"I often say to Carlo 'You always take on the really wild projects with me'," says director Charley Stadler, chatting while holding court at a German beer garden. Indeed, "King" and "Sword", two Stadler-helmed spots for Snickers via Toronto-based Spy Films, are not your typical candy bar spots. Shots of cascading peanuts and creamy nougat were eschewed by the BBDO, Toronto creatives in favor of authentic medieval settings and appropriately grizzled serfs and soldiers who, as it turns out, don't really want to do battle or behead their king - they're all just a little peckish.

Crafting epic tales on a less-than-grand budget requires equal parts organizational savvy, Herculean efficiency and plain dumb luck. As both Stadler (repped by Spy Films in Canada and Amarillo Films in London) and Spy EP Carlo Trulli report, thankfully this job had all three, due in great part to the decision to shoot in Budapest. While warmer climes such as Chile, Argentina and New Zealand were in the running, a number of factors led to the Hungarian capital, and not all of them were budgetary.

"It's not that they weren't feasible locations, but the costs were quite high, especially for something of this size," says Trulli. "And if you're looking for a dark, medieval world, Europe always rings that bell."

Trulli says the boards cried out for "a certain bleak, harsh environment - a dreary authenticity." And that dreariness had to extend to the cast as well. Besides the

Toronto-cast lead (the unassuming dude who just happens to be hanging in 16th century Europe, Snickers machine in tow), the all-Hungarian talent (ranging from 100 to 250 people per shoot day) needed what Trulli calls "a more hardcore look" that involved more than just dressing folks in cloaks. "Every person had to look authentic - we didn't want it to look like a masquerade party." Aiding in that process was the lucky stroke of being able to outfit all the cast via one wardrobe supplier - London costumers Angels - who had at their disposal the costumes from Gladiator.

Stadler, Trulli and BBDO agency producer Sam Benson have nothing but praise for the talent corralled by Hungarian production services company Strawberry Films and EP Katalin Krammer, both in front of and behind the cameras. With Budapest making a concerted effort to lure film work to the region, the "lean and mean" non-union teams were ready and willing to work, and most of the 80- to 100-person crew had valuable feature experience under their belts (the first AD worked on the set of Steven Spielberg's Munich, while an art department head had worked on a Harry Potter film). With each spot getting two days of shoot time, speed and agility was of the essence - at one point in the course of production, there were three cameras and three ADs.

Things got put to the test after the first spot, "King", was wrapped. Shot on Fot Studio's backlot, the environment was fairly controlled and the process relatively trouble-free. But moving to hilly terrain an hour outside of Budapest for "Sword" provided a few more challenges. The script called for hordes of horse-bound warriors traversing across a desolate valley for a showdown (only to be reminded by Snickers Dude that "Maybe you're just hungry"). The wintry gloom of the mid-December sky was the perfect touch - maybe too perfect. "Weather was a huge challenge," says Benson. "In order to get to the location, we had to taxi everyone and everything up some extremely steep and rough terrain using military 4X4s. When temperatures dropped and the way iced over, it was grim." Adding insult to potential injury was a snowstorm that effectively scuttled the spot's first shoot day. Considering that daylight was at a premium - "In Budapest the sun comes up at 8:30 and leaves again at 4:00," says Stadler - wiping out a day's shoot was not in anybody's game plan.

Adversity aside - and apologies for the pun - "Sword" was drawn quickly, with the entire spot being shot by three cameras in a mere seven hours (Benson recalls it being "less than 12"). "It was hardcore," sighs Stadler.

All told, despite Hungarian winter rearing its blustery head, Trulli and Stadler exhibit pride over being able to turn in a project both refer to as "ambitious for the money".

"I honestly think we were really lucky," sums up Stadler. "It could've been a total disaster. But it was worth it because they're great commercials."

GOOD TO KNOW
CURRENCY: Hungary's main unit of currency is the forint (207 forints to the USD), but the Euro is widely used. "It's kind of an inexpensive place, but that's changing rapidly," says Trulli. "Hotels, food and entertainment were surprisingly expensive," reports Benson. "Easily comparable to here, so don't expect savings there."
VISAS: No special visas needed.
GRUB: Despite an ample Snickers supply, Trulli did make sure he tried the local delicacy - good ol' Hungarian goulash - a couple of times on the trip.
GEAR: "The [production] infrastructure is pretty solid," says Trulli. "What they didn't have we could always get from elsewhere in Europe." As for crew, talent and wardrobe, BBDO's Benson says, "All of the creative aspects of the job came at prices and delivery I haven't seen or heard of anywhere else. It was outstanding and surely won't last forever."

Spy Films> http://www.spyfilms.com
BBDO Canada> http://www.bbdo.ca
Strawberry Films> http://www.strawberryfilms.hu