Avios 'Everyday': Bringing the Vision to Life

Audiences are becoming accustomed to seeing content generated by AI; and at first, the tech-savvy viewer may assume Avios’ Everyday spot was created in this way. The surprising and distinctive visual of people gliding smoothly across the water looks almost unbelievable - it must have been done in post! But, the beauty of this film lies in the fact it was actually shot with real people, synchronised and recorded in real time, out on the crystal clear waters of Pollensa Bay, Mallorca. 

The concept features 'regular people' doing everyday errands, such as grocery shopping, drinking a coffee or ordering a taxi, while gliding on e-foil boards across the bay. Directed by Sam Walker through Pulse Films, and set to the fitting soundtrack of Seasons (Waiting on You) by Future Islands, Everyday is an innovative in-camera “testament to human creativity” (Alex Grossman, Palma Pictures’ executive producer). 

The team at Palma Pictures was thrilled to work on this complex shoot for Uncommon Creative Studio, with casting by Palma Pictures’ David Martinez, Locations sourced and managed by Eduardo Rodrigálvarez, Cat Isakson as line producer and choreography by No Time To Die stunt coordinator Boris Martinez, and a (literal) raft of experts behind the scenes. Shooting on two main cameras (a camera boat with a crane arm and a heavy lift Alta X drone) allowed us to capture the cast cruising on the calm water. The tranquil final film was a labour of love - and not without its challenges. 

Some of the team share their perspectives and insights on the technical elements that brought this concept to life

Cat Isakson, line producer, Palma Pictures 

“This project was really exciting to produce, because it was something that had never been done before. In all projects, there is some new or unknown element that one has to master and incorporate; but with this project, there were many unknown and untested aspects that meant that we had to pull in the best in the business to knit it all together, so that it would work - and work safely. 

One central and decisive aspect was: How do foils work? What is the battery life? What water conditions will we have to have? What weight can they carry? What are the safety distances? Then pulling the foil riders together, group by group, having them learn how to foil safely whilst fully dressed (including shoes!) carrying props… It was no easy feat. Lots of wardrobe selects had to be re-thought as some were not acceptable or safe in these conditions. Then practising the formations…no wild, hotdog riders accepted here! Add the camera crew boats, the drone boat, the crane boat, the safety boats, the rescue boats, the crowd control jet skis, and the water flotilla base camps… not a small operation. Good thing we have a great relationship with the portmaster! 

What an amazing project to have been involved in! Qudos to Danielle Sandler (Uncommon Agency Producer), John Bannister (Producer, Pulse Films) and Chris Harrison (Joint MD at Pulse Films) and the incredible talent of the Director, Sam Walker!” 

David Martinez, casting, Palma Pictures

“The project posed a formidable challenge from a casting perspective. It wasn't merely about finding talented individuals who could ride proficiently; the client's specifications demanded a remarkably diverse array of profiles. They sought not just the stereotypical surfer archetype, but rather a mosaic of ethnicities, body types, and age ranges. This multifaceted requirement added a significant layer of complexity to our task.

Moreover, the evaluation process was uniquely demanding. Testing each candidate on the water, from the vantage point of a boat, was necessary to ensure their skill level matched the client's exacting standards.

In summary, this project proved to be a monumental challenge for the casting team, causing no small number of headaches along the way! However, the end result justified the tremendous effort invested.”

Eduardo Rodrigálvarez, location manager, Palma Pictures

From the start, this was a project that we had to do. It had all the ingredients for an epic project: it was complex, ambitious, challenging, one-of-a-kind, and most important of all - it had never been done before. 

Mallorca is the perfect location to achieve this. We had the team, the equipment, the experience, the location variety, and the weather conditions to be able to succeed in our quest. 

On the director’s scout, we figured out where we had to do it, as we were in the boat and developing the concept on a real location. We soon realised the length required to achieve the continuous shoots, taking into account how long it takes for the riders to get on the board, get to speed and get in position, to actually be able to shoot, as well as a safe breaking area at the end…. it was clear that we were looking not only at a beautiful beach and landscape, we needed more than a mile of calm water (with beautiful surrounding landscapes) to be able to shoot 360. 

