Taking the AT&T train

We go behind the making of one of the most enjoyable film craft experiences…

David Povill and David Cuccinello. ECDs at BBDO New York, answered our call to find out how their team came to make ‘Train’ for AT&T, one of the most deliciously crafted pieces of film in recent ad history

“Train” was a concept that had been part of our initial pitch, but because of the technical challenges and complexity, we had to wait until we had both the resources and the right director/production team before we could even consider trying to bring it to life. Luckily, when we started speaking with [the director] Dougal Wilson about the project, and his process, we knew we had the right team with the right expertise to craft this idea into the truly impressive film that we were always envisioning.

Dougal’s process is built around what he calls a “crap-o-matic”, which is an incredible tool for pre-visualising the finished product, long before he starts filming even a single frame. Using bits and bobs of found footage, iPhone footage, and clever editing, he creates a frame-by-frame blueprint for the entire film. As we progress through the production process, he updates the crap-o-matic with slightly more polished bits, re-enacting camera moves and line readings from casting auditions, and even laying down a rough score for the film that he cobbled together on GarageBand. It’s an incredibly detailed and thoughtful process, and it’s a great way for the agency and the client to fully understand the intent of the production, every step of the way.

One of the biggest challenges for all of the films in this campaign is always authenticity. How do we cue these classic genres in a way that is true to their filmic conventions, without feeling like we’re spoofing them?

Dougal's team did a terrific job making sure every element read as authentic to the time period. This included the train itself, which was the oldest working steam-powered locomotive in the U.S., from the turn of the century. The gritty frontier footage was shot at the Northern Nevada Railway museum. The plan was always to add buttes and other elements to the landscape. 

But our biggest challenge on this film was Mother Nature. We knew there was a chance of snowfall during the month of February, in Nevada. But it was a fairly low chance. Of course, as Murphy’s Law would have it, an unexpected blizzard dumped eight inches of snow on the ground just before the shoot. Then another snowstorm rolled through for our third day. 

Luckily, Method Studios was able to enhance the footage, removing the snow and filling out the landscape to give it that classic Monument Valley feel. From there, House Special was able to model the animation landscape to match the look in the stop-motion portion. A true triumph of man over nature.

We knew we wanted to speak to younger customers, to shift their perception of AT&T as simply a telco to considering them as a provider of top-notch entertainment. These are people who live their lives glued to their devices. The only time they ever put them down is when they’re forced to, like during the two to three hours they spend sitting in a movie theatre. So we knew we’d have a captive audience.

 From there, success was measured by social responses. We do social listening, and we’ve got pages of tweets. That shows that people are watching these, and they’re either taking their phones out to tweet about it while in the theatre, or even better, they’re watching the movie, and then still remembering the ad and tweeting about it afterwards.

 This was the fourth instalment in this campaign, so we had some prior learnings on how to make these films truly special. The polar disparity of the two genres that are being merged, and particularly the way we transition from one to the other, was key. Spaghetti Western to animated children’s film landed right in the sweet spot. And then there’s that twist. That transitional from one genre to the other. That moment has to be seamless, and totally unexpected. You have to do it perfectly, to get the viewer to go along with you on this cinematic ride. 

 The element of surprise is what works so well with this campaign. Not only do we shock people by suddenly switching genres halfway through the story, but even the AT&T logo at the end is the last thing most people expect. Our hope is that they come away knowing this is a brand delivering way more than just phone service. They're delivering entertainment on the same level as everything else you'd see on the big screen during the summer blockbuster season.

 As for future iterations and where the campaign goes from here, you’ll have to stay tuned.

Train won a Gold Award at Cresta. Now view the excellent ‘making of’ film.

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