In the automotive world nothing puts a new car in the spotlight faster than a well-edited, cleverly produced commercial.
So when the Fisker Automotive, the electric automaker known for using a model in swim-suit and high-heels to sell is 2012 Karma Sedan, announced its 2013 Fisker Surf Extended-range Station Wagon at the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show we were expecting a suitably sexy launch video.
As the LATimes found out however, Fisker's first video of the Surf is a rough-around-the-edges B-Roll video, similar in style to some of the minimally-edited videos Tesla has previously released of its 2012 Model S sedan.
For those who don’t know, B-Roll footage is the supplemental or alternative footage shot by a camera crew when filming an interview, documentary, film or advert. In the automotive world, B-Roll footage of a new car is often given away to news organizations and journalists who are producing a video about the car in question.
Complete with all the kinds of shots we’d expect to see from B-Roll footage, the 3-and-a-half minute video consists of various external shots of the Surf driving past, as well as the obligatory plugging-in and dashboard close-up shots.
Perhaps the most noticeable thing about the video however is the pedestrian warning system fitted to the Surf in order to comply with the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act.
Apparently audible from both the front and rear of the vehicle, the spaceship-like noise is much louder than the audible warning systems we’ve heard on other cars -- although we’re not convinced a few shots haven’t had the Cylon-like sounds added in a basic pre-production video edit.
Is the video release Fisker’s attempt to bare-all in the face of continuing delays of its 2012 Karma, or a genuine piece of B-roll footage meant for the media rather than general viewing?
Let us know in the Comments below.
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