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http://www.accordions.com/news.aspx?d=23-Jul-2010&lang=en&s=2409
http://www.accordions.com/news.aspx?d=23-Jul-2010&lang=en&s=2409
23-Jul-2010
Filming Renault Megane TV Adverts, Lancashire - UKby Rob Howard |
  On July 15th and 18th July, Rob Howard (our News Editor) and author of the An A to Z of the Accordion book series, was disguised as a French accordionist, taking part in the filming of some TV adverts for the Renault Megane car in the north Lancashire village of Gisburn. “This was an interesting experience – spells of boredom spent waiting around interspersed with exciting periods of action before the cameras, but also very demanding as the producers wanted me to just improvise French style music. I had been asked beforehand to submit a list of the French music I knew, and most interestingly, everything except the ‘Can Can’, ‘Alouette,’ and ‘Frere Jacques’ was rejected as the film company wanted to avoid international copyright issues. This meant that once the cameras rolled, I was improvising. I had never previously composed anything – something quite new for me – so this was a sort of crash course! I actually enjoyed working my fingers around making up waltzes, javas, tangos, polkas, etc. By the time the filming was finally over, I had improvised enough music to fill a CD!” The first of the two days was in a crowded and noisy pub called The White Bull – done up in French bunting and with French maids serving, and the second outside at a French fete in a local field, which culminated in the Megane used for the filming being raffled, and won by a local woman. The celebrity guest was Dr Linda Papadopoulos, the glamorous psychologist often seen on such UK TV shows as ‘GMTV’ and ‘Big Brother’. The fete looked authentically French, but the event was almost ruined by heavy rain, and filming was done in fits and starts, weather permitting. During the downpour I stood in a marquee, playing into a mike, improvising French music that boomed out around the fete. At other times, I roamed the fete playing, trying my best to inject some ‘Frenchness’ into the proceedings. There was a very long queue for raffle tickets, with everybody getting thoroughly soaked, though the eventual winner probably didn’t mind! It was quite a fun experience!” The adverts will appear on UK television from August 5th. |