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LMGI COMPASS
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Spring 2025
Commercial Collaboration
Grant County was also used a lot for the filming, including a
farmstead in the middle of cornfields, "where we threw them a ton
of money and used a load of their staff," says Freid. "We also did a
drone shot through the fields, and lots of shooting in The Feathers.
All within a short distance of each other for efficiency."
The Feathers at Frenchman Coulee near Vantage, Washington, is
a hugely popular filming spot for car commercials with its distinct
and rugged rock landscape created by Ice Age floods.
"We (Paul, Mark and Lisa) had worked together on a Ford
commercial a few years back in The Feathers and thought it would
be perfect for this commercial. It's a gem of a location where
you can show off the car in motion in a striking off-road setting,"
enthuses Riordan. "Nearby, there was also an historic floodplain,
like a mini–Grand Canyon, which features in the opening shot and
worked perfectly."
Their experience working together on the Ford commercial
really helped build an understanding of how each other works and
what locations to choose.
"We had done so many long scouts together on that Ford
job all over the Pacific Northwest and Seattle, so we'd built
an understanding of the right looks and it was my first go-to
location for the Toyota commercial, all the different textures and
atmospheres in one workable place," says Gunning.
Riordan adds: "Getting [back] into Lisa's head was not difficult
and, as a matter of fact, I rewatched the Ford commercial, along
with a couple of other pieces on her website, to get into her style
of directing again."
Overall, the team managed five different moves over four days.
"We were racing around, filming on the beach at Ebey's Landing
National Historic Reserve on Whidbey Island, which looks directly
into the Olympic Mountains and is one of the most epic locations
on planet Earth. Although we didn't shoot its epicness, but rather
the scene where she plays with the dog on the beach, because it
was adjacent to the other locations on Whidbey Island where we
were filming. We also shot at the Kenmore Lanes bowling alley,
through forests with leaves blowing, and then in the 'fake' snow at
the post office in Langley. It was crazy," laughs Freid.
