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Chrysler 300C, Harrison Ford and ice rinks in the Mohave Desert

If you pop Harrison Ford’s movie Firewall into Google you’ll see a YouTube clip of the Chrysler 300C driven by the actor in the film’s video promo.

Chrysler spent a staggering $10 million promoting the car (and movie) on TV and online and I was hired by their ad agency to do the stills for the campaign. The shots were used in publications worldwide – and included in the ad for Firewall featuring a frantic looking Harrison Ford.

Firewall, Harrison Ford

The pictures were also printed in a very high end coffee table book available in Chrysler showrooms across the USA. The requirement for this book was for a set of crafted images.

Of all the shoots I’ve done over the years, I’m particularly fond of this wonderful book that has all my shots of the car inside and out. I still have one at home, kept away from children and dogs! It’s also worth mentioning that these pictures were shot on film using a large format plate camera for ultimate analogue quality.

Los Angeles and the Mohave Desert

I shot the pictures for the US market in and around Los Angeles and in the Mohave Desert, just outside Lancaster. As with everything done in America, the LA shoot was on a grand scale. A whole block was closed, cranes were rigged, lighting and grip trucks ordered, water trucks were filled and about 100 extras, including my sister who lives near LA, were bussed in to make the scene look authentically downtown Los Angeles. People out of shot were even hired to drink coffee in the cafes for authenticity. The sheer scale was impressive – all ably co-ordinated by my good friend Ricardo Capdepont of DP Productions!

I took the downtown photo from the huge 4-wheel-drive crane high above the street, shooting the people on motion blur with the Chrysler stationary on the road. I even had LAPD’s finest escorting me around the town driving the monstrous crane.

For the tunnel shot we had to close the LA tunnel, wet the road and place lights on either side.

LA Dodgers

The night shot was taken on Stadium Way around the back of the LA Dodgers’ stadium. We popped an 18k HMI hung from a monstrous Genie high lift down through the trees and waited for the sun to go down. We also used a camouflage net and threw a ton of leaves onto it to diffuse the light on the car. All sounds easy, but it took us most of that day to set that one shot – and remember this was on film. So no mistakes!

Chrysler 300C

The final American shot was in the Mohave Desert, which was about minus 15 degrees C. We did our usual job of wetting the road beneath the car knowing that the water would freeze within moments, but it was vital for the shot. So we had a static car sliding around on an impromptu ice rink and hired hands sliding around with it trying to stop it sliding. High farce in the Mohave. Peter from Move N Shoot LA was the ice-skating expert that day! After much laughter and frantic toing and froing we managed to get the shot. I always love shooting in deserts; the sun is different in a desert, giving a brightness and lightness you can’t find elsewhere.

Chrysler 300C

Salzburg, Bavaria and the Eagles Nest

Once that shoot was put to bed, the Art Director Rob Wesolosky from US agency BBDO Detroit called me & asked if we would like to do it all over again! This time for the European launch of the 300C. So a few weeks later, we jetted off to Austria and Bavaria. Shot a few images in Salzburg, in the cobbled old town in the centre of the city, and then went high up into the Austrian and Bavarian alps to take the alpine shots.

Snap with the Tracking Rig

I even have a snap of me with the Eagle’s Nest in the background; an ugly, uninspiring Nazi tea house in the mountains where Hitler entertained various mass murderers.

Me with the Eagle’s Nest in background

American cars are famous for their size, imposing looks and cruising ability – and the Chrysler 300C fitted that stereotype – and that’s what I wanted to portray. Big, brash Americana. The ad agency loved it; Chrysler loved it. Never heard from Harrison Ford, but I’m sure he loved it too.