Take That’s The Flood by Mat Whitecross
Jimmy Brown - 15th Oct 2010
Shot at Dorney Rowing Lake near Eton back in July, Take That row back into action with this superb Mat Whitecross-directed promo for big 'welcome back Robbie we missed you' single The Flood.
"The original idea for the video came from the band - they wanted to do 'Chariots of Fire meets Forrest Gump', a timeless rowing race," explains Whitecross. "It needed to feel like an event - something epic to bring the band back together again after all these years.
"We got in touch with a National Rowing Team Trainer, and he said to get the band rowing even at a basic level he'd need to work with them for 3 months solid. We told him we had 2 hours the night before the shoot. Within seconds, one of the band had capsized in the lake and we all started freaking out. But the boys were troopers - they threw themselves into the shoot without any complaints. I knew they had a really good reputation, but they were so patient and lovely they made a tricky shoot a real joy.
"Logistically it was all a bit of a nightmare. My producer Mark lost weeks of sleep trying to get permission and insurance for one of the biggest UK bands to row past the Houses of Parliament at the crack of dawn, tailed by a low-flying helicopter with 2 safety boats in tow. But the band were adamant they wanted to do it for real.
"I'm so glad they pushed for it. It's always better than trying to fake it in post. Every day brought another disaster - we ended up abandoning the final part of the shoot after the boat hit a rock and sank. If we'd known how difficult it would be to shoot on water, I think we'd have ended up doing the whole thing in the studio..."
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Jimmy Brown - 15th Oct 2010
Credits
Featured here in the credits?
Production/Creative
- Director
- Mat Whitecross
- Producer
- Mark Harbour
- Production Company
- Between the Eyes @ Pulse
- Executive Producer
- Ben Pugh
- 1st AD
- Rawdon de Fresnes
Camera
- Director of Photography
- Ed Wild
Art
- Art Director
- Richard Bullock
Wardrobe
- Stylist
- Luke Day
Grading
- Colourist
- Rushes
Commission
- Commissioner
- Ross Anderson
- Commissioner
- CS
- Label
- Polydor
Misc
- 2nd AD
- Tony Evgeniou
- Offline
- Joe Guest
Jimmy Brown - 15th Oct 2010