Part 2: PSN Puts World Cup Commercials on the Map for Russia 2018

World Cup Fever heightens and brands have been clamouring to speak to the huge audiences watching the football action in Russia. World Cup commercials were being commissioned in countries around the globe, but in a worldwide tournament, fraught with rivalries and fronted by some of the hardest to reach talent on the globe, how do you know where to shoot?

PSN calls on its production partners from around the world to share their insights on what countries are getting through the group stages at pitch. In the second in a series of World Cup features they speak to Giuliano Doman, Service EP at PSN Romania, the man on the ground for a recently released global Kia spot. 

Q> Why did Innocean and Keystone choose to shoot in Bucharest?

Keystone and Innocean decided to bring their shoot to Romania because we were able to provide a diverse range of city streets and exterior locations, as well as interiors to the shoot. The film needed to seem as though we were watching fans in different locations around the world and Bucharest has a great portfolio of locations to choose from. We also are very competitive budget-wise when it comes to shooting in a city. 

Q> As this was a global campaign, that had to be non-biased, what logistical factors did you have to consider?

Casting was particularly important on this shoot. We had to find actors that could play football and also include a diverse range of ethnicities to reflect the many different countries who will be tuning in to the world cup games.

Q>There’s a lot going on in the commercial, from driving and street scenes, to crowds and interior shots. What were the biggest challenges you experienced when orchestrating all this? 

Besides the sheer number of locations we were shooting in, we had a tight schedule and budget, so there was no room for error. We had to be thoroughly prepped in pre-production.

Q> Had you worked with the creative team before?

No but Keystone Films were great to work with and we also had an excellent director, John Park. The whole shoot came together, chaos free and there was a real sense of teamwork.