New Citroën C3 Aircross: Behind the scenes (Sponsored)

Producing a film takes a lot of hard work, whether it’s a comedy or drama we watch at the cinema or on TV, a shorter piece we view online or even an advert or promotional piece. And if cars are involved, the whole process can be a logistical nightmare. As our promotional film crew discovered, however, the award-winning New Citroën C3 Aircross is an absolute pleasure to work with.

If they’re shooting a car, film crews like ours often request two vehicles in an identical spec and colour. This allows the team to split up and record different parts of the film simultaneously, because time (and the weather) will often be against them. So even though C3 Aircross buyers have a huge choice of finishes to choose from in showrooms, our crew is sticking with two models that look the same to make things easier.

Every member of the crew is impressed by the space and practicality the Citroën provides. This is a central theme of the film they’re recording, but it also comes in really handy on the day of the shoot. It makes tracking shots a breeze; between locations, the crew needs to capture footage of the C3 Aircross being driven by the actors on the road, and this involves setting up the camera in the boot of the second car.

Fortunately, the Citroën has a class-leading load capacity with the rear seats folded, so there’s masses of room for the camera to be rigged and for the cameraman to be secured behind it so the tracking shots can be captured on the public road. Better still, because the C3 Aircross has been developed as part of the Citroën Advanced Comfort Programme, the supple suspension gives a smooth, cossetting ride, which translates into the kind of steady shot that cameramen love.

It’s not just the car’s practicality that appeals to our film crew; the raft of technology included as standard also helps to keep the shoot on schedule. With daylight running out, the team needs to find the quickest way to its next location, and the C3 Aircross is on hand with its Citroën Connect Nav that features real-time traffic information. The seven-inch touchscreen features smartphone-style pinch and zoom functionality, so it’s easy to calculate and then follow a route that avoids any potential traffic snarl-ups.

And before the film crew sets off, one of the USB sockets in the C3 Aircross comes into its own – not to revive a mobile phone, but to charge one of the batteries that feed the many GoPro cameras which provide all the different angles in modern movies. Easily accessible power like this is invaluable to professionals working with film recording kit; without it, shooting in such remote locations would be really difficult.

It would be equally tough without the Grip Control function on the C3 Aircross. This clever system allows drivers to tackle mild off-road terrain by offering a choice of standard, Sand, All-Road, Snow or ESP off modes at the twist of a dial. It means our film crew can safely take both cars onto the world-famous Pendine Sands, and again one Citroën is rigged with the camera to capture tracking shots as the other demonstrates the car’s ability on the sand. But the C3 Aircross is so capable that none of the team is worried at any point that the cars will become stuck on the sand.

So you’ve now got an idea of how videos like this are shot, and the challenges faced by the film crews working on such productions every day. But you can also see how the C3 Aircross makes the job easy with its wide range of talents; it’s great to work with, just as it’s brilliant to live with.

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