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The Hollywood-style short film
July, 2006: The film »Hail – the Return of the Sun« is only around two minutes long, but this interesting break from typical solar energy advertising is not short on substance. Indeed, it is an action-packed visual vignette with great sound and an exciting story. German module manufacturer Solon AG financed the film and gave the creative group at ad agency Jung von Matt plenty of artistic freedom. PHOTON met up with Jung von Matt‘s Carl-Christian Berge and Sascha Hanke, who were the minds behind the film.
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© Jung von Matt/Elbe GmbH
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PHOTON How did the film come about? Who approached whom?
Carl-Christian Berge Solon came to us in the fall of 2005. They had seen our campaign »You Are Germany« and another one for [car rental company] Sixt and thought they were good.
PHOTON Was this the first time you had been in contact with the solar branch?
Berge Yes. It‘s often really good though when you‘re new to a sector. Then you are not blinded by habit.
PHOTON So what was your assignment?
Berge To showcase Solon AG. The idea for the film »Hail – the Return of the Sun« presented by »Pioneers of Power« came from that.
Sascha Hanke The problem: one cannot see the energy. The aim: to make solar energy tangible.
Berge Whatever I can‘t see, I don‘t believe. Whatever I see, I believe. The problem with solar energy is that there‘s nothing happening. A few blue panels are lying around, and that‘s it.
PHOTON What is the main idea of the film?
Berge The basic thought is to make the 970 trillion kWh of energy that the sun sends to the earth every day comprehensible.
PHOTON So what kind of budget would I be looking at if I came to you and wanted to make such a film?
Berge Well that would mean four days of filming with a US editor and three to four weeks of production time. It‘s not exactly cheap, but we can‘t say any definite numbers.
PHOTON Do you remember how Solon reacted at the first presentation of the film?
Hanke and Berge One employee stood there and simply said, »Respect, respect, respect.« Seldom does one see this reaction from a customer.
PHOTON Will this film be shown in the cinema or on TV? Does it make sense for a solar company of Solon‘s size to invest money in TV advertising?
Hanke The target group is shareholders and for this group one would have to go to cable networks. There have already been TV ads from the solar sector there – for example from Conergy and SolarWorld. But they all start 10 steps too far ahead. They show PV systems and explain how the technology works. There are already a lot of advertising films on the solar branch. But I have the impression that it is only one film because they are all so similar. We want to awaken desires and display the massive power of solar energy.
PHOTON By the way, there is quite a lot of noise in the film.
Hanke Yes, the storyboard has quite a lot of havoc in it. No one has done this in the solar sector before. The challenge associated with such projects is in getting the customer to go along with it.
PHOTON And? Did Solon go along with it? Or were some scenes cut?
Hanke Solon went along with everything; we were able to realize the concept exactly as we had planned. That kind of thing is great, and very rare nowadays. It was a lot of fun.
Berge We are kindred spirits.
PHOTON Why was the film shot in Hollywood – and not in Babelsberg, Germany, for example?
Berge Hollywood – that‘s what makes the difference. Steven Spielberg was shooting right next door while we were there. That‘s the main stage. And we didn‘t pick any old director – we decided on Joseph Kahn. He makes videos for Madonna and U2.
PHOTON Sounds exclusive and expensive.
Berge It‘s definitely a more elaborate thing; we don‘t do things like that very often. The film is one of the highlights for Jung von Matt this year and will be entered in the Cannes Film Festival.
PHOTON Will there be a sequel? »The Return of the Sun II«?
Hanke Further collaboration with Solon is planned. We are already working on the next project.
The film can be viewed at:
http://www.pioneers-of-power.de
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