Here in the United States, Vredestein long ago earned a reputation for selling mostly period-correct tires perfect for air-cooled Porsches and other vintage cars. But the originally Dutch brand sells a wide range of rubber in Europe for everything from classics to modern pickup trucks, vans, and even legit supercars. Now, Vredestein hopes to expand to a larger swath of the American market with the launch of the Pinza AT, which targets the booming off-roading craze as well as the largest market share of car sales in this country: light-duty trucks.
To help create a big impact for the big move, Vredestein partnered with MotorTrend and the production company NativeFour to produce a series of video clips featuring the Pinza on the ubiquitous Ford F-150 and a more upscale Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen for a run of commercials, serious reviews, and more. I caught up with frequent NativeFour director Cameron Thuman, producer Dilan Mistry, and journalist-turned-film-star Lyn Woodward to learn more about the complexities of filming and editing a group of spots that debuted last month on the largest digital screen in New York City's iconic Times Square.
Vredestein And MotorTrend Partner With NativeFour
Every tire manufacturer produces advertisements for television and online outlets, though this one stood out to me due to the partnership with MotorTrend, which transformed from more traditional automotive journalism to an entire content studio over the past decade-plus. I asked Mistry how the project for Vredestein came about, since four-wheeling takes a bit of a left turn from some of their recent projects with the likes of Magnus Walker.
"They released the Pinza AT, which is the off-road tire, to make their North American debut," he replied. "What MotorTrend brought to the deal was distribution. Since this needed to make a big splash and MotorTrend is one of the most renowned automotive outlets, what better distribution network?"
But even the greatest distribution network in the world can't help a dull video sell tires, so I asked Thuman how his vision for the piece began to coalesce.
"Vredestein wanted to see the tires on an F-150 and a G-Wagen," Thuman began. "How I handled that creatively was making sure there are scenes in the film that are incredibly visually striking and slower, where you could take in the mountains or the moving water or the sunset."
Perhaps growing up in Utah helped lend Thuman the right eye to shoot those landscape-focused, outdoorsy themes, captured by the team in and around Mammoth Lakes, California
"There were these constant on-screen elements offered from the land," Thuman continued, "That were, not dreamlike, but the mountain getaway destination that we all kind of seek."
The Whole Crew In Mammoth
Actually filming two trucks wearing Vredesteins all over the Mammoth region proved massively complex, however—even more so than anyone at NativeFour, MotorTrend, or Vredestein could have imagined.
"We wanted to constantly go from location to location to location," Thuman explained, "To put as many different exciting, thrilling, premium landscapes on screen. So the biggest challenge was knowing that we’re bringing this huge crew to Mammoth and knowing that on the day of, we’re moving through 75 to 80 setups a day to cover all the needs for the version you saw. And then also, the project itself has another 15 deliverables."
I laughed, knowing how long it takes me to set up one scene with my GoPros to film a car review. But I had no clue that a plan for 75 to 80 setups a day only set the table for Murphy's Law to enter stage left.
"Eight hours before the shoot, the core team and I all got food poisoning," Thuman revealed. "We wake up, we’re all sick as hell, but we’re determined to finish our prep work. It was a hard day to get through driving, we were on the road for 13 hours going from location to location to show the producers exactly what the shot is, then we’d move to the next location."
Adapting To Disaster
As if food poisoning sounds like enough of a setback, a true disaster striking the entire state of California provided the greatest challenge for the production: a series of wildfires statewide resulted in all National Forests closing to visitors—including every location that NativeFour permitted a full month in advance.
"At 9 PM, which is 36 hours before the shoot, I get a call from our location manager about the National Forest land essentially blanket closing," Thuman told me. "So that was definitely a crazy call."
For most films of this scale, this level of combined misfortune would result in delays. Instead, Thuman decided to push through and re-scout new locations that could live up to his vision for the Pinza AT as a premium, rugged tire capable of allowing access to the wilderness of our collective imagination. But the process sounds rough.
"This kind of project, to me as a director, really shows the importance of teamwork and treating people well when adversity hits," he reflected. "And when adversity hits, all we have is each other to push forward. For me, if I’m not creating that environment where everybody wants to show up and bring their best, then I’m not doing my job."
"It was a good growing experience to see what we, as a team, are capable of 36 hours ahead of time and everything’s scrapped on a shoot that has four weeks of prep with MotorTrend studios, two ad agencies, and Vredestein."
