Hollywood Center Delivers for DHL and Dark Light Pictures

Hollywood Center Studios recently hosted Dark Light Pictures on a shoot for a DHL commercial involving a tie-in with the summer blockbuster Mission: Impossible III. Helming the spot was Caleb Deschanel, a five time Oscar nominee (The Passion of the Christ, Fly Away Home), who is also one of the industry's top commercial directors.

The commercial follows a young DHL messenger who picks up a print of the film on a Hollywood dubbing stage and takes it Hong Kong for a screening. Along the way, he has many adventures, including parachuting from a plane above China.

Deschanel chose to shoot the visual effects sequences at Hollywood Center Studios. "It's a great facility…and close to our offices," said Dark Light executive producer Vince Arcaro.
For the parachuting sequence, Dark Light built a mock up of the plane and used scaffolding to raise it 20 feet off the studio floor. A stunt man jumped from the mock up into an air bag below. Deschanel also shot the principal actor suspended from the parachute in front of a giant blue screen. That shot was later composited over a panoramic image of Hong Kong.

As often happens in the commercial world, Dark Light faced an acute time crunch. "Caleb pitched the project on a Friday and we needed to be shooting the following Wednesday," recalls Arcaro. "We had to complete all of the stage work and interiors in two days so that Caleb could catch a plane to Hong Kong on Saturday. In order for things to happen that quickly, everyone has to work in close sync."

The spot began airing just a few days after Deschanel finished shooting, airing in prime time on FOX, NBC, ABC and TNT. It's also airing internationally to support the film and DHL.