BRAND FILMS — NICK PIPER

A WORLD RECORD - BROADCAST LIVE

Lexie Limitless — holder of the world record for the youngest person to travel to all 196 countries — was now about to become the first person to drive around the world in an electric vehicle. Brand experience agency IMAGINATION UK was tasked with broadcasting the final stretch of Lexie’s incredible 30,000km journey and my role as the broadcast director was to design and capture the action in the most exciting way possible.

Sounds simple, right?

It was, until the scope of the project grew. What started out as a single-person, single-car story ultimately became a giant procession with 25 iconic Fords following Lexie down the mountain. As part of the broadcast, other celebrity drivers were to have live conversations with Lexie, and even Ford’s CEO, Jim Farley, flew in with his security detail from Detroit to be a part of this historic automotive moment.

As an avid cyclist, I wanted to capture the last few kilometers like the end of a Tour de France stage. With the help of a Previz, I mapped out a route that wove through picturesque coastal towns before arriving at the finish line in front of the Hotel Royale on the Promenade-des-Anglais in Nice. The camera crew covered every imaginable camera platform — with Tour de France motorcycle units, drone teams, several mini-cameras, an arm car, as well as a perpetually-circling helicopter — all live streaming footage down to me in the studio.

The experience couldn’t have been more stressful. Unlike commercial films, where I have time to rehearse and multiple takes to get things right, a live broadcast can’t be reshot or fixed in post. Every decision I would make was final and forever. If there was an accident on the road or a non-Ford vehicle gatecrashed the procession, the spectacle would be ruined.

With storm clouds gathering overhead and last-minute technical glitches ironed out, suddenly we were live. For 30 surreal minutes I watched as bit by bit the plan came together (more or less) flawlessly. When Lexie crossed the finish line in one piece, I felt like Ed Harris watching the astronauts arrive safely back to Earth in the movie ‘Apollo 13’.

We weren’t saving lives with our broadcast, but we did capture a historic milestone moment in electric mobility - see link below.

**Looking relaxed before the live broadcast. Inside my stomach was churning.**

**Karaoking between set-ups with James Corden .**

RANGE ROVER SPORT REVEAL

Twenty years after launching the first Range Rover Sport, JLR asked IMAGINATION UK to create a live broadcast event from their headquarters to reveal the newest version of their iconic SV. The broadcast would combine live presentations with pre-recorded segments featuring Bond stunt driver Jess Hawkins, actor/comedian James Corden, and world heavyweight boxer Anthony Joshua.

As the director, I was tasked with designing and editing together the whole broadcast film to make sure the new vehicle was unveiled with energy and excitement. Footage was shot in an eclectic mix of locations, including Iceland, Dubai, Los Angeles, and New York, as well as the JLR headquarters and test track.

This project combined all my favourite filmmaking food groups: beautiful car photography (with VFX enhancements), adrenalized action footage, and improvised comedy dialogue.

The final result feels like a 15-minute ‘silk pull’ that balances the seriousness of a CEO presentation with injections of energy and entertainment at all the key moments to make the new Range Rover Sport heroic and exciting.

In the words of James Corden (at the end of the Carpool sketch),

“…they’re so sleek, they’re so understated, they’re so cool. You’re gonna sell a shitload of these!”

It looks like he was right.

**First bumping with heavyweight boxer Anthony Joshua.**

TATA - NEXON.EV LAUNCH

From one TATA-owned brand to another.

For the launch of the new NEXON.EV I partnered up with creative agency INVNT out of London to design a short film comprising 6 separate acts, each showcasing a different aspect of the new NEXON.EV’S identity. It’s design, comfort, performance, technology, safety, and it’s innovation.

The turnaround from shoot to delivery was incredibly tight, and we only had three shoot days/nights to film the embargoed vehicle. This is once again where the Previz proved invaluable, as I was able to show the client how I was planning to weave various key features into the story.

were able to discuss the flow and

edits long before we stepped onto a film set to make sure everyone was on the same page.