The Star Of The Show
Who better to do the actual driving for a partnership between Vredestein and MotorTrend than editor, writer, and actor Jonny Lieberman? Lieberman piloted the G-Wagen in every scene but joining him, accomplished automotive journalist Lyn Woodward got to take America's favorite pickup truck out for a spin. Given Woodward's extensive off-roading experience at events like the Rebelle Rally—not to mention her passion for the tried-and-true Mitsubishi Montero, one of many strange ways her life overlaps with mine—I reached out to learn about her experience filming with NativeFour and, of course, the tires themselves.
"I’ve been on a lot of shoots." Woodward revealed, when I recounted some of the mishaps and hijinks that Thuman and Mistry shared with me beforehand. "It was a very professional shoot."
The professionalism in the face of adversity shows up in a polished product that looks purposefully scouted, filmed, and directed from beginning to end—not like a rush job thrown together at the last minute.
"I’ve been to Mammoth a lot and I didn’t even know about these places," she went on. "It’s kind of exciting watching young filmmakers come up and cut their teeth on something like this."
And how about the Vredesteins, themselves? Well, they get the ravest of reviews from Woodward.
"I would put those tires on the Montero! They’re a purpose-built tire and they look good, they do the job, but they’re also quiet."
Premium Tires For Rugged Trucks & SUVs
Clearly, including an F-150 reveals Vredestein's goal of cracking into the American market with the best-selling pickup in this country's long truck history. The G-Wagen serves as a counterpoint, classing up every shot for those city folk who might occasionally venture out onto a dirt road but more importantly, want their premium SUV to look sufficiently rugged regardless. From the beginning, Thuman's conception for the spot tries to reinforce those two elements of the all-terrain Pinza AT.
"The very first paved shot," he said, "Our drone is tracking over through 100-foot trees, like one foot off the tree branches, revealing the cars. So the idea behind each setup was to make it visually striking. Even on the paved scenes, we tried to make it exciting and make the land do the work for us."
Slower shots of majestic rivers, wild horses cantering by, and sunsets then heighten sensations of peace and stillness found outside the city, in nature, until the camera cuts back to gravel roads and crunching rocks and hammering washboards at full gas.
"Parts of the film where it’s very fast-paced and shake is added on set," Thuman revealed, "We’re doing 60 mile-per-hour side-by-side passes. You’re going to these premium locations... While racing!"
I brought up the concept of audio, though, since part of the goal for an off-roading tire manufacturer includes making sure the rubber creates less noise on the tarmac, even while it allows for gobs of grip off-roading—how did this film aurally balance the aggressive nature with the comfort factor? Mistry and Thuman pointed to their sound design studio, Defacto Sound, for the impressive blend.
"Between the high-intensity tire and engine sounds and the contemplative natural moments," said Defacto Sound Producer Samantha Rinebold, "This spot allowed for a contrast between making a project breathe and allowing the high-energy moments to feel as exciting as possible."
"We wanted to stem this excitement," Thuman added, "Between the land, the tires getting you there, and then also cherishing the adventure."
Landing A Spot At Times Square
Speaking of cherishing adventure, I rounded out our chat by asking Thuman and Mistry how they felt watching in person as a personal project debuted in a setting like Times Square.
"It was the biggest screen on Times Square," Mistry remembered, "So when the red letters of Vredestein flashed, it lit up all of Times Square. My face was red with Vredestein, all the faces, all the window, it just lit up with our spot, which was the most insane thing to witness. There was just tons of hustle and bustle, people watching it. You think in film, there’s so much going on, and it’s really special to take in those little moments."
Mistry then added a closing note about watching Thuman lead a big team on a big shoot through some pretty big challenges.
"Cameron’s brand as a director are a lot of these stories of drive, determination, these underdog stories," he said. "What really allows him to do it is he’s living it himself, he’s actively overcoming these obstacles. You can truly tell his leadership as a director on set, he’s actively learning and sharing his knowledge with his team."
For his part, Thuman passed on more of the credit to the entire crew.
"It was a wild 48 hours," he admitted, "When the land closed and we couldn’t shoot, it was really a sign of the teamwork we have and the commitment we had to follow through on the job. Because there was no option, the only option was to adjust and take the punch and make it happen."
Sources: youtube.com, motortrend.com, nativefour.com, vredestein.com, afar.com, defactosound.com, and instagram.com.