Once on the plane to somewhere, it suddenly dawned on me how fortunate we are to be living in the 21st century. With high speed travel modes and digital connections, the world feels smaller and we get to interact and engage with people and places more than ever before. Airbnb, the world’s leading community driven hospitality company, has recreated this feeling by taking the viewer on a train ride full of surprises in its newest film that was launched just days ago.
The film is as real and unique as a stay in one of Airbnb’s global listings: It was shot in one take and without any computer generated imagery. 30 people spent five weeks building the 85 square meter train set at the heart of the production. More than 2400 craftsmen hours were spent creating a landscape out of 20 square metres of plywood, 12 litres of glue and more than 160 sheets of poly board. All with one goal, to help introduce Airbnb to more aspiring travellers out there!
To tick all of the boxes for potential Airbnb lovers, the train journey was set to be whimsical, dreamlike, artistic and fantastic, just as how travelling and exploring places should be. With this aesthetic in mind, the hand/home made approach utilizing out-of-the-box mechanical transitions to take the viewer from one environment into the next was selected. The amazing thing is that the entire train ride was filmed as one long take, with everything happening in-camera without the use of any CG imagery!
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 are some interesting fun facts will allow you to appreciate the video more:
– 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
All ready to be WOWed? Let’s check out the video below:
This post was Sponsored by Airbnb but all thoughts are my own.
