How BURN Captured the Brutal Reality of America’s Obsession with Assault Weapons
If you are crafting a high-impact narrative, BURN is the creative studio you want in your corner. Bringing cinematic integrity and agility to every job they undertake, the production company refuses to shy away from contentious or hard-hitting subjects – as seen in their latest work with anti-gun lobbying group, Brady.
Initially introduced to Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence by global creative agency, BCW, the studio signed on to collaborate with the nonprofit organisation after learning about their tireless efforts to end gun violence. One of the longest standing anti-gun NGOs in the US, Brady sets realistic goals and takes a ‘common sense’ approach to gun reform in a bid to enact much-needed change.
Their latest PSA was given the no-nonsense title of ‘Ban Assault Weapons’. Shot in Tarboro, North Carolina, the film sees US war veteran, Dan Kirchner, reading a harrowing account of a military-grade attack. Through a cleverly crafted storytelling device, the documentary-style spot demonstrates America’s devastating reality: the horrors of war are constantly inflicted on a civilian population. The similarities between civilian shootings and military combat effectively highlight the need for Brady’s number one goal of banning assault weapons designed for war zones.
Heading up production on this purposeful project, with a tight-knit team of talent in tow, were BURN directors Greg Hardes and Aaron Chapman. Here, the filmmakers speak to LBB’s April Summers about what went into curating this impactful PSA.
LBB> How did you first find out about this project and why did it feel like a good fit for BURN?
Greg> We have a long standing relationship with agency BCW Global and it was their creative director, David Holman, who reached out to me initially. There was a very direct and specific message to the campaign that we were happy to get on board with: assault weapons belong in the battlefield, not in our communities.
David told me we had two weeks to put together a testimonial style interview that painted a picture of what it’s like to be on the frontlines of war – we just had to work out a way of unlocking the shock factor of the narrative. This is where the idea for the misdirect came from.
I liked the brief because it gave us a good starting point and parameters, but we also had creative control. It felt like a good fit because BURN has a background in documentaries, and I have personally directed a lot of commercials that focus on getting authentic performances from real people.
LBB> This PSA is shot in the style of a mini documentary film, why did you choose to take this cinematic approach?
Greg> The key creative challenge we faced was working out how to base this in the real world, with a real person, while still planting a plausible misdirect that would catch the audience off-guard. We ended up coming up with this idea of having a war veteran reading a letter that could very well be interpreted as a war story. After reading it aloud, he would turn over the page and reveal that the story was in fact an account of a mass shooting. We knew very early on that it had to be a real war vet that would lose himself in the story so that we could capture a genuine reaction to the big reveal.
LBB> What were your interactions with the war vet prior to turning the cameras on to shoot?
Greg> Chris Hughlett, our EP, was instrumental in setting things up and establishing how much information we would provide the war veteran, Dan, beforehand. We of course had to tell them it was a PSA for gun control because he had to be on board with that.
On the day of the shoot, we made sure to ingratiate ourselves with him and his wife. They had welcomed us into their lovely home so we just chatted to them on a regular level, with no mention of the film shoot. This helped alleviate the pressure and put everyone at ease. We also had as many local crew as possible in North Carolina which created a friendly, familiar and low pressure set up.
LBB> The letter is arguably the most important part of the film – how did you plan for and orchestrate this aspect of the process?
Aaron> When it came time to film, Greg and I sat down with Dan and started chatting for about 45 minutes. It was just the three of us in the room. He welcomed the dialogue and really appreciated us asking questions about his two terms in Vietnam. He had witnessed some of the worst atrocities you can imagine, so he had some very harrowing stories. There was an emotional atmosphere in the room before we even gave him the letter.
After learning more about his life story, we handed him the letter – it was amazing how well it fit within the context. Given the work that had gone into constructing this letter, there was a lot on the line, in terms of his reaction to it. It had to be specific enough to feel like a real war story but vague enough that it didn’t feel like an outright lie. We had to make sure we represented and respected the real story, patching together the shooting survivor’s real account using interviews and testimonies to create a letter written in his words. There was also the added challenge of it having to act as a misdirect, so there was just enough language to suggest it was a militaristic account, rather than a civilian shooting.
There had been lots of drafts and rewrites, but when he read it out loud - especially given the context - it felt like a war story. Before he even turned the paper over he was like, “yup that’s what war is like.” We couldn’t include that because we had to edit it down but his emotional response was so apt.
