The latest commercial to be showcased in our Raging Artists Aspiring Spotmakers initiative comes from Director/Editor Brendon DeVore of SLAM. Titled "Weapon of Choice", the spot delivers that patented Lexus luxury with a youthful edge we haven't seen from the brand...a commercial like this might actually help them hit that demographic. We love the spot, and as a bonus, we're including a version created for the French market - looks like someone has their eye on a trip to Cannes.

About the Ad: "We shot this piece all around California's Long Beach Airport. It took four days to film because I wanted to shoot the entire spot at magic hour so we had to keep going out to shoot at dusk during the 30-minute window when the light was right," says DeVore. "We borrowed a friend's Lexus and went to town.

"The idea for the spot is that we are following the lives of a very chaotic couple, they fight, laugh, make out and almost crash cars into each other. This couple is  engaging in "The passionate pursuit of perfection" in their relationship and the car is a backdrop against which this plays out.

I had the idea in my mind for a while and the Raging Artists Aspiring Spotmakers initiative gave me the motivation to actually go do it. Knowing that it would be seen amped me for this. I'm an editor and viral video director now but would love to make commercials for television."

Tech Talk: "The spot was shot on the Panasonic DVX 100B in 24p mode, which looks good when it is pointed right at the sun. Cut on Final Cut. The shot where the car is stopping in front of the girl was shot twice, once with just the car stopping and once with just the girl standing and reacting and the two shots were matted togther. Lots of gradients were added in post to enhance the sky."

Title: "Weapon of Choice"
Client: Lexus (spec)
Director/Editor: Brendon DeVore
Producer: Carmen Bellah
Production Company: Dueling VHS

Music Supervision: Don DeVore

Bonus Clip: "Weapon of Choice/French Version"

Download full size Quicktime by right clicking HERE (select "Save target as...")