Shocking PETA Spot Compares Angora Bunny Plight with Bikini Waxing

Great Guns director Olivier Venturini’s new online film for PETA, ‘Get a Feel For Angora’ has one distinct message; Stop Buying Angora. Olivier teamed up with Creative Director Dominic Stallard and Account Manager Sara Templeman from Lowe & Partners, to show us what the rabbits who are kept for angora wool must endure every three months.  Despite the film being simple and impactful, it is definitely not for the fair-hearted.

Venturini set about capturing real, honest reactions from volunteers as they were waxed live on camera; reactions that weren’t fake or would trivialize the profound message. The film reminds us of the pain we consciously go through when we decide to have a wax and then juxtaposes it against the unbearable cruelty rabbits go through to produce angora wool.

The film uses real undercover footage filmed on mobile phones from angora farms and merges it with the striking imagery shot in studio to create an incredibly powerful spot. Olivier comments: ‘Half way into the prep, we had access to the undercover footage of the rabbits being tortured. It was brutal, too brutal to be shown in length to unwilling viewers. We had to cut it down dramatically. The thing that stuck in our mind was the almost human-like screams of the rabbit. It was horrific and was obvious that no matter how much craft we used at the start of the film, it would have to end on this raw, unsophisticated phone-footage. I was keen on this contrast between the rather beautiful but moody imagery that we shot with my DOP Ben Fordesman and the undercover footage. I thought the discrepancy between the sophistication of the waxing and the brutal realism of the torture best convey PETA’s message.’

The music composed by Melissa Hammond sets out to at first diffuse the tension of the waxing, almost misleading the viewer into a sort of comfort zone, jolting them off guard when the animal footage starts.

The skillfully crafted sound design by Culum Simpson from Jungle Studios London is anchored both in reality whilst deteriorating into something slightly sinister.

“When I first read this script Laura Gregory sent me, I thought it was uncomplicated and straight-forward. This was not going to leave anyone indifferent. Animal Rights have always concerned me, and revealing how Angora, which most of us have bought without thinking, is actually collected, was a shock to all of us. It was a perfect opportunity to do my bit and at the same time end up with a film I would be proud of showing”, comments Venturini.

Credits

Client: PETA

Title: Get a Feel For Angora

Agency: Lowe & Partners

Chief Creative Officer: Dominic Stallard

Copywriter:  Josh Armstrong

Art Director:  Liong Khoon Kiat

Account Supervisor:  Gonzalo Olivera

Account Manager:  Sara Templeman

Account Executive:  Elysha Chua

Agency Executive Producer:  Stephanie Cleak

Film Production Company:  Great Guns

Director:  Olivier Venturini

Executive Producer:  Kate Phillips / Laura Gregory

Producer:  Sheridan Thomas / Greg Magloire

Editor:  James Demetriou

Director of Photography : Ben Fordesman

Art Director :  Jerry Bland

Music:  Melissa Hammond

Post Production: The Mill

Head of Production @ The Mill:  Ben Stallard

Colourist @ The Mill:  Seamus O’Kane

Sound Design: Culum Simpson @ Jungle