Levis Ad - Jonathan Glazer (Original Soundtrack)
Levi's Engineered
Jeans were promoted in
2002 in "
Odyssey", a
TV commercial that has come to be known as a classic. A young man (played by
French actor Nicolas Duvauchelle) opens a door, steps back and emotionally prepares himself for the odyssey.
And then he runs. Through the door, through the wall of the next room, and the room after. As he continues to burst through one empty room after another he is joined by another runner, a woman (played by
Antoinette Sugier).
Finally they stop, breathless. They catch a glance at each other, preparing for the next stage of the journey.
It's through the exterior brick wall, out into the forest, up the trees and into the sky. The text: "Levi's Engineered Jeans.
Freedom to move. levi.com".
CREDITS
Levi Strauss Europe,
Middle East &
Africa commissioned advertising agency
Bartle Bogle Hegarty to provide a follow up to '
Twist', a campaign introducing the '
Levis Engineered Jeans'. Levi Strauss had responded to the fall of sale of
501 jeans with this new brand and needed to capture the imagination of a new generation of buyers. The
BBH team included creative director
Stephen Butler, art director
Gavin Lester, copywriter
Antony Goldstein, producer
Andy Gulliman.
Director Jonathan Glazer directed the filming in a conference centre in
Budapest, with his
Academy Films team including producer
Simon Cooper, executive producer
Nick Morris, and director of photography/camera
Daniel Landin.
Special effects were developed by post production company Framestore-CFC who give their version of the making of the ad on their site. The shoot took place in June
2001, although
Framestore CFC had started the project's research and development work some time before that. Levi's 'Odyssey' was the first major project delivered by Framestore CFC since its inception at the end of 2001.
Leonard Teo and Ali Tezel told the story of the making of the ad at CG
Society's web site, giving an insider look at the pre-visualization stage, the filming, the 3D work behind the wall explosison and computer generated forest. During the filming the actors jumped through physical walls with big gaps (double door size) and real dust and debris shot out of air jets. As the debris hit the actors, they would naturally react to it by trying to avoid the dust and pieces, conveying a certain hardship as the characters broke away from their physical and emotional confines.
Apparently it took seven months to make this ad/film.
Sam Sneade from Speade provided his editing skills. He hosts 'Odyssey' as a quicktime file.
Sound and music was designed/engineered by
Johnny Burn co-founder of
Wave Studios in
Soho London.
Music produced by
Jeff Wayne and arranged by
John Altman.
The music is
Handel's '
Sarabande' from the Suite in
D minor for solo harpsichord. John Altman employed a late-classical chamber orchestra -- 22 strings, flute, clarinet, bassoon, three
French horns and timpani. For a reflection of the impact of the sountrack see
Norman Lebrecht's column from
February 2002. Glazer has a slightly part of the piece playing on his reel -- the 'Director's
Soundtrack"?
Sandy Hunter provides an excellent background to the filming of the ad at
Boards Mag.
Odyssey' is one of the commercials featured on Director's
Series Vol. 5 --
Work of Director Jonathan Glazer, a
DVD released in
September 2005.
This DVD is a collection of the work of the director Jonathan Glazer and includes his music videos, commercials, short films , excerpts from his feature films as well as commentaries and interviews with the actors, musicians and other collaborators. New original content includes TRAMP and ARTSHOLE both starring
Jonathan and
Paul Kaye, and a documentary about Jonathan's work.
Commercials on the DVD are
Wrangler '
Ride', Guinness '
Surfer' (extended), Guinness '
Swim Black', Guinness '
Dreamer', Volkswagen '
Protection',
Stella Artois '
Last Orders', Stella Artois '
Whip Round', Levis '
Kung Fu', Levis 'Odyssey', Barclays '
Bull' (with
Samuel L. Jackson), Barclays '
Chicken' (with Samuel L. Jackson)
http://theinspirationroom.com/daily/
2005/levis-engineered-jeans-odyssey/