Our Colombian Production Company Takes the Pulse of Bogotá for Cat Footwear

Bogotá is a vast, exciting metropolis characterized by the clash of traditional and modern culture. It’s a glorious contradiction, where the old and the new come together in creative and dynamic ways, all overlooked by the towering peaks of the Andes mountains. It’s also the home of our WhereNext’s Colombian office. So when Cat Footwear contacted us looking for a location to shoot the Urban Trek campaign for their Advanced Walking Machines range of shoes, we knew that Bogotá was the place to do it.

As an experienced Colombia-based production company, we were able to imaginatively showcase the best of Bogotá, without relying on the same old tourist hotspots seen in most videos. We wanted this video to be experience-driven, and to tell the story of the city vibrantly and uniquely while showcasing the distinctive features of the Cat shoes at the same time. Here’s a look at the locations we selected to appear in the video, so you can see how we produced this campaign, and maybe plan your own Bogotá urban trek.

Work

1. Creative

2. Location Scouting & Permits

3. Casting

4. Styling

5. Still Photography and Videography

6. Motion Edit and Asset Delivery (Social Media, Retail, Event, Product, and Display Ads)

Monserrate

We opened the video with Monserrate. This iconic mountain overlooks the historical center of Bogotá, and thanks to the majestic panorama afforded from its heights, it is one of the city’s most iconic tourist attractions. However, we decided to put a different spin on it to align with the urban trekking theme of the campaign.

Rather than have our protagonists experience Monserrate in a typical way and take the cable car up to the top, we chose to showcase the monumental hiking trail up to the peak. Taking this path is urban trekking at its most hardcore: a vertical gain of around 500m over 1,600 steps, from 2,600 to 3,150 meters (10,335 feet) above sea level! It’s not a hike for the faint-hearted, but what better way to explore a city, get some intense exercise, and showcase the features of the Cat product at the same time?!

La Candelaria

From Monserrate, we moved down to the historic neighborhood of La Candelaria. This is where modern-day Bogotá was born, and its cobbled streets and colonial-style buildings are dripping with history. Those same cobbled streets also made for captivating shots that both told the story of the city and highlighted the strengths of the product. Walking along those ancient cobblestones is like trekking on Andean trails, and this gave us the chance to show off the urban trek narrative of the campaign even more.

We also wanted to shine a light on some of Bogotá’s lesser-known gems, so our protagonists visited the workshop of master Colombian luthier and national treasure, Luis Alberto Paredes Rodríguez, who has been making guitars and other traditional stringed instruments for over fifty years. This location beautifully illustrated new travel trends, which are moving towards a more hands-on, experiential style.

Modern travelers don’t just want to absorb information passively, they are looking to get their hands dirty, to touch, and taste, and interact while they explore a new place. This is also what the Cat urban trek concept is all about: getting outside of your comfort zone and fervently exploring the hidden corners of a city. Because we prefer to focus on experience-based storytelling in our videos, visiting this revered craftsman’s intimate studio was a natural fit for us and completely supported Cat’s concept.

Paloquemao Market

Paloquemao Market is Bogotá’s biggest food market, and exploring its thousands of narrow corridors and jam-packed stalls is a trek in itself! You need some damn comfy shoes to navigate the glorious chaos of Paloquemao. It was a quintessential experiential tourism experience and a surefire choice for our production.

Paloquemao is a mesmerizing assault on the senses: a hectic riot of sounds, smells, and truly one-of-a-kind tastes. We chose to focus on the startling variety of exotic fruit in the market since we know from our experience in producing videos in Colombia that this strongly resonates with travelers. The excitement of tasting a new fruit for the first time is often one of people’s fondest memories from their Colombia adventure, so it made sense to bring that to the screen.

Check out our Destination Guide to Filming in Bogotá, Colombia.

Antipoda Cultural Center

In keeping with the urban theme of the campaign, we wanted to find a location to highlight Bogotá’s position as one of the world’s premier destinations for street art. The Antipoda Cultural Center was marvellous and our timing ideal. They were hosting a street art exhibition during the shoot, which allowed us to both emphasize the graffiti culture of Bogota, while also sending our protagonists to an actual identifiable location in the city. This was important, as part of the goal of the campaign was to convey how easily visitors can plan their own urban trek in Bogotá, and inspire them to have similar adventures in other world cities.

Salon Oculto & Oculto Bar

The final stop on our Bogotá urban trek was Salon Oculto and Oculto Bar for food and drink. Bogotá has developed a reputation as a foodie paradise in recent years, and Salon Oculto is an essential summation of the creativity and dynamism of the city’s food scene. It’s a modern, pop-up concept, with ever-changing menus, locations, and chefs. The menus show off the freshest and most unique Colombian ingredients, from the most exotic locations imaginable. Through our contacts in the Bogotá culinary scene, we arranged a shoot at one of their locations. Our protagonists were invited into the kitchen with the chef to prepare some dishes. Experience-driven storytelling at its finest!

After dinner, it was time for drinks. Knowing that one of our models was a musician, we arranged for him to play and sing with a local artist at Oculto Bar. We fully immersed our characters into the experiences. Rather than merely observing, our protagonists became part of Bogotá’s nightlife.

We Know Colombia Like the Back of Our Hand

The tagline at the end of our video reads: “Every city has a pulse. Discover it.” Our Colombian-based production company knows the pulse of Bogotá better than anyone. We are the optimal team to bring the soul of Bogotá to life for Cat Footwear while at the same time showing off their excellent product.

Learn more about our Colombia-based production company here.