When he turned the page and discovered that it was the story of a kid named Josh who had lived through this terrible mass shooting, there was this frog in his throat. We all had to take a second after that.
LBB> There have been more than 32 public mass shootings since the federal assault weapon ban expired in the US in 2004 – how did your understanding and experience of these laws influence your directing and ideas for the spot?
Greg> I have a daughter who is two and a half years old now, and it's such a cliche, but I think about this stuff so much more acutely now. In fact, about a week before shooting, our EP’s child had been put on lockdown at school because there was a gun scare. It was a false alarm in the end but he had literally just gone through that rigmarole days before the shoot, which felt very poignant. We all made a decision early on to make sure the script felt absolutely spot on, tonally. If anyone ever had a nagging feeling that something was off, then they were encouraged to speak up and we would pull the plug. This is too important a subject to miss the mark on.
Aaron> We are trying to speak to as many people as possible with this film. That's why we went to North Carolina – we didn’t want to shoot this from a coastal elite bubble. We wanted to present something real. A real person, a real story, someone you cannot argue has been through horrible shit in serving his country. No matter how you see the merits of him serving his country in the first place, objectively this person has been through the worst things a human can witness. Why are we subjecting our kids to those same experiences? Why is a six year old having to endure the same experiences as a soldier serving in the military? This film had to be relatable to a broader audience because the more support this cause gets, the more likely it is to - maybe - help move the needle.
LBB> Given the sensitive subject matter at the heart of this project, how did you approach the look and feel of the film?
Greg> The visuals were just based on the real location we were shooting in: the home of a Vietnam war vet. In terms of the look and feel, we worked with our amazing DP, Josh Mckie, who has a very high-end cinematic quality to his work. He has the ability to light very authentically, making a scene look beautiful and cinematic, but somehow still based entirely in reality. He can light a million different ways and he did an amazing job at elevating the visuals while staying grounded in the real moment. It all comes crashing back to reality in the moment where Dan turns over the letter so if we’d gone too cinematic with the visuals then that moment would have felt jarring.
LBB> How does this work demonstrate the ‘cinematic integrity’ embedded within the core tenets of BURN’s filmmaking?
Greg> Even when we work with real people on something like this that is grounded in reality and authenticity, high-end cinematography is built into Burn’s DNA. If we had taken a different approach it could have resulted in an overly sharp, TV-style sit down interview which just isn’t what we do.
LBB> Do you have any personal favourite shots or moments from the film? If so, why?
Greg> We got some pickups of various close ups of Dan’s face to go over the voiceover, and we asked him to reread that letter, when it was no longer a surprise. In one of those close ups we see his eyes darting around, looking off into the middle distance, and you can see him remembering his own experiences of military combat. It was so clear to see in that moment that Dan is still haunted by those experiences. The realisation of what had been revealed in that letter had the same effect the second and third time, clearly affecting him in a big way.
Aaron> From a cinematic perspective, the film's intro is my favourite moment. In an instant, we enter Dan's world, absorbing vital aspects of his life as he settles into his seat, the reflection unveiling the narrative's context. I love how this shot was composed and how it provided us with context before a word was spoken. However, the moment we witnessed Dan's genuine reaction to discovering that the story centred around a six-year-old boy, not a war veteran – that was special.
LBB> Watching the finished film and knowing the importance of the message behind it, what makes you most proud to have been involved in this project?
Greg> I’m proud that this message is out there in the world – I'm really proud of it. We didn't have to compromise too much in the edit and I’m so proud of the work we delivered. It was a small team and we're so good at working like that, at BURN. I’m so proud of our ability to just dive into a place, make friends with everyone and create an atmosphere where everyone comes away feeling so positive about the work. That’s kind of our MO.
Aaron> I have always had a strong desire to utilise my gift of storytelling in a way that leaves an impact on people’s lives. Being able to share this message with the world from an unexpected and unscripted vantage point made it incredibly special. This has been an ongoing issue in the United States for far too long and I believe that not being able to hold the attention and interest of ‘both sides’ has hurt efforts to improve this issue.
I’m also proud to have worked alongside Greg and the team. Our shared belief and values regarding this topic elevated our collaboration. To be able to contribute to the discourse on such a big issue fuels my passion to continue utilising storytelling as a catalyst for social progress.
