Although he's cavalier about how he found himself 10,000 miles from home and strapped into the passenger seat of a stunt car racing around a track precariously balanced on two wheels, Charles Crisp has a sudden revelation about the natural laws of physics and what he was told about the tipping quotient. "They probably didn't tell me the truth."

Despite surviving his intrepid stunt car experience during the scouting in Australia for Rexona "Stunt City", which was directed by Stink London's Ivan Zacharias, the Lowe UK head of TV found that on more than one occasion during the seven-day shoot in downtown Sydney he had to close his eyes and put his fingers in his ears.

Like the time they set a guy on fire and instructed him to nonchalantly walk around while reading a paper. Says Crisp: "It all looks very casual until he goes to the ground and they smother him and you realize they have to get the flames out quickly."

The justification for such life-threatening behavior came from the script that illustrates Rexona as a deodorant that provides "over-the-top protection under the arms" by translating the concept into a city that sleeps, eats and wakes up by skidding, crashing, hanging and being on fire. But turning the script into a spot meant staging a complicated series of stunts that had to look both spontaneous and natural.

Before they could even think of the how, the agency had to figure out the where. And because of the concept, the location had to meet very specific criteria. "The reason for Australia was threefold," says Nick Landon, EP at Stink. "We needed sun in the European winter. We needed a big stunt community with experienced stuntmen, which took us down to LA or Australia. And then we really chose Australia for the architecture - and probably budget a bit."

The other added bonus to going Down Under was Guy Norris. You've probably never heard of him, but if you've seen Mad Max: The Road Warrior, Moulin Rouge (and the upcoming Stealth), you've seen him at work. The Australian stunt coordinator is a bit of a legend in the stunt world for a death-defying tumble he took in Mad Max, but he was the key to pulling off the choreography for "Stunt City", which began two months before the shoot.

"He was great. A lovely guy," recalls Landon. "After we met him, we then began confirming the job with a local production company [Doll]. He worked alongside them providing stuntmen, equipment and everything else."

Crisp is unanimous in his praise for the local stuntmen. "They were absolutely superb. People [often] say they're going to be able to perform a stunt and when you get there it's not quite what you thought. Basically you spend an hour waiting for them to rig it up and it doesn't quite come off. Absolutely everything worked like clockwork."

As far as getting good weather, sunshine wasn't only a necessity because of the tight budget and complicated stunt work, but it was integral to the marketing of the product. "Bearing in mind they're all meant to be people who've used deodorant, it's not really going to work if it was raining and overcast," observes Crisp. Miraculously, although there were thundershowers, there were no down days.

As far as achieving the complexity of what would be the centerpiece of the spot - the stunts within the city - they were all done practically, which presented its own set of challenges because Zacharias had conceived so many stunts, many of which included shots with a full city block in view.

"It's very difficult to get into the heart of a city like that and do the sorts of things that we were doing. Closing roads, wiring people up, and bringing in a helicopter," says Crisp. "I think we managed to get some permissions and get more access to the city in Sydney than they'd ever given us before."

Due to these limitations, the crew could only prep at night and shoot on the weekends, so Landon worked with Doll day in and day out to handle permits, permissions and insurance. "It was a pain, and it was very, very restrictive," he remembers.

In spite of the logistical challenges, the result is a spot that is unique in both its look and the rhythm it creates. And Crisp is unequivocal about Sydney. "I love it," he says genuinely. "It's a pleasant city to shoot in, and a pleasant place to be. There's something about being on the other side of the world. You're not that easy to get a hold of."

GOOD TO KNOW

SERVICE IS EVERYTHING: "I'd worked with Doll and recommended them. Using a good local facility company really does have a lot to do with [a production]. You are in their hands completely." - Charles Crisp
FOOTWEAR: "Don't wear open-toed shoes on set. You're not allowed. They kick you off. There's some sort of legislation that forbids it." - Nick Landon
LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION: "Book your locations months in advance because it takes ages." - Landon

Stink> http://www.stink.tv
Lowe UK> http://www.loweuk.com
Doll> http://www.dollcoll.com.au