TBWA Singapore makes the world a little bit smaller with Airbnb via an epic train ride created and produced by Cirkus + Sixtoes
TBWA Singapore recently briefed Cirkus and Sixtoes Singapore to take on the challenge of helping Airbnb make the world a little bit smaller.
Christian Greet and Norman Yeend, backed by a talented team, created this epic miniature 60 second train ride showcasing that when you use Airbnb while travelling, it makes the world that little bit smaller, with the service giving opportunities to meet people all over the world and live like a local when you visit new places.
To tick all of the boxes for Airbnb’s target market, Cirkus needed to ensure that the journey would be whimsical, dreamlike, artistic and fantastic, just as travelling can be. With this aesthetic in mind, the team settled on a hand/home made approach utilizing out-of-the-box mechanical transitions to take the viewer from one environment into the next. This train ride has been filmed as one long take, with everything happening in-camera without the use of any CG imagery.
Cirkus moved from their offices to a warehouse, where a total of 30 people worked on the job for 5 weeks. By the end of the project, they had dealt with 1602m of plywood, 300qm of polystyrene and 12L of glue, amongst other things, to complete the 852m set.
As you board the train in this film, you’re transported into a magical world that represents the very heart of Airbnb,” said Jonathan Mildenhall, Airbnb’s CMO. “As you wind your way through some of the amazing listings Airbnb has to offer, you get a different perspective on the world. With each viewing, you see something unique and interesting that you didn’t notice before, mirroring the experience that many people have when they travel with Airbnb.”
Here’s some facts on the job:
“Welcome to Airbnb” was shot in a 40 x 40 metre warehouse in Auckland, New Zealand
9 “Cirkus artists” mechanically moved all the transitions, by hand, as the train moved along the full length of the track
The castle was 3D printed and then hand painted brick by brick
Miniature modellers and model painters created more than 100 unique trees, more than 60 hand-cut houses and 240 tailor-made miniature flowers, grasses and shrubs
96 figurines were made – including 6 miniatures of real Airbnb guests and 2 dogs
The film features seven different lighting environments, all happening ‘live’ at the same time
On the day of the shoot, 85 attempts were made to shoot the whole film, which is just one take – there were plenty more rehearsals
18 tables were used to raise the full length train track
Credits
Agency: TBWA Singapore. CDs: Gary Steele & James (Jexy) Holman. ECD: Edmund Choe. AD: Nuno Pestana Teixeira. ACC Team: Nirmalo Wilkes, Joyce Wong, Neha Sethi. Airbnb Regional Marketing Director: Matthias Schueking. Music: Platium & Rye/Oliver Daldry
Cirkus Team Co Directors: Christian Greet, Norman Yeend. Storyboarding: Dylan Coburn. Concept Art: Laura Dubuk. Producer: Marko Klijn. Production Manager: Zara Hayden. Production Assist: Gypsy Puteri Raja Ariff. DOP: Christian Greet, Andrew McGeorge. Lighting: Christian Greet, Gracie Spence. Model Making and Design: Norman Yeend, Justin Buckingham @ Glasshammer, Dion Boothby, Barry Down, Tim Wells, Philip Stokes, Ashley Turner, Henric Matthiesen, James Turnbull, Joon Yoon, Priyan Jayamaha, Kurt Adams, Nynne Mors, Matt Ramsay, Simon Coles, Romain Borrel, Thomas Bozovic, Marion Angebault and Quinn Klijn. The Making Of: Sandesh Codhadu.
Production Company: Sixtoes Singapore. Executive Producer: Haydn Evans.
3 Comments
i would have thought there were far more interesting things to say about air bnb. Oh well….maybe next time.
Congrats to everyone involved, that’s a beautiful looking piece of work.
Pretty but empty. Still, makes me jealous the agency had the resources to dedicate to this kind of thing.