Filmmaker / DP Joel Egan releases Narrative Automotive Film ‘Making Memories’ with Volvo Cars Melbourne

The Mother & Daughter Story

The Granddaughter & Grandfather Story

The Process – Telling an Important Narrative
In Australia, we don’t see many narratively focused automotive spots. I noticed this gap in the market and chose to build on Volvo’s strong international storytelling style and bring it to life locally here in Australia.

Says Joel Egan, Filmmaker / DP: “Volvo Cars Melbourne trusted us and gave us creative control to bring this project to life. The project was postponed three times due to Melbourne lockdowns and I’m very appreciative for their support, believing in our team and seeing the project through.”

Executing the Vision and Achieving the look through pre-production
The project was shot over two blocks consisting of a total of 5 days broken into one day filming with each talent and two days of dedicated car tracking.

Extensive scouting was conducted in South Gippsland to pinpoint the best time of day for sunrise and sunset, with golden hour or blue hour, pre-dusk or dusk chosen for three particular emotive looks for the project.

Says Joel Egan, Filmmaker / DP: “t was important to share the locations where I had experienced special moments with loved ones and nature and present them in a way that was new and unique to others and also have an international feel.

“The backstory for me was always about grounding the characters in nature, being present with a loved one and connecting in the beauty of nature with soft emotive light. I’ve always loved the power of holding on a frame, which allows the viewer to really take in the environment and feel like they are experiencing the emotional state of the character and transporting them to that place.”

Performance and Committing to the Schedule
Committing to the schedule was critical to give the talent time to experience where they were in nature and to develop a connection. In order to achieve this, we minimised the amount of locations and location changes. As a result it gave each character a sense that their memory of where they are is special and something they would want to hold onto and never forget.

Says Joel Egan, Filmmaker / DP: “It was incredible to be on location with such a dedicated crew and with talent that really wanted to be there and share such intimate experiences. On the day, you could really feel that each cast member believed in the process and were making a memory and that these memories were special to them.”

Collaboration Cast and Crew
All of the cast and crew on this project really brought their A-game, going above and beyond. Special mention to long time collaborator Jayden Ostwald shooting stills and being on this journey from the start.

Says Jayden Ostwald, Stills: “Having worked alongside several automotive manufacturers, ensuring there is a human connection with vehicles is something I’m extremely passionate about. With this in mind, we were able to work with the team in creating a collection of content that invokes a powerful emotion link.”

Embracing the weather
“Weather was not on our side for two of the main shoot days but we felt the mix of summer and winter weather and light would result in a more well rounded project. Even with weather holds and going on standby we found ourselves chasing both the light and rain and at one point were rained and hailed out. Even so, we turned this around by embracing the bad weather and were able to capture some of the best moments and footage that was completely unexpected, unique and impossible to recreate.”

Post Production
“The project was filmed from the perspective of all six of the talent leading to a moment of reflection with a loved one in nature, to give us options in the edit and for shorter cut downs. Once in the edit each of the three journeys were built out with the hero edit being the priority. The music, locations and performance really translated on screen and the process was super enjoyable.”

Says Sam McCarthy, Editor/Colorist: “As soon as I cast my eye over the beautiful images Joel and the crew had created, I knew this piece had a lot of great and subtle storytelling potential. Once we were in the edit, the most difficult question to answer was ‘what can we leave out?’ It’s always hard sacrificing beautiful shots for narrative pacing, but it was particularly gruelling for this project.”

Final Comments
“At the time, postponing the shoots due to the lockdowns was challenging but the silver lining is that the project evolved and the importance of getting out into nature and being with loved ones became even more evident throughout the pandemic. So many people have not been able to get out into nature, and see their parents, children and even partners during the pandemic for various reasons.

“A big thank you goes out to all of the amazing talent, partners, crew and everyone involved in bringing this project to life.”

Joel Egan is an Award Winning Australian based freelance filmmaker, Cinematographer / DP represented by Auscrew and available for Freelance Cinematographer Bookings. For enquiries please contact Joel direct: joel@joelegandp.com.au or 0439113537
For media and cinematography enquiries contact Joel Egan.

Director / DP: Joel Egan
Producer: Alana Bohm
1st AC: Campbell James, Dorian Hiscock
Underwater Operator: Thomas Bronlow
Stills Photographer: Jayden Ostwald
Tracking: Richard Alladice
Stunt Driver: Davin Taylor
Drone & FPV: Flying Dragon
Production Designer & Wardrobe: Alana Bohm
Editor: Sam McCarthy
Colourist: Sam McCarthy
Sound Design & Final Mix: Windmill, Pip Atherstone-Reid
Camera & Support: Panavision Australia

Special Thanks: Shaneet and team Volvo Cars Melbourne, Greg Lloyd & Team Panavision Australia,
Australian Stunt Management, Michael Clarke, Ted and Bella Egan

Starring:
Story, The Mother & Daughter – Eleanor & Florence Webster.
Story, The Lovers – Bronte James & Fousseyni Sidibe.
Story, The Granddaughter and Grandfather – Abbey Clarke & Ted Egan.