Director Joe Kelly and crew prepare to shoot a scene for a series of spots for Coldrex at a bus stop in Moscow, Russia.

Joe Kelly recently traveled to Moscow to direct a series of commercials for Coldrex, a cold / flu remedy. The TV spots will air in six languages throughout Eastern European countries. His directive from the creative team at the advertising agency, Grey Moscow, was to make the everyday person relate to the spots.

Kelly teamed up with Mikhail Agranovich, a well-known cinematographer in the Russian cinema, who frequently shoots commercials. "It was the first time we have worked together, and I would welcome the opportunity to do it again," Kelly says. "Misha did a fantastic job." Kelly used still photographs, storyboards and colorist reels to share his vision for the spots with Agranovich. They made an immediate connection.

"One thing about working abroad as a director is that it forces you to get out of your comfort zone," Kelly says. "Whether you are working with the actors, agency, client cinematographer and his crew, you have to be creative in how you communicate. find visual references are the universal language to conveying most ideas."

The spot opens with a man who has a tough-looking "rocker" exterior and a scholarly-looking woman waiting at a bus stop on an overcast day. The man is sneezing, coughing, and obviously suffering from a cold. The woman recommends Coldrex.

In the next scene, we see the rocker healthy and happy back at the bus stop on a sunny day. This time, he is waiting with an elderly woman who sneezes, and in a reversal of roles, he is giving her advice about using Coldrex.

Kelly explains that it was important to create an environment that didn't scream of Russia specifically, but could be any bus stop in that region.

"We chose to have the lighting almost flat to create a sense of realism," Kelly says. "We wanted it to look natural and have an intimate feeling of an observed quality. We wanted the audience to feel like they were also waiting for the bus."

Agranovich filmed the spot with an ARRIFLEX 435 Xtreme camera using a combination of prime and zoom lenses to record a blend of wide-angle shots with slow dolly push-ins. "The camera was also placed over the actors' shoulders, with slight movement, simulating what the scene might look like to someone on the bench observing," says Kelly.

"I love the KODAK VISION2 250D 5205 daylight stock because it has great latitude," Kelly says. "It captures an abundance of information in the shadows with the details being a lot smoother. The film had a nice even look without showing any grain."

Each spot was filmed in two days. One day was spent on the scenes that were overcast and rainy, and the other on a bright, clear day. "Luckily for us, it was actually sunny everyday, so it was easy to show sunshine," Kelly says. "We added some diffusion with 20-by-20 light grid to eliminate any harsh shadows without compromising the feeling of it being a bright, sunny day. On the tight shots an 8-by-8 light grid was used."

"On the rainy day shots, we used a lot of overhead diffusion, negative fill, and special effects rain that was aimed at the back the bus stop booth glass. It worked perfectly," Kelly says. "They looked awesome on the negative. The light and colors looked natural. Everything was exposed and processed at a normal level. Misha did a fantastic job with the look, and the client loved them. There wasn't a lot to do in telecine."