Volvo XC90 - Scenic / Directors cut - (2012) :90 (Norway)

Fredrik Callinggard shot this Volvo spot in the fjordland of Norway.

Fredrik Callinggard, represented in the United States by Bully Pictures, has directed a new, international campaign for Volvo re-launching its mid-sized, luxury, crossover SUV the XC90. Filmed in Norway’s spectacular fjordlands, the 60-second launch spot offers a rich and deeply affecting montage of landscape imagery and scenes of families traveling and enjoying life. Farmlands populated by ancient wood structures, quaint hamlets, gorgeous beaches and snow-swept mountains, all appearing under a cool autumn chill, float by as a young girl sweetly recites the words of “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands.”

Callinggard and two camera crews spent eight days traversing rugged, sparsely populated back country, collecting cinematic visuals with RED Epic cameras. The production, which included shoots via helicopter and camera cars, yielded more than 12 hours of source material representing more than 20 locations. Most scenes were captured with available light, including cloud fields blowing gently over mountaintops, kids running with sparklers and a twilight scene of headlights on a rural road. Callinggard’s aim was to relate the Volvo brand, and the XC90 in particular, to the poetry of Scandinavian nature and to the desire of viewers’ to escape from urban stress. The campaign’s tagline is “Made by Scandinavia. Design Around You.”

“We pre-selected locations and cars, but we remained open-minded and things began to fall into place,” explains creative producer Mads Nørfelt Marstrand. “Norway is an amazing place to shoot cars. In summer, it never gets dark. Everything is beautiful and everything is possible.”

Director: Fredrik Callinggard