Delving into the Details of Dolph, Diggers & Military Drills with Volvo

Lars Elfman, creative, Forsman & Bodenfors

Tell us about the brief and how you approached it?

 The brief was simple, it’s all about awareness. As their name states, Volvo CE develops and builds construction equipment. But too few know that that includes a wide range of excavators. So really, our task was to tell the world of their excavators and what they are capable of.

After the success of Epic Split for Volvo Trucks [below] - which picked up numerous awards and is regularly cited as one of the best ads of all time - how much pressure was there to come up with something equally creatively brilliant? And why did you decide to cast another action movie star again? 

To be honest we never feel any pressure to win awards, we’re focused on creating communication that does the job for our clients. We instantly felt this was a good idea, with or without a talent. But we certainly felt that the person playing the drill instructor needed to feel credible.

What came first - the decision to feature Dolph, or the script? How did he respond when you approached him? What was it like working with him? 

The idea and the script came first. When Volvo suggested we cast Swedish born actor Dolph Lundgren as the drill instructor, we felt it added to the story and related nicely to Volvo’s Swedish heritage. And he did a great job, he’s a true professional and a really nice guy!

What made Tompa & Rondo the right directors for the job?  

The creative team has a long and happy relationship with both Tompa and Rondo, which made way for a truly great teamwork. Also, their cinematic type of storytelling and sense of humour was just perfect for the film. 

"All stunts in the film were made for real, without any CGI, and a lot of them have never been carried out before." 

The technical aspects of the shoot must have been challenging, with so many machines to organise and all the different moves they had to master. Tell us a bit about the process and how you worked with Volvo's technical team and operators to bring it to life. 

It is impossible to overexaggerate the importance of the Volvo CE team regarding the realisation of this film. The kind of effort, knowledge and time they put in is incredible. All stunts in the film were made for real, without any CGI, and a lot of them have never been carried out before. It took a lot of calculation, practicing, safety precautions and sweat. But the end result speaks for itself. 

How long did the shoot take?

The camera was rolling for two long days, but as you can imagine, the prep time was weeks, and even months.

Was the driving done by stunt drivers or regular machine operators?

 The stunts were performed by a mix between regular operators and precision drivers, depending on the difficulty of the stunts.

Of all the moves which the diggers have to perform, the 'pull-up' on the iron bar is one of the strangest but most impressive things we've ever seen. How was it accomplished? What's your favourite scene and why? 

As you can see in the BTS film [below], there were heavy safety precautions when filming the pull-up scene, but it was all done for real. I’m not sure I have a specific favourite scene, I think they all displayed the truly amazing capabilities of Volvo’s excavators, each in their own way. But the pull-up is a great scene, it’s just so different and impressive.

What were the biggest challenges you encountered? Was there any stunt that you wanted to include and couldn't, due to safety or technical issues?

We had of course a lot of crazy ideas, since we didn’t know anything about excavators when we started out. But the end result is everything we could have asked for.

And what was the most rewarding part?

Cleaning my boots after two days in the dust.

Finally - will you be straight on the phone to Arnie for the next Volvo ad?

Ha ha, of course. Do you have his number?

Filip Nilsson and Thomas Skoging, aka Tompa & Rondo, directors

What was your reaction on receiving the script?

Filip Nilsson [left]: Loved it right from the start. A fun and straightforward idea with a lot of visual potential, Scripts like that are rare those days. It also came with a chance to test drive a very big excavator, which was of course irresistible.

The technical aspects of the shoot must have been challenging, with so many machines to organise and all the different moves they had to master. Tell us a bit about the process and how you worked with Volvo's technical team and operators to bring it to life.

FN: It’s the most carefully planned project we’ve ever done and the prep spanned over six months. It was a giant [piece of] teamwork where a number of key people from Volvo’s tech team played a crucial role, so did the Volvo drivers. The objective from the start was to stay true and do all the action in camera, and that’s what we did in the end. Everything is for real. Eric Gautier, our DOP, played a big role in all of that.

"It was vital for us from the start that everything was real, and felt real... A fake product demo has no value and no nerve."

And what was Dolph like to work with? Are you fans of his films? Any funny anecdotes to share from the set?

FN: Dolph is a smart and pleasant guy to work. We had a lot of fun. Think he enjoyed those dusty days in the quarry almost as much as we did. It felt a bit weird sometimes to sit on a giant bucket in the sun and talk to Ivan Drago. He’s such an iconic character. There are hundreds of pages online with Dolph and Drago quotes. ”I’ve never had a good line” is one famous Dolph statement we found.

Was the driving done by stunt drivers or regular machine operators? How many diggers were involved?

FN: Some of the driving was made by Volvo’s demo drivers, some by regular operators. A bunch of helpful and highly professional people. They built the set for us too. We had 25 excavators so we could, basically, move mountains around. It’s addictive. In the future we will bring excavators to all shoots. At least a couple of them.

Of all the moves which the diggers have to perform, the 'pull-up' on the iron bar is one of the strangest but most impressive things we've ever seen. How was it accomplished? 

Thomas Skoging: It was vital for us from the start that everything was real, and felt real, in an analogue way. We were convinced that it would be worthwhile. A fake product demo has no value and no nerve. The excavator pull-ups had never been done before and it wasn’t until two days before the shoot that we knew it would work.

What's your favourite scene from the spot and why?

TS: There are a few frames where Dolph is really into his dancing. Makes me laugh every time.

What was the most challenging aspect of the shoot? And the most rewarding?

TS: We had great weather and and a fantastic team so the shoot was not that complicated. We followed our plan. There was was more of a challenge early on in the project, while we developed the concept, looked for the right tonality and a language for this wild idea. The most rewarding aspect of the shoot was the beer we had outside that light blue wooden shed straight after the final scene. Magic. And, more seriously, an inspiring, open collaboration with the agency, since the first day.