Joshua Tree Unleashes the Power of Gaming Heroes with New Lenovo Y50 Spot

“Give us Power, Make us win”- is the tagline for the latest #Lenovo commercial produced by Joshua Tree Films.

The TVC is directed by Spaniard Alejandro Toledo, who Joshua Tree represents in India. The film opens in a hospital where several heroes of the virtual world are badly injured and very angry. Aggressive and frustrated, the heroes go on to lament the use of sub standard, useless machines by gamers, which slow them down and make them lose.

With their skill and talent the heroes are invincible and hate being beaten because of faulty hardware. That the perfect solution to all their problems lies in the Lenovo Y50, the ultimate gaming machine, is the core idea of the commercial.

Shot in Romania, getting the cast and the make up right was just the start of the many challenges on the project.

“Working with seven heroes, cracking the look to be convincing and relatable was the key. After exhaustive rounds of casting for each one spanning over four weeks, the final heroes were chosen,” says Joshua Upputuru, the executive producer at Joshua Tree.

The costume and make up department extensively researching each character, held nearly six rounds of full make up and costume trials with tests and more tests, before the final looks were set.

Global hunt for the perfect gear meant costumes like the helmet for the Robotic Hero being flown in from Germany, the uniform for the soldiers coming in from Bulgaria, the swords, the guns and larger than life army gear being sourced exponentially across four to five countries in order to get the perfect attire that made for the perfect hero.

Make up needed specific character nuances to be highlighted. The scar, the body camouflage for the soldiers or the burnt out feel for the racer, every detail was thought of and executed. Even the injury marks on each hero were carefully engineered to suit their skill and the kind of combat they would be involved in.

“The injuries were not just different for each character but also akin to what they would get doing what they do. And so, the broken noses and the bloody teeth of the football players and burn marks of the racer,” further added Upputuru.

The idea was to shoot the film like a feature and desiring the same scale and end-result meant going the extra mile when it came to the locations. Everything had to look real and non-cosmetic, exactly the reason why real locations were chosen vis-à-vis a studio. The production team combed through the entire city, scouting and recceeing for nearly fifteen days looking for options that met expectations.

“Shooting in a real hospital, in their emergency sections and getting permission to shoot in a real operation theatre were major roadblocks. But we managed. Ultimate care was taken to make sure that no disturbance was caused to the patients and no work or procedures were interrupted at the hospitals at any time. Even prepared for halting the shoot if an emergency case came in, not to mention ensuring that a crew of seventy odd people maintained silence throughout,” adds Priyanka Kher, the producer on the job.

“Access to the shooting areas was limited and even so, masks, gloves and special overalls were mandatory for all crew members as well as the hospital staff. Everything needed to be exactly as it was after we wrapped, plus de-sanitized, right to the last syringe,” adds Kher.

The film opens with a high energy shot of a speeding ambulance carrying our injured heroes en-route to the hospital. This scene, critical to establish the urgency of the situation, was shot with the van whizzing through a tunnel emerging on the busy, live expressway followed by the camera-car and a police car for security and regulation.

“The team at Joshua Tree pulled off an action film for a TV commercial and what we have as a result is a film we are very proud of, ” says Upputuru.