VIRAL SPOT: BMW'S TIRE-SMOKING K1200R
July 21, 2006

VIRAL SPOT: BMW'S TIRE-SMOKING K1200R

The video (www.worldsfastestnakedbike.com) - which is prefaced by a disclaimer stating, "With great power, comes great responsibility" - opens with a dark shot of the K1200 being loaded off a trailer and on to a drag strip. Quick fade-outs reveal its silhouette and controls, with a rider in black leather gunning the engine and waiting for the green light. 

Imagery of wheelies, burnouts and blistering speeds are all things you won't see on a broadcast television spot. Motion graphics emphasize the incredible performance of the K1200R, which features "96 ft./lbs. of torque" and a recorded time of "Zero to 60 in 2.9 seconds." At the end of the course, the faceless rider burns BMW logo into the ground, sending a clear message that the K1200R motorcycle, "Smokes everything... even your expectations."

Agency The Concept Farm in New York created the bike's print campaign and accompanying Web component to build enthusiasm. The Production Farm shot HD motorcycle footage at the Lebanon Valley Dragway in New York using Panasonic's VariCam camera. Matthijs Van Wensveen directed the project and Ben Bloodwell served as DP. 

Griffin Stenger, creative director of The Concept Farm, turned to editor Gioiella for help in making the bike look as aggressive, fast and exciting as possible. Gioiella used a variety of camera angles, jump cuts and fade-to-black techniques to create the excitement the agency was looking for."We had an opportunity to create something different and underground for BMW's new bike," notes Stenger. "The spot is meant to be viral, a discovery for the biking community to make. We had a lot of raw footage on a racetrack with the K1200R and had to communicate that this bike is extremely powerful, which is an abstract idea."

Gioiella cut the project on an Avid system, choosing interesting camera angles and wide shots, while ramping up the speed and length of cuts.

"I also reversed some frames to make the motorcycle look as if it's going faster," he notes. "I used saturated color and black & white to give the film a gritty and edgy look. It was a very smooth process with Griffin Stenger and Matthijs Van Wensveen. We've been doing a number of webisodes lately, and knew we could bring a different perspective to the project."

Clean Cuts handled sound for the spot and Moving Images provided color services. Atmosphere 13 created the animated graphics.