Standing around waiting for an actor to urinate inside a wetsuit sounds like an unusual way to interpret a script, but then again, Sony PlayStation is an unusual client.

Director Sam Cadman of London's Rogue Films is talking about a scene in "Research This", one of a pair of commercials he helmed three months ago through TBWA, London, for PlayStation 2's SOCOM: US Navy SEALs game.

The shot called for a recreation of the classic Apocalypse Now scene where Martin Sheen raises his head out of the water, warrior-style.

"The poor guy was in a tiny freezing cold pond wearing a wetsuit," Cadman recalls. "He had to piss his pants to warm up; we just stood around waiting for him to do it. Once the scene was over he got a round of applause. It was surreal."

Shot over three days, "Research This" and its companion "Burger Barbarians" follow the adventures of online gamers in bizarre scenarios.

"Research This" unfolds on the shopping streets of Slough, near London. The ad opens with researchers questioning shoppers. Suddenly, a group of SEALs rappel from helicopters to wipe out the geeky research team. One priceless scene sees a SEAL spin and roll to grab a huge fish from a nearby street stand, wiping out a researcher as he slams the grouper across his face.

"Burger Barbarians" is set in a busy fast food restaurant. Everyday folk use household objects to kick ass and wreak havoc on unsuspecting people. One grunt wields a mop stick as a sniper gun, dodging unseen bullets as he maneuvers through the war zone of chicken and meat, with a donut squashed into his helmet. He soon comes under heavy fire, grabbing ketchup containers from tables to spray blood from imaginary bullet wounds as he collapses to the ground.

"These scripts were right up my street: wacky and crazy," explains Cadman. He talks about one shot that shows a certifiable loony inching along the streets atop a lawn mower with fake rocket launcher and guns, and flag flapping in the breeze.

"It's all about the utter hopelessness of it: the puttering of the engine, the fool driving in cheap army gear - you give him top marks for trying as he crawls down a cul de sac," he says, laughing. "He's the local loony that everyone puts up with, but one day he'll attack someone and then never be seen or heard of again."

Cadman worked closely with TBWA creatives Chris Bovill and John Allison to speed things up and get the right feel on set. Allison says they hired Cadman because they'd seen Trigger Happy, a big British TV show. Like Candid Camera, it pulls pranks on unsuspecting bystanders. Cadman was the DP. "We knew Sam could deliver the goods," says Allison. "I've been a big fan of his work for some time."

He says TBWA "wanted to take PlayStation in a new direction, to match the subversive nature and feel of [Microsoft's] Xbox. That was basically the brief."

Cadman says improvisation, and constant consultation with Allison and Bovill on set, created the right dose of adrenaline to focus and collect enough imagery in such a short time frame.