When you have a fast turnaround to hit the Christmas season of advertising, it’s time to call in the experts. Combining the skills of comedy director Peter Lydon with the production capabilities of Madam Films proved to be the dream team for Adland favourite, comedian & social media star, Rob Mayhew. The concept was created by Mayhew & written in partnership with Lydon who also directed the film. A partnership ably abetted by the team at MADAM who kept true to their sustainability and diversity targets throughout.
Producing through Little Madam, the content division of the UK production company, the spoof ad portrays a slice of reality as a family wait for all their guests to arrive on Christmas Day. As the camera pans through the house you can hear voices of the family from the past few months stressing about Christmas.
Peter Lydon: “Since I first worked with Rob on a short film a year ago we’ve been mulling over lots of ideas for our first proper collaboration… but there’s nothing like a deadline for concentrating the mind. With a loose script we pressed the go button and delivered the finished film 10 days later, just in time for Rob’s premiere”.
The one-day shoot was set in a north London location, with a light footprint crew supporting the ambition of bringing Christmas, if a little early, to this London home.
Rob Mayhew: “When I first came up with the idea with Peter of filming a spoof Christmas ad it was a no brainer that our first choice would be working with MADAM. They are brilliant, professional, kind and it was an honour to work with them. They did an outstanding job”.
Carly Stone: “Rob’s content has cheered up many of my mornings on LinkedIn, it was always going to be a yes to work with him and Peter Lydon whose adept comedy direction has always been on my radar. Fast paced production & delivery with a nimble crew (Jenny n/a) meant it was an all-hands-on approach with amazing teamwork and lots of comedy along the way.”
The company values Madam Films employs remained in place across the production, specifically in alignment with policies around sustainability and diversity. Trainees were welcomed on set and team members took on hybrid roles across production and green production. A behind-the-scenes film & stills compliment the production.
The MADAM environmental policy includes no red meat on shoots, encourages all crew members to travel to set using public transport where possible. During the shoot a collective effort towards recycling and sorting waste was seen from the entire crew.
Credits:
Title: Christmas – Let’s Get This Over With
Created & Written by Rob Mayhew @mrrobertmayhew & Peter Lydon @pglydon
Production Company: Madam Films @madamfilms
Director: Peter Lydon
Executive Producer & Producer: Carly Stone @fareystone
Co-Producer: Kat Armour-Brown @katerinaarmourbrown
DOP & Editor: Ray Moody @prettydata
Post Production: Creative Outpost @creative.outpost
Sound Design: Dave Robinson
Grade: Mark Horrobin
Post Producer: George Blomiley
Executive Producer: Caroline McNulty
Music: Sacha Puttnam @sachaputtnam
Production Co-Ordinator: Dimitris Vachaviolos @d_vacha
Art Director: Kateryna Kubánova @katherina_kubanova
Art Assistant: Jason Lee Thraves @tripsandpieces
1st Camera Assistant: Jo Llewellyn-Davies @W_LlewellynDavies
Gaffer: Phil Penfold
Production Assistant & Runner: Yena Choi
Runner & BTS: Angus Michie @angusmichie
With special thanks to Ali Thompson, Stitch Editing @stitchediting & Fresh Locations @fresh_locations
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