On our second day of scouting, it was clear that we had the perfect location to achieve this: 'Pollensa Bay' - an 8km long bay surrounded by mountains, and at the end of the bay, a paradise beach, perfect for the finale. 

That was stage one: we had the location. Now, the logistics had to be put in place to be able to accommodate everything that was going to be needed to make it work. We had environmental permits, Guardia Civil, Salvamento Maritimo, Costas, Town Hall, Port Authority, Pollensa Nautical Club, Aerodromo Military Base… and to top it all, fire emergency seaplanes for all the Islands that are based on this bay. 

The list was long, and there were a lot of institutions to talk with and gain approval from. Importantly, we had to comply with all the procedures required to do something that was not only dangerous, but also that had never been done before. 

But we had the team: from the drone company (Air Media), Marine coordinator (Miquel Angel Bonnin) and the Palma Pictures location’s department (which is second to none!) we got to work; we got it done, and ultimately, we enjoyed every minute of it! 

Personally, I have location managed many shoots of all formats in my over twenty year career in location departments, and this project has a very special place that I will keep in my memory forever. This is one of those jobs that you go further, learn a lot, and have the pleasure to work with a like-minded team all around.” 

Boris Martinez, stunt coordinator

“I loved every second of it, it was exhausting but so rewarding in the end.  And now that I saw it… it was worth it!

Obstacles: From my side, it almost didn’t look possible!  A 20+ person e-foil formation, at speed, shot with drones, with e-foilers that had little experience in filming… And I didn’t know anything about E-foils… We had wind… Massive Jellyfish… Every time an e-foil sailed through a jellyfish, a crash can happen!!!

Pros: It turned out the e-foilers were absolute heroes!! I’m not joking, every single one of them. I wish I had stunt people as brave, tough, as these guys. Bear in mind some of them were 60+ and it is bloody tough to be e-foiling for a whole week, in cold and windy, choppy conditions! I’m in awe of all of them.

The synergy between Adrian, Enric and me was great - from minute one, that really helped. Because they know e-foils, I know filming. And it could have been an EGO battle disaster… Instead, our relationship, our trust, was exceptional. 

Miquel Ángel, and the Tramuntana Films Services, were so good! Such pros! Always there, calmly, efficiently. 

In the end you could see that every single person in the crew was realising that something EPIC was being filmed, and the energy was pumping, the general excitement was contagious.“ 

Miquel Angel Bonnin, marine coordinator, Tramuntana Film Services 

"The Avios shoot has been one of the most exciting jobs we have designed the marine logistics for. From the very first moment, we fell in love with the ambition of the idea, the beautiful concept and the will to make it happen, all of it 100% real.

All of that, however, presented some motivating challenges to tackle in order to make it happen:

The first challenge was to find the perfect location to ensure that such a massive marine unit (constantly on the move!) could operate comfortably. The locations team at Palma Pictures know well what we need to make a water-based project happen and worked out a bunch of great options that could host such an event. But after evaluating all the needs that such a shoot would require we all agreed that the bay of Pollensa was the perfect location for this project. The geography of the bay offers a unique shelter that allows for the flat sea conditions that you can see on the film and, on top of that, its size allowed us to work without interference and with all land-logistics close at hand.

The second challenge was to bring the idea of the surfing formation and the actions into life, ensuring its feasibility and, more importantly, the safety of the whole thing! I remember fondly all the discussions about the separation between surfers, the shapes, speeds, residual wakes… and all the mock ups we did at Palma Pictures studio to clarify the actions and details. It was truly a beautiful process because everyone involved was so excited about what we wanted to do that all minds were focused on finding the best that each department could offer to make it happen.

Finally, the overall challenge of creating and coordinating all the marine logistics necessary to ensure the practicality of a massive marine set. We had a basecamp boat, two floating docking areas to land and take off, a drone boat big enough to land an Alta X drone, but fast enough to keep up with the e-foilers, a camara boat with a crane, a safety unit with jetskis and water ambulance, shuttle boats, traffic control boats… all of that coordinated to either cover or move together with the action, without interfering or creating a wake that could potentially ruin the stability of the performers!

