Hornbach’s ‘The Square Meter’ Is the “Creatively Chaotic” Awards Favourite

Not many ads can boast being awarded from 11 major awards shows while still being shortlisted for more. Yet Hornbach’s ‘The Square Meter’ is that juggernaut. It has already picked up trophies at the LIA, Clio, Cannes Lions, and the D&AD awards, to (really) name just a few. Directed by Steve Rogers, with production from TPF Berlin and Revolver in Sydney, and production service from Icon Films Romania (part of the Compass Rose group) the spot shines with realised ambition underpinned by craft of the highest quality. Commenting on the spot winning a Film Craft Lion this year, jury president Prasoon Pandey, ad filmmaker at Corcoise Films India, said: “It is not often that one gets to see all the cinematic arts come together so perfectly like synchronized swimming, to turn a DIY subject into a film with magical intrigue.”

Producer Florian von der Heydt says that the creative ideas grew bigger and evolved from the original brief once director Steve Rogers got involved. To realise the scale of the ambition, Florian turned to Icon Films Romania as he was aware of the company’s reputation for facilitating the “sometimes creatively chaotic nature of these collaborations” and because the team is “well-versed in the processes of large-scale international productions.”

The grand concept behind the spot is ‘Every square metre deserves to be the best in the world’ and this was translated quite literally in the production and the set design as it was decided at least one dimension of each room had to conform to that measurement – a significant challenge for the construction and departments. Pre-production lasted three and a half months while building the sets was a two week process, according to Icon Films Romania’s producer Ileana Anghel and Raul Cosma. The team at Icon is no stranger to complex and craft-rich productions, a subject we previously explored in our ‘craft renaissance’ series. 

LBB spoke to Florian, Raul and Ileana about the trust from the client and agency that allowed this project to flourish, how Steve’s ideas pushed it even further, and why meticulous planning and commitment were the secret ingredients to making this multi-award-winning spot come alive, with unseen BTS photos courtesy of TPF.

LBB> Talk to us a little bit about the brief you received and what your thoughts were from a production perspective.

Florian> When we received the brief, Steve [Rogers, director] was immediately hooked on the idea of a man living in a one square metre world where he invents and constructs little gadgets to make every space unique and wonderful. It was a very conceptual idea and we needed a lot of talks with our partners at Icon to make sure we were talking about the right things and budgeting something which still allowed for some creative freedom. After we won the bid, we spent considerable time in the ideation and visualisation phase. Fortunately, we had the luxury of time to fully develop the rooms and ideas.

LBB> The spot’s concept is ‘Every square metre deserves to be the best in the world’ – how did this translate into the way you approached the production?

Florian> In the ideation phase, every idea had to be evaluated against two key principles. First, was it truly one square metre? We decided that at least one dimension of each room had to measure one metre, which posed a significant challenge for both the construction and camera departments. Second, we had to determine what made each room ‘the best in the world’. Steve and our production designer came up with inventive gadgets to be featured in each room, which was one of the more enjoyable aspects of the job. We had great discussions with the agency, brainstorming the design of the rooms and how to transition through them.

BTS from the shoot, courtesy of TPF

LBB> Ileana, what were your first thoughts when you read the brief?

Ileana> I realised from the very start that it would be a very ambitious project, the whole brief had such an unexpected vibe about it, a blend of a magical movie and a children’s book, so much more than the usual script sitting on my desk and waiting to be decoded. Sometimes the scripts or the treatments you read are so interesting that you get excited about participating in the project before you even manage to send the budget! It was definitely the case with this one! Our partners from Tony Petersen offered us the opportunity to be part of a really beautiful job.

LBB> What were the initial conversations with director Steve Rogers like?

Florian> Steve had several big projects on the table when we approached him with the Hornbach script, so he wasn’t immediately sure he could make himself available. However, after recognising the potential of the idea and because of Hornbach’s reputation and the agency’s creative vision, he committed to find a way and went on with a call with the creative team. The chemistry was great from the start. Even though Steve changed quite a bit of the original script, his ideas grew over time with the creative team until we finished the treatment.

LBB> Why did you decide to work with Icon Films Romania on this spot?

Florian> Icon Films has extensive experience working with top international directors and production companies. They understand how to handle the sometimes creatively chaotic nature of these collaborations and are well-versed in the processes of large-scale international productions. From the beginning, it was clear that they were the right partner for this project.

LBB> How did each square metre set come about, and can you share some of the process behind creating them?

Florian> Steve had already included many of the room ideas in his treatment. He wanted to tell the story of an ordinary man living a regular life, but in an extraordinary world. The hero wakes up in his bedroom, moves through the kitchen to make breakfast, and engages in his hobbies. For both Steve and Guido (lead creative on the Hornbach team), it was important that the ordinary became extraordinary, so the concept that ‘every square metre deserves to be the best’ would come through clearly. For each room, we first had to figure out how to make it work in such a small space, and then plan the transitions between the rooms. With the help of pre-visualisation and a lot of trial and error, each room was meticulously designed.

Ileana> Oh, it is all an interesting process in which you start by reading the script, making notes and sharing it with your team – we like to do a quite thorough bidding procedure, where we involve our closest collaborators (be it production designers or wardrobe stylists, but even construction managers and SFX supervisors) so that the budget is as close as possible to reality, rather than a mere ballpark. I usually like to make these notes for them, to capture the essence of the spot, and in this case, I kept on smiling while making them, because the story was just sooo good!!

