Film Production

we received an unexpected call that would shake things up at Slate, at least in terms of our creative capabilities. Ultraviolette reached out to us for a potential collaboration and we were super stoked. Upon meeting with the CEO Narayan and his team in person, they were keen to onboard us after expectations were set and their curiosity about our capabilities was satisfied. Looking back, it seemed like a meeting of minds from the get-go.
Once the necessary paperwork and NDA were out of the way, we were let in on Ultraviolette’s latest creation - the F77 Mach 2 - an electric motorcycle made in India for the world. The bike was meant to supersede expectations like no other and was the primary focus of this project.

The Brief

Ultraviolette was clear in their ask: To make a launch film for the F77 Mach 2 that would cater to audiences internationally. Our initial treatment began with the brand story and philosophy. This treatment took the audience on a journey of Ultraviolette’s evolution through its design, tech, performance, factory, and software, all leading up to the pivotal moment of the launch. Narayan and his team were extremely hands-on from start to finish and their passion for collaborating on this project shone through. The treatment went through a few more iterations before we were ready to get the ball rolling.

The Making of

The entire project was produced over two months, with the actual on-ground shoot being completed in six days. Two of these days were in the studio, favouring a chroma wall over an LED screen for better quality. This also allowed for complete flexibility during post-production. Over two months, we had long, (almost) endless brainstorming sessions with Narayan and the team at Ultraviolette. Some of these discussions even extended late into the night, which we saw as a resonance of our very own attitude of pushing ideas and concepts to the limit. As our creative director Darshan put it, “The passion and commitment the UV team had to build their product was evident and the hustle was addictive.” We were also tasked with shooting a brand film that we produced at Ultraviolette’s own facilities - the factory, the hangar, and their R&D facility, the A71. Here’s where our DoP Surjit Pi put his previous experience on the sci-fi film Gaganachaari to good use, specifically in terms of achieving the futuristic look. This quirky film was also a collaborative effort with the Ultraviolette team, allowing us to get a deeper insight into the brand.

Technicians & Collaborators

Apart from Surjit, the camera unit, the gaffer and line producer, the only other unit we outsourced was Cinecartel, a group of professional FPV pilots. Pavan and his crew came prepared for any redundancies and were well-equipped for anything that was thrown at them.

Locations

TAAL is an aerodrome located in Hosur on the border of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. This was a brand new location for us at Slate, with a beautiful runway that was ideal for filming the F77 Mach 2 on a straight. The precision rider featured in the film, Ankit, performed tirelessly, even managing to wheelie the Mach 2 with ease. The Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida was another location we had not shot at before. However, this location came with a caveat - a different crew was parallelly shooting the UV product film, which was also a part of the launch collateral. We managed to stay out of their frame to be able to get the footage we needed, and all in all, things turned out well. Mathew from Cinecartel snagged a bunch of high-energy FPV shots while the rest of us focused on Narayan’s profile piece to the camera on the parabolica.

In Conclusion

The F77 Mach 2 launch film was one of the longest, most intensive projects for the team at Slate. It was also the start of future collaborations between us and the phenomenal team at Ultraviolette. A moment on set that stands out is the shot of the Mach 2 towing the two trucks - a feat that was not staged one bit and had the entire crew’s jaws on the floor in sheer awe. To date, the launch film has about ~350k views on YouTube, with comments praising the video production quality, the edit and presentation, and, of course, the design and tech that Ultraviolette has deftly managed to package into the F77 Mach 2. Moreover, Narayan gave Slate Studios a shoutout on LinkedIn for this project, which made the hard work we put in all the more worth it.