That being said, regardless of how complex or complicated all of that might sound like… Everyone's professionalism made it an amazing, enjoyable and well-geared shoot.” 

Adrian Valios, e-foils expert, Take Off Toys

“The first call I received about the idea of shooting a commercial with 30 e-foil boards was quite surprising, as it seemed crazy - but crazy with a lot of possibilities.

After listening to director Sam Walker's ideas, and seeing what was possible and what wasn't, we devised a plan to be able to carry out what the team had in mind.

The truth is that we are specialised in the realisation of big events, but we had never considered the possibility of having 30 people with e-foils flying almost two metres away from each other, dressed and with shopping bags... It was something that, at first, sounded impossible.

From the moment the project was confirmed, we started tests, flying in small groups of 5-8 people, seeing what problems we might find, such as falls, obstacles, different speeds and flight height depending on the weight of the riders.... All this led us to two or three viable options to be able to shoot without going out of some minimum safety parameters.

The days leading up to the shoot, I was very nervous about the idea of seeing all the riders (many of whom I had never met or seen fly in my life) together.

The truth is that we had a weather report of 10 to carry out the shooting, because without that it would have been impossible.

From minute one that we started to shoot, we began to see many difficulties, wet shoes and clothes that weighed a lot, objects in the hands that destabilised the riders, falls, cold after eight hours in the water... the professionalism of both riders and the management team and the team of Palma Pictures, made all that a mixture for positive things.

Absolutely all riders experienced something unique; they all obeyed the orders of the stunt director and my orders in terms of coordination. At no time was anything out of control.

Once everything started to flow and the shots were coming out... I think that enjoying those shots and that feeling of flying surrounded by people was something unmissable.

This was an experience that I will never forget, something extreme and at the same time precious. I think I could say that the moment of finishing the shooting and arriving to port, the feeling of satisfaction and pride for having managed to capture Sam's idea, was totally unique.”

Nerio Finol, drone operator, AirMedia360 

“It was an incredible experience. However, we faced a series of difficulties that, thanks to our professional experience, we were able to overcome smoothly.

Firstly, I want to highlight the complications of the shoot for our technical team: the pilot, the camera operator, and the flight assistant. We operated with our cinema drone, equipped with a Ronin 2 to which we added an Arri Alexa 35 with a 100mm anamorphic lens. In other words, we had a very short focal length, making it challenging to maintain a stable image, as both the actors and ourselves were constantly moving. We had to keep the safety distances well controlled to avoid any potential risks for the participants while still achieving the best shots.

On the other hand, landings and takeoffs from the boat did not pose a major problem, as we have extensive experience operating from boats.

I want to express our gratitude to the Palma Pictures team, who provided us with a boat large enough for these actions, as well as fast enough to keep up with the jetfoils from a distance where our watermarks wouldn't affect the shot, and we could maintain visual contact with the drone at all times.

Finally, it's important to highlight the collaboration from the entire directing team: the director, the director of photography, and the 1st AD. They had a clear vision of the shots, and their excellent organisation greatly facilitated our work. They divided the actors into groups and classified them by colours so that when it came time to shoot, we knew which sector to focus on and could operate quickly and dynamically. They also worked on emergency and prevention plans to ensure the safety of everyone present during drone operations. There was wonderful safety work.

Additionally, they provided us with an auxiliary raft to house our battery equipment, generators, and chargers, as we always carry enough battery sets to make at least 10 uninterrupted flights, along with high-performance rapid chargers to avoid having to stop the drone at any time.

It was also very important to have the opportunity to do a recce day beforehand to study the location and the shots they wanted to take during the shoot. This provided us with a lot of information about the technical configurations we would need to make to our equipment and helped us streamline our work.

Finally, I want to thank the Pollensa seaplane base, with whom coordination during the recce was vital; they were very kind and collaborative with us at all times."