Journey through Paris with Ford Mustang’s Re-Rendezvous
A cult Paris street-race film, reimagined in 360 for a new generation.
How do you legally recreate an infamous one-take sprint through Paris and make it immersive? Ford and Visualise set out to do exactly that, rebuilding Claude Lelouch’s 1976 run (‘C’était un rendez-vous’) as a 360° VR experience that puts the viewer at the grill. It meant matching the spirit of an illegal classic while navigating modern roads, permissions and physics.
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Client & Challenge
Ford wanted to engage European audiences around Mustang by honouring a piece of driving folklore: Lelouch’s C’était un rendez-vous. GTB, Ford’s creative agency, partnered with Visualise to remake the film in 360 VR with Lelouch’s blessing – same city, same adrenaline, entirely new medium. The task was to capture the original’s intensity without the original’s risks.
Respect the route, rethink the perspective. Paris has changed since 1976 – some roads are now one-way, others gone, so the team mapped a like-for-like journey and planned meticulously with the French authorities to shoot safely over two days.
“The project was enormously challenging, some even said it was impossible. We were tasked with recreating a film which was shot illegally and dangerously in 1976, in modern times, which meant we had to a number of factors to consider. Shooting these kind of driving shots in one of the busiest cities in the world wasn’t an easy task but we are over the moon with the final result.”
Will McMaster, Head of VR at VISUALISE
Execution
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Custom low-angle camera rig. To mirror the original bumper-level view, Visualise designed a bespoke mount fixed 12 inches from the ground on the Mustang’s grille and bolted to the chassis to kill vibration.
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On-location problem-solving. Filming live streets meant constant choreography: moving crowds at Sacré-Cœur, hunting down the only key to a bollard held by monks, and negotiating city services to hold the shot.
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Finish for continuity. Post-production tackled extensive plate clean-up, de-branding, number-plate blurs and a grade at MPC to stitch day-break hues across takes, with 3D sound to complete the sensation.
Results & Impact
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High-profile launch and distribution. The film rolled out online in February 2017 across YouTube and Facebook, featured on a Mashable microsite, and ran via Teads’ 360 outstream across premium publishers.
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Creative endorsement. “Our idea was to maintain that essential experience, but bring the cinematic thrill of VR and the driving experience of Ford Mustang,” said GTB’s Julian Watt. GTB’s Ben Richards called out the combination of “iconic brand and iconic film… interesting partners, distribution techniques and multiple formats.”
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Press pickup. Automotive titles covered the reboot and its gender-flipped lead, route past Arc de Triomphe and Sacré-Cœur, and 360 execution.
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Client voice. “Mustang is a symbol of the freedom and thrill of driving… the perfect way to capture this spirit for a new audience,” said Anthony Ireson, Ford of Europe.
Takeaway & Broader Significance
Re-Rendezvous shows how VR can honor film heritage without museum-ifying it. By rebuilding a notorious one-take as a multi-take, permitted shoot – and keeping the camera where the myth lived, inches off the tarmac – the team proved immersion isn’t about recklessness, it’s about perspective.
“C’etait un rendez-vous was a first in 1976; nobody had ever filmed an urban drive like it. So I was thrilled by the prospect of recreating this high-octane short using the very latest technology, making it even more immersive.”
Claude Lelouch
Got a story with history and heat? Let’s put your audience in the driver’s seat – safely, and with style.