Born in Slovenia, Bas Production is a production force to be reckoned with that spans many borders. With offices in Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia and Italy, they’re fully equipped to service production jobs throughout the Balkans, the Alps and the Italian peninsula.
As Bas celebrates its 15th birthday, LBB’s Laura Swinton caught up with partner and executive producer Rok Ban to reflect on the defining films of their history so far.
1. Florette - ‘Stand Off’
July 2004
Client: Florette
Agency: Hooper Galton
Production: Upstart Films
Director: Harald Zwart
DOP: Zubin Mistry
One of the first commercials Bas ever worked on is one that provokes nostalgia in the LBB office. Who would have thought that farming lettuce could be so dramatic? With the help of Dutch-Norwegian director Harald Zwart - the first time Bas collaborated with him - they proved it was possible.
2. Seat - ‘The Myth’
April-May 2005
Client: Seat Central
Agency: Atletico International Advertising Barcelona
Production: Markenfilm Hamburg
Director: Jan Wentz
DoP: Sebastian Pfaffenbichler
“Seat Leon was our first ‘serious’ car commercial that involved building rigs and all the other car shebang,” Rok says. And what a way to start. The finished commercial is way more than your run-of-the-mill car spot. It’s a brooding and mysterious art piece that lingers in your imagination.
3. Charal - ‘Too Late’
February 2006
Client: Charal France
Agency: Leo Burnett
Production: Gang Films
Director: Joachim Beck
DoP: Pawel Edelman
Rok remembers “challenging issues with helicopters, like on Seat. But it all turned out very nice.” The sinister French ad for beef has a haunting quality that films for brands rarely achieve.
4. Pure Blonde - ‘Brewtopia’
August 2007
Client: Fosters Group Limited
Agency: Clemenger BBDO Australia
Production: Plaza Films
Director: Paul Middleditch
DOP: Michael Wood
Rok describes this shooting experience as: “when a ‘big ads’ director comes to a small country like Slovenia and [discovers] we are not too small.” A vibrant comedy spectacular is the result.
5. CANAL+ - ‘The Closet’
August 2009
Client: Canal +
Agency: BETC EURO RSCG
Production: 75
Director: Matthijs van Heijningen
DOP: Joost van Gelder
You can imagine the production challenges this high-octane film for the French TV giant posed the people who made it. It helped prove that Bas could deliver the goods. “After a quiet, sad and dry 2008/2009 season, this was a our candy to reverse the trend,” says Roc. “It [has been] growing ever since.”
6. Audi - ‘The Swan’
February 2012
Client: Audi
Agency: BBH
Production: Park Pictures
Director: Joachim Back
DOP: Jan Velitzky
“Joachim [who directed the earlier Charal film] came back again in February to shoot some more melancholic landscapes in the cold,” remembers Rok. This one’s definitely one to include in any reel of the evocative advertising Audi’s put out over its history.
7. The North Face - ‘Never Stop’
Summer 2013
Client: TNF
Agency: Factory Design Labs Denver
Production: Partizan LA
Director: John Dolan
DoP: Frantz Lustig
Rok lists this as one of their favourite collaborations with director John Dolan. An outdoorsy celebration of various rugged landscapes, it does a great job of demonstrating the locations Bas Productions can work in.
8. Zeta - ‘Cozze’
April 2016
Client: Zeta
Agency: Hummingbirds
Production: B-Reel
Director: Mikael Marcimain
DOP: Manuel Claro
Bas did an impressive job of presenting ‘Italian’ locations for this nostalgic charmer without having to shoot it in Italy.
9. Milka - ‘Lost & Found’
Summer 2016
Client: Mondelez
Agency: Wieden+Kennedy
Production: Stink
Director: Nacho Gayan
DOP: Andre Chemetoff
Rok remembers this UK / Spanish co-production as being “very passionate.” The team at Bas were thrilled with the film that came out of it. “It turned into a very sweet film,” he says.
10. Porsche - ‘Let’s Sports Car Together’
Summer 2017
Client: Dr. Ing.h.c. F. Porsche AG
Agency: Grabarz & Partner Werbeagentur GmbH
Production: Iconoclast Berlin
Director: Rob Chiu
DOP: Paul Meyers
Last year Bas Productions serviced what could be their most ambitious production yet, showcasing landscapes across "a few continents," as Rok puts it.