Shot in a water tank four meters deep in Pinewood Studios, Dougal Wilson’s COI “Breathe” PSA compares the experience of death by smoke inhalation to that of drowning in a bid to convince Brits to regularly test their smoke alarms.

In the ad, a couple appear to be sleeping peacefully in bed, until the viewer gradually realizes they are in fact submerged underwater as books, telephones and children’s toys float ominously nearby. “You think you’d wake in a house fire, wouldn’t you?” a matronly voice-over cautions. “But just two-to-three breaths of toxic smoke and you’re unconscious.”

The spot was produced by Matt Fone of Blink Productions and shot by veteran underwater DP Mark Silk. To find out more about the challenges and considerations associated with taking the plunge, we rang up Fone for a quick chat.

Casting
Not just anyone can star in an underwater commercial. The cast had to have experience working underwater as well as diving certifications. To find the right people, he convened two casting sessions: dry and wet. During the dry session, Fone determined if potentials not only had the right qualifications, but a precise look. “I had a shortlist of who we liked the look of - not too posh, not too working class,” he says. “An everyday sort of person.”

The second session took place in two-feet of water in Pinewood, where the shoot was to take place. “We had to train them with the breathing apparatus they would have under the duvet,” he says. “You’re only allowed to have the crew and the actors underwater for four hours at a time, so you have to work around that. When they come up for air, the clock stops and when they go underwater it starts again. It has to do with the nitrogen levels in your blood. It’s a normal procedure for diving.”

To communicate with the actors, Wilson spoke into an Aquafone, which broadcast his voice underwater.

The set
The set was constructed as if in a normal studio but the art direction had to take into consideration a prop’s reaction to water. Everything from the carpet to the pillows and curtains were liable to bleed color into the water.

“If you put certain curtains in, they’ve got a dye in them that just clouds the water and you come in the next day and its green or yellow or blue,” says Fone. “The paper and books you have to submerge in water and keep them there but they deteriorate quickly over a few hours.”

VFX
Wilson wanted to capture as much in-camera as possible, so only a few post-production tricks were used in the underwater scenes. For example, the LED read-out on the alarm clock was an effect. But the tricky part was shooting the end of the ad when the water disappears and is replaced by black, toxic smoke.

After the two-day shoot in Pinewood, the crew relocated to the parking lot of post-house The Moving Picture Company in Perivale. The toxic nature of the smoke required an outdoor location. During pre-production, Fone traveled to Birmingham to a fire crew training session to see fire and smoke in action.

The crew completely rebuilt the set in the car park, shot the smoldering flames against a black screen and then composited the sleeping actors into the final shot.

Check out more images from the COI “Breathe” underwater set below and watch the spot in the screening room.