Gamers and mystery novel readers alike had been anxiously awaiting the release of Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint — the latest video game release by Ubisoft. It ultimately debuted to mixed results from critics, but reviewers praised Breakpoint for the impressive arsenal of guns and gadgets, and the way it’s “optimized for cooperative play.” We teamed up with Argonaut and Hollywood director David Leitch (Deadpool 2, John Wick) to create a promo that showcased these aspects of the game and told a story of two worlds.
As Leitch explained it: “More than anything, the key point of all action is to tell a story, and in this spot, we’re telling a story with these characters in the world of the game and also the characters in their worlds at home. We wanted to make sure we have these distinct characters that jump off the page and that the action defines them in a real particular way. We have this fun juxtaposition with the different characters and their voices too.”
About the Ad
For this five-minute film, audiences are transported back and forth between a Ghost Recon game mission and the living rooms of a group of gamers, including notorious rapper Lil’ Wayne. The promo is packed with action but provides brief respites of humorous chatter in between.
The Grammy Award winner’s lack of focus and personal life gets in the way of his gameplay, causing his character to act in bizarre ways. At one point, Wayne’s character is talking with his agent during a tense moment of the game, leaving his squadmates hanging and questioning why they put up with his endless antics.
Lil’ Wayne told Vibe: “That’s happened more than a few times, when you play games a lot, especially with your homies, and everybody’s on some sort of team, and everybody’s counting on everybody. It doesn’t even have to be a phone call. It can be somebody at the door, it can be your mom screaming at you, anything.”
Ultimately, Lil’ Wayne is killed in action and taken over by fellow rapper Snoop Dog. Breakpoint debuted during two prime-time slots– Thursday Night Football on October 3rd and WWE Smackdown on October 4th. The Drum featured the spot in their “Ads We Like” section.
What We Did
We bring a certain energy, practical sense, and resourceful “can-do” attitude to the sets we work on. Movie Prop Rentals’ film director Jerry Blohm laughs: “Getting the performance we needed from the rapper before wrap time was the crowning achievement here. We won’t take all the credit– David Leitch and the agency are both incredibly talented– but our experience certainly comes into play. We’ve designed sets for over 200 music videos, and we’ve, in fact, worked with Lil’ Wayne before– on Mirror, PJ Morton’s Lover, and Birdman’s Money to Blow– so we know how to focus him on the task when we’ve only got 10 days to prep and shoot.”
When you choose Movie Prop Rentals, you get the best of everything. “Did we rent a $25 million mansion for the shoot? Of course, we did,” adds Movie Prop Rentals’ Art Director Graylan Franklin with a smile. We incorporate the creative director and talents’ personal taste into our prop selection, so for this one, you’ll see crystal skulls, golden goblets, and gritty modern art in the background. Perhaps the most noticeable aspect of the film is the white marble walls and pristine white couch Lil’ Wayne’s sitting on. “Movie Prop Rentals replaced all the furniture in this epic mansion overlooking Miami Beach,” Franklin explained. “All the patio set up by the pool was all our team’s vision. Deciding to shoot the sunset and the fire at night–it may not be the easiest shot to nail, but it’s the best.”
Get Star-Caliber Commercial Set Design
Next to the art director and production team, you’ll need a set design team to nail down the setting, props, and scene composition necessary to transport viewers to another place. Movie Prop Rentals does everything in-house, from design, construction, and location procurement, to transport, custom prop fabrication, and set-up/tear-down. Working with a small, agile crew of experienced and talented professionals helps you keep costs reasonable while producing a world-class end result that seemingly spares no expense. Contact us for a custom quote on our services.
