around the restaurant delivering people's orders while the lederhosen-clad owner watched on, bemused. It was so utterly incongruous and bizarre that it certainly made for a very funny lunch.
The whole crew was brilliant, and the humour and banter that got us through the exhausting shooting schedule was invaluable. I can only describe them as an absolute bunch of legends."
Still from the Lotus Emeya global campaign captured by Oscar Lumley
Fabrik: Well, we love your work, thanks again for being a part of our series, can you give us any insight as to what's next for you?
Tim: "Thanks, really appreciate it and thanks for having me on the series. I'm actually just on my way back from a great family holiday in France which has me fully recovered and next up believe it or not is a promo for the emerging sport of submarine racing! Gran Canaria beckons!"
Fabrik: Final question, what made you decide to set up your portfolio site with Fabrik?
Tim: "The site templates have a crisp and elegant look and the user interface is very intuitive. The community aspect you have begun to foster is a bonus!"
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