Laying out the budget, department by department, is quite a careful process for us, producers at Icon, because as much as we like to be accurate, we aim to stay very competitive and offer a bottom figure that fits current financial restrictions that lots of clients face. And this approach fits perfectly a project that hints at the current housing crisis in Western countries, where being creative makes every centimetre count and makes a difference. I think in the end, when the budget finally reached the client’s desk, it conveyed that message: clear bidding, carefully considering all departments and their needs, at a reasonable price.

LBB> Which of the sets were the most challenging to create and why?

Raul> This project was obviously not the type where you aim to create huge sets in a short time, which we get and do a lot – quite the contrary. Our talented local art directors (Mihai Para) and decorators (Carmen Dima) could concentrate on creating, from scratch, this gritty, funny small world, where so much happens despite such a confined environment. The feeling of travelling through an endless space was, I think, very well conveyed by the way the sets were laid out, rigged one on top of the other, and by the busy life happening there. I remember the room where our character grows mushrooms and where the most attentive care was given to the selection of the types of mushrooms that would grow there in real life. Our set decorator planted them by her own hand, with the greatest care in the world and lots of detailed discussions were being conducted on this botanical subject – I must say that these moments make me feel so grateful to be able to devote my attention to others than the mundane practicalities of adult life. It’s so refreshing!

LBB> Which of the sets was the most challenging to shoot in? Why?

Florian> Each set had its own unique challenges. Because of the small size of the sets, finding the right camera positions was often difficult. The bedroom set was particularly stressful, as it required perfect timing between the camera movement, set rotation, and the actor’s performance. The Tetris set was also tricky because we had to shoot it in multiple parts and stitch it together in post-production, meaning camera angles and distances had to be precisely calculated. Every detail was carefully thought out; nothing was left to chance – except for the tuba player, who was a surprising and spontaneous addition.

LBB> Did the fact that everything was shot in a square aspect ratio present any production challenges?

Florian> No, in fact, it helped us a lot. The sets were so small that our biggest challenge was avoiding shooting outside the set too often. The square aspect ratio helped by reducing the frame. We made it very clear to the client from the beginning that we would only produce this one aspect ratio, which also made the post-production process easier since we didn’t have to create assets in other formats.

LBB> How long was the production prep process?

Florian> It lasted three and a half months, which was great and largely due to the fact that Steve was supposed to shoot another project before this one. HeimatTBWA and Hornbach work with more relaxed timings and they were okay to wait until Steve became available and we committed to deliver of course the project as planned on the backend in due time. Hence more prep time for us.

Raul and Ileana> The whole construction took two weeks, as a lot of care was given to details, dressing, and safety for rigging. Time was not an issue on this project, I have to say we have done others where we really had to motivate everyone on board to make the impossible happen. However, this was a project of love where everyone from the director to the DP, client, and all departments went into the deepest level of detail to create a space that could almost exist in the real world. Later, lots of similar art projects were done, proving the importance of the concept for today’s socio-economic environment. After the set was created, rigging – which is one of our strength points and rehearsing – occupied our time until the shoot happened.

LBB> Did you encounter any major issues or challenges during this production? How did you overcome them?

Florian> The biggest challenge was constructing the world itself. However, we had a fantastic team of experts with decades of experience, along with the creative input from the agency and the client’s trust, so it never felt like a problem. Instead, it always felt like a collaborative and creative technical debate. Once we arrived in Bucharest for the shoot there were no surprises.

Raul> I would not say we had challenges; it was a quite smooth project but Steve is, as everyone knows, a perfectionist and always looking for the best solution for every single situation. We had some cast options for the trombonist character, but the moment he saw the real player who brought us the instrument and was going to coach the actor, he immediately saw the perfect match and used him instead! It is now, when you see the film, so obvious that he was the choice that would contribute so much to the humor of this world. We have learned along the way to be very flexible, this is, after all an industry that teaches you that thinking inside the box does not get you very far.

LBB> What was your favourite part of working on this spot?

Florian> The overall creative process and the open, collaborative discussions were incredible. We had so many fantastic moments together, where we’d talk about the unique world we were building. We enjoyed the technical conversations with Steven (production designer) and Daniel (DP) about overcoming the challenges of creating this world. It was a joint effort of great minds, free from the usual (sometimes unnecessary) talk, and only possible because of the client’s trust, the agency’s boldness and the chance to gather such an amazing team for this production.

Ileana> We have done lots of interesting projects with such talented and special people, from Tim Burton to Jonathan Glazer to Matthew Weiner, and amazingly talented commercials directors such as Kim Gehring, Andreas Nilsson, Seb Edwards, Mark Molloy or Adam Berg. So the opportunity to now work with Steve Rogers was a much cherished one. There is so much detail that goes into creating a work like this, and having the chance to work along the best people in the business is a much treasured opportunity for us.

Compass Rose’s group of service production companies consists of Stillking Films Prague and Cape Town, Icon Romania, Bulgaria and Serbia, Entity Films Slovenia and Croatia, Spectrum Mexico and 24/7 Spain, Portugal and Chile.