The Brief

RedBullZA had just completed the construction of two new event vehicles, and the MMMob documented it all. Now, it was time to get high-end, editorial quality images of the machines, for PR and Media use. Here’s the thing – it needed to be a covert operation! The cars were highly conspicuous, and could NOT be snapped by any member of the public or media, before the official unveiling.

The MMMob Approach

MMM needed to scout locations which were damn cool, but completely deserted. First stop, a dramatic opencast slate quarry close to Stellenbosch. We got permission to shoot the futuristic vehicle against a freshly-blasted area. The setting was otherworldly, like a space-rover on the face of a newly discovered planet.

To get the small tank to the next location, back in the city, we waited until nightfall, and then transported it on a flatbed trailer, covered completely in tarp. In the dead of the night, we arrived at the second location. A dark and dangerous corner of Woodstock. An armed security detail of six, stood guard as we shot the car amongst the ruins of a crumbling structure. Around midnight, the vehicle was taken back to the workshop where it was cleaned and stowed away, while we waited for a final pre-dawn shooting sortee.

Just before dawn, we wrapped and towed the vehicle to a vantage point above the old District Six area, with the Cape Town cityscape in the distance. Lastly, we took the top-secret ride for a stealthy spin. Performing three loops from Nelson Mandela Boulevard to the CCTIC intersection, and back – capturing footage reminiscent of a car-chase.

Long before the morning traffic took to the streets, the vehicle was safe under lock and key,as if it never even happened.

MMMobsters

• Creative Director: Thoban Jappie
• Photography: Desmond Louw