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Saatchi & Saatchi’s Nathan Cooper takes us for a ride on ‘The Beer Scooter’

Creative folk are always coming up with ideas and finding ways to execute them during the day and then going home and doing the same thing at night, whether it’s a business, an app, a film or some other diversion. Saatchi & Saatchi’s digital creative director Nathan Cooper is certainly in that category, and, with the help of a few industry friends, he has just released his first short film about “a perilous journey across the gulf of booze-induced amnesia” called The Beer Scooter. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPJsh43euVE

A none-too subtle warning about the dangers of heavy drinking, The Beer Scooter explores the circumstances that can lead to an often horrific, hungover realisation: you haven’t made it back to the safety of your bed. Shot entirely on location in Auckland, the three-minute short was made on a shoestring budget (aside from the rather large bar bill).

“The whole thing just sort of fell into place. I wrote it with Johnny [Agnew] in mind, met this great DOP Garth Badger who just got it straight away and then my father-in-law Peter Vere-Jones said he’d voice it. From there everyone I spoke to was up for helping out.”

The project took around two months from the first draft to its first view and involved what Cooper refers to as a bit of method directing. 

“I’ve always loved the idea of making a film about the legendary Beer Scooter. And growing up in a pub gave me a good understanding of the subject matter.” 

Cooper has already written the film’s sequel Beer Googles, which is planned for release later this year.

“It will be much of the same really. I wanted to do Scooter first as the term ‘Beer Googles’ is much more familiar and so harder to do without cliché. I figured if people like this one then they’ll be more likely to want to see Beer Googles rather than the other way round.” 

Cooper is a highly awarded digital creative director with over 16 years of experience across marketing and advertising—both creative and strategy—and has worked for the likes of Droga5, Anomaly, Wieden & Kennedy, 180, R/GA, POKE, St Luke’s & Mother on brands like of Converse, Nike, adidas, Sony and Nokia. Previously, he has been a commercials director out of Paul Arden’s London shop, where he shot films for Playstation, Carling and Sky, and he arrived in New Zealand for a role at Droga5, before shacking up with Saatchi & Saatchi late last year (speaking of which, he’s hiring a junior creative that understands the internet, so email him here if you’re keen). 

Credits

Written, produced and directed by Nathan James Cooper (rubbishcorp®)

http://rubbishcorp.com/ 

https://twitter.com/rubbishcorp

http://www.nathanjamescooper.com/

DOP : Garth Badger http://garthbadger.co.nz/

Narrated by Peter Vere-Jones http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0893947/

Twinkle music & score by Joost Langeveld at Bigpop studios 

http://bigpopstudios.com/

Vocals by Gemma Copas

https://soundcloud.com/gemmacopas

Recorded and mixed by Luke Berryman 

Download Twinkle Twinkle here – http://bigpopstudios.com/beer-scooter/

Idiots:

JJ Agnew

Gemma Copas

Chris Long

Tristan Comley

Angels:

Emma Guadagni

Brodie Reid

Krista Nelson

Hannah Nathan

Rachael Williams

Production & fixing: Jane Oak & Anna Kennedy

Script consultant: James E Snelling http://www.jamesesnelling.com/

Titles, machines and magic by Assembly http://www.assemblyltd.com/

Voice & SFX by Franklin Road http://home.franklinrd.co.nz/ & Marmalade Audio http://www.marmalade.co.nz/  

Big thank you to Saatchi & Saatchi NZ, BadgerDome®, Brian http://www.munkieandhorrace.com/, The Gypsy Tea Roomhttp://www.gypsytearoom.co.nz/, Mr & Mrs Hunter & the extras (excluding Brad). 

Gear: Canon 1DC – Log mode 50fps, 1080p

Low light pushing iso up to 4000 

Lighting – low level led

Lenses – Canon L series 

35 1.4

50 1.2

85 1.2

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