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Princess Yachts film blows the superyacht marketing paradigm wide open

Superyacht marketing may never be the same following the release of the new Princess Yachts marketing film that focuses on the 35M. The Plymouth, England-based superyacht company recently released a short video that shows real people enjoying their own yacht while anchored in the Spanish island of Mallorca.

Unlike most big boat videos, the video doesn’t include a feature walkthrough with models in swimsuits on every deck of the 35M. Instead, you see glimpses of an extended family with three generations interacting with each other and their crew and enjoying the yacht. They also eat and drink a lot, but that gives the barefoot crew members a reason to walk around as the cameras follow. Check out the video below to get a tour of the 35M. You will quickly realize this is not your everyday smartphone video shoot.

Princess Presents the M Class

Nice, huh? This cinema-standard mini-movie entailed an award-winning production crew. Craft Films’ cinematographers used lightweight cameras and lenses, equipment, often attached to handheld gimbals. The film crew followed family and yacht crew members up and down stairs, through multiple passageways and rooms, and even underwater. Extensive cable and pulley systems enabled the cameras to track the yacht exterior. The crew also used a high-end video drone.

All parties involved were aware they were taking yacht marketing to a new level. “When we first embarked on this project, the word ‘ambitious’ felt like an understatement,” Craft Films cinematographer Nick Brown said. “We wanted to follow the interaction of the family and crew moving through every space, and that could only be achieved by rigging up the cameras to move from deck to deck seamlessly.

“From a technical point of view,” Brown continued, “our major challenge was moving smoothly through different rooms on the boat to truly capture the feel of continuous motion. And an added layer of narrative complexity entailed creating the sense of an experience moving through time, to emulate an entire day aboard within just a few minutes.”

Princess Yachts Marketing Director Kiran Haslam gave huge props to the film’s crew and cast. Haslam also noted the significance of this film beyond its depiction of life on a luxury superyacht.

“We are enormously proud of this original film, and it is a testament to the fantastic team involved both in front of and behind the lens. It was one of our most ambitious projects to date, and is a sign of things to come as we now plan our next epic cinematic experience to further propel the Princess brand, and raise the bar on audiovisual production in the marine industry.”

The 35M is a magnificent vessel. The yacht was a World Superyacht Awards 2016 winner and you can check its specs on the Princess Yachts website. The point of the new video, which the film makes so well, is that you don’t have to check specific details for a fully realized sense of what life could be like on your own 35M.

Bruce Brown
Digital Trends Contributing Editor Bruce Brown is a member of the Smart Homes and Commerce teams. Bruce uses smart devices…
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