Written by on Mar 5, 2013. Posted in Production News

Atlantic Pictures chooses Texas filming locations for Defiance alien invasion

Atlantic Pictures chose dusty filming locations in Texas to shoot the live-action trailer for videogame Defiance. Delivering Mad Max-style visuals, the spot shows a team of drifters fleeing a brawl in a remote bar before facing off against an alien invasion in a dystopian California.

Locations were scouted in Spain, Portugal and Argentina, but a quarry near Austin, Texas, proved the most convenient for a four-day shoot. It had the desert-like wilderness and suited talent requirements, while local weapons availability was also better.

“The main quarry area was dressed with debris in order to create a meteor (‘Ark fall’) landing zone,” comments Rhiannon Price of agency Ichi: “The roads around the quarry were used as racing areas and were minimally dressed [and] the parking area of the quarry was converted into the bar exterior.”

The quarry was a live site so we had to contend with huge amounts of background noise, not to mention the huge amount of dust.

Rhiannon Price, Ichi

A physical set was built for the exterior facade of the bar, but it was constructed elsewhere and then transported to the filming location. It was dressed with tables, chairs and vehicles and also expanded in post-production. The interior was an old town hall, where the team built the actual bar for a day of filming.

“The quarry was a live site so we had to contend with huge amounts of background noise, not to mention the huge amount of dust,” Price recalls: “The temperature in Texas was also variable - very cold before dawn and after dusk, [and] boiling hot at midday.”

Remains of the Golden Gate Bridge appear in the closing shots to help identify the location as California.

To find out more about filming in Texas click here.

Credits:
Client: Defiance
Agency: Ichi, London
Creative Director: Neill Furmston
Account Director: Rhiannon Price
Production Company: Atlantic Pictures, New York
Producer: Louise Gagen
Director of Photography: Mark Patten
Director: Jim Weedon