Houston Film Commission executive director Rick Ferguson said many European companies want to film here because of the the uncluttered skyline and architecture.A German-language BMW commercial was filmed in Houston in April. Auto companies, in particular, love filming commercials in Houston, Ferguson said. That's because the city has "so many high-tech and modern buildings that have reflective surfaces." The good lighting off the buildings can make the car look great from all angles.
Over the past three years, about half of the 192 commercials that have gone through the Houston Film Commission -- which represent about 50 percent of the ads filmed in the city -- have been for European or Asian products.
Foreign directors, Ferguson said, like the city's versatility, the cooperation they get from public officials and the way the downtown skyline looks from Allen Parkway or Memorial Drive at the "magic hour"-- right before dusk when the lighting is perfect.
Random thought: The next time someone wants to do some viral marketing on behalf of Houston, maybe they could hunt down some of these commercials and put a few of the downtown-skyline-from-Allen-Parkway-at-dusk clips on Youtube as part of that effort. Just a suggestion.
About 500 feature films, television movies, miniseries, TV pilots, music videos, commercials and documentaries were shot in the Bayou City from 2004 to 2006, Ferguson said.
The reflection of sunset in the buildings of the Medical Center as seen from the Rice campus is another great one.
Posted by: Kenneth Fair on June 5, 2007 1:50 PM