Work / Automotive

The McCarthy Companies

RED Komodo & V-Raptor · up to three crews · Colorado and St. Louis

01 / 04

The Challenge

The McCarthy Companies is a Dallas-based automotive advertising agency that builds campaigns for dealers across the country. When they needed running footage in Colorado Springs, they needed a crew on the ground who could deliver it to agency standard without them flying a team in. Running footage is its own discipline: a tracking vehicle, a stabilized rig, precise timing and safe driving on public roads. Their first location was Garden of the Gods, one of the most photographed and most crowded places in Colorado. The light is only right early, and the roads fill up soon after.

02 / 04

Our Solution

We built the day around the light and the crowds. The crew set up before dawn so the cars were rolling by first light, ahead of the visitor traffic. We shot with a RED Komodo on a Tilta Alien rig, stabilized by a DJI RS3 Pro and paired with Vespid prime lenses, to get smooth, cinematic tracking shots on the park's winding roads. The footage landed well. The next brief was bigger: a multi-location shoot at Rainbow Creek and around Colorado Springs, with three crews working at once. That trust has carried through to every job since.

03 / 04

How We Made It

Camera & lenses: RED Komodo and RED V-Raptor with Vespid prime lenses. Sony FX3 for the St. Louis running footage. DJI Inspire 2 and DJI Mavic 3 Cine for aerials. Tilta Alien Rig with DJI RS3 Pro and RS4 Pro
Crew & lighting: Running footage shot from a Tilta Alien tracking rig with DJI gimbal stabilization, including a DJI RS4 Pro in St. Louis. On the expanded Colorado Springs shoot, three crews worked at once: one on cinematic b-roll with the V-Raptor, one on running footage with the Komodo and Alien rig, and one flying aerials with the Inspire 2.
Talent: Cars and Drivers provided by the dealerships
Schedule & locations: Pre-dawn starts at Garden of the Gods. Rainbow Creek and locations around Colorado Springs. Red Rock and around Denver for Groove Toyota, plus on-site in the dealership. Multiple dealerships in St. Louis.
Deliverables: Running footage, cinematic b-roll and aerials for dealer commercial spots and social media, plus in-dealership coverage across several brands.

It started with one early morning in Garden of the Gods and a brief for running footage. Each job since has been bigger than the one before it: three crews in Colorado Springs, Groove Toyota's commercial and social work in Denver, and then a trip to St. Louis to shoot running footage, aerials and dealership interiors for several brands. When an agency that has built dealer campaigns for three decades keeps handing you larger jobs, that says more about the work than any number could.

04 / 04

Where It Ran

Production partner to The McCarthy Companies. Footage delivered for their dealer clients' commercial spots and social media, including Chevy, Ford, Honda, Volkswagen, GMC, and Toyota dealerships in Denver, Colorado Springs, Boulder, and Longmont, as well as several dealerships in the St. Louis area.

““Snowy Peak has been a trusted production partner of The McCarthy Companies since September 2024. They’re professional, flexible, dependable, and easy to work with. They communicate clearly, adapt quickly when plans change, take feedback well, and always look for ways to make the final product better. They show up prepared, on time, and with a great attitude, which makes a real difference on set. They feel like an extension of our team, and as a producer, one of the best compliments I can give is that they make my job easier.””

Daisy Wilson - McCarthy Companies

How it was made