My shots Monday: Rome is Where the Heart is

Today (Monday 28 April) marks the 77th anniversary of the establishment of Rome’s Cinecittà Studios, a filmmaking facility inaugurated by Italian dictator Benito Mussolini in 1937.

Surviving a Second World War blitz, a bankruptcy scare in the 1980s and a fire in 2007, the famed shooting location has acquired legendary status through the years after becoming a home from home for Hollywood stars in the 50s and 60s.

To celebrate the anniversary of the production paradise, we’ve compiled a selection of Roman-themed spots to bask in the culture and heritage of the city and its historic values.

Cinecittà was also the location for several large American film productions, such as Ben-Hur, and then became the studio most closely associated with director Federico Fellini. Here we run through some of our own favourite productions associated with the Eternal City.

Culture club

Showcasing a series of scenes from ancient Rome which showcase the elegance and beautiful architecture associated with the city, twofifteenmccann’s epic trailer was created for Xbox One’s flagship title, Ryse: Son of Rome.

The frozen scenes are carved into elaborate pieces of stone which appear as if they are floating past the camera under water to present a unique string of images set to a tense and commanding voiceover explaining how power and greed have led to degradation and decadence of Rome.

The 75-second piece employs the VFX mastery of Ntropic and builds up to a powerful shot of the game’s hero whose costume puts a modern slant on the previous ancient scenes.

On the warpath

In another commercial for the same game and again from agency twofifteenmccann, the protagonist appears in action this time as he wades through victims in battle slaughtering enemies left right and centre.

Ending up in an old structure that resembles the famous Colosseum where spectators await in the stands, the gladiator slays a group of less-gifted fighters before the commercial reaches a climax by announcing his arrival to save the day. Brian Beletic directs the piece via Smuggler and MPC worked on the awesome VFX job with Rock Paper Scissors taking the editorial reins.

Rome free

Moving outside of Rome but with sights firmly fixed back on the city, Agency H Paris presents a scenic spot which begins in Paris and travels 1430km to its Italian destination. Scott Lyon is the director of the commercial which splits the screen into multiple sections and presents different parts of the journey in a rotating fashion creating an interesting watch for the viewer.

Eventually, we move closer to Rome and see the genuine Colosseum building appear before the screen reconnects. The ad was made to show how fuel-efficient the car is and claims that the journey was completed on a single tank.

Rage and the machine

Remaining behind the wheel and getting a feel for the place, Saatchi & Saatchi London’s social experiment for the Toyota Hybrid preys on Rome’s notorious reputation as a city full of road rage.

Introducing a group of drivers whose cars are fitted with cameras, the agency’s case film shows how each wrestles with the stress of getting around on the roads in the city centre. To address the problem, Saatchi gave a Hybrid to each driver and the results showed significant improvements much to the delight of the people who took part.

Shop, look and listen

Driving is one thing, but shopping can be just as testing – especially if you’ve lost your receipt. Much-loved comedienne and presenter Ellen DeGeneres fronts this JC Penney campaign out of agency Brandadvisors. Set in the modern day era, DeGeneres enters one of the retailer’s stores in an attempt to return a piece of clothing, only to be rejected for not having held onto her proof of purchase.

Pondering the inconvenience, she wonders whether it was always this complicated before the years rewind back to ancient Roman times. What ensues is an amusing scene and exchange between the comedienne and some baffled Roman sales assistants. Hungry Man favourite Bryan Buckley shoots the funny ad which epitomises the look and feel of ancient Rome.

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