In a Kansas field, a battle was waged. The combatants weighed in at over 15 tons. When the dust settled, one machine stood clearly above the rest. Who will be crowned the world heavyweight champion of power and productivity? Visit ChallengerFaceOff.com for the final tally of the judges.
Producer: Laura Rea
Director: Ron Huey
DP: Patrick Molnar
Editor: Matt Clement
Production Notes:
Our location for the 3-day shoot was in the middle of a Kansas corn field.
To say it was hot is an understatement. The temps were in triple digits, there was not a leaf for shade in sight and the wind was gusting around 30 MPH. I’m still cleaning out dust and dirt from my clothes, shoes and equipment.
We were not only shooting two commercials, but a web series covering a head to head face-off of the three biggest names in farming… John Deere, Case and Challenger. Farmers from all over the region were invited to take these tractors to the fields to see how they handled various tasks including tillage, roading and fuel efficiency.
Director of Photography, Pat Molnar and his crew had a bit of a face-off of their own going head to head with the dry dusty fields which hadn’t seen rain in months. The days were long and grueling, but everyone stepped up to the challenge.
The Mr. Congeniality Award has to go to our M.C., Jason Knapp who had to wear a tuxedo throughout the day and did it with a smile. I left an apology note for the poor employee who was tasked with having to clean that suit.
Matt Clement Online 