Written by on Nov 24, 2014. Posted in Production News

Revolver films Romania as frozen northern Europe for Aldi Christmas campaign

Production company Revolver doubled Romania for frozen northern Europe for this year’s Christmas campaign for supermarket Aldi’s Australian market. The spot follows a man returning to his northern home after a trip to Australia, and bringing with him a range of culinary delights.

Revolver filmed in the central Romanian commune of Biertan, which was chosen as a suitable “nondescript European village” that was the right size and offered the visuals the production team was looking for.

“The setting is a fictitious village named Julbacken (or Christmas Hill),” comments Alex Booker, Creative Director at agency BMF: “It’s a small village located in the north of Europe that we wanted the viewer to associate with a very traditional white Christmas.

“The buildings and surrounds already had a lot of character, so it was more about using them for what they were rather than changing them.”

Given that the architecture was Biertan’s main appeal, few changes were made to the buildings, but snow and ice had to be added as filming took place in the autumn. Matte paintings were used to create snowy backgrounds.

“The production as a whole ran smoothly,” Booker adds: “We had an excellent crew and a great first AD who translated for us when the talent weren’t fluent in English. It’s always a gamble working with non-actors who have a fantastic look but can’t give the subtle reactions the director is after.”

Credits:
Client: Aldi
Agency: BMF Advertising
Creative Director: Alex Booker
Agency Producers: Jenny Lee-Archer and Mandy Payne
Production Company: Revolver, Sydney
Executive Producers: Michael Ritchie and Pip Smart
Production Service Company: Digital Spirit, Bucharest
Director: The Glue Society (Gary Freedman)