Case Study: Formula E 'The Race for Clean Air'

Filming the Invisible Killer in the World's Most Polluted City.

  • Project: The Race for Clean Air
  • Format: Branded Documentary / CSR Content
  • Client: Little Dot Studios / Formula E (London)
  • Role: Location Producer (India) / Fixer
  • Talent: Lucas Di Grassi (Formula E Champion & UN Ambassador)
  • Location: New Delhi, India

Lucas Di Grassi filming Formula E branded content documentary in New Delhi, managed by Goa Film Services.

The Challenge: Visualizing a Public Health Crisis

Formula E isn't just about racing; it's about accelerating the adoption of electric vehicles to clean up city air. To drive this message home, they needed to take their champion, Lucas Di Grassi, to ground zero of the global air quality crisis: New Delhi.

The brief was complex:

  • The Subject: Air pollution is invisible. You can't just point a camera at the sky and call it a movie. We needed to find the human stories and the scientific solutions that made the crisis tangible.
  • The Environment: Filming in Delhi during peak pollution season is a health hazard for the crew and talent. It requires managing logistics in an environment where the Air Quality Index (AQI) routinely hits "Hazardous" levels.
  • The Politics: Pollution is a sensitive political topic in India. Securing permits to film industrial waste, traffic congestion, and scientific interventions requires navigating the situation with empathy and awareness of local sensitivities.

The Solution: The "Research-First" Approach

We didn't just provide vans and cameras; we provided the editorial backbone. Before the UK team even applied for visas, our local team was on the ground in Delhi, curating the narrative in collaboration with them.

  1. Editorial Research & Casting

We acted as local journalists. We scouted and vetted the entrepreneurs and scientists who were developing innovative solutions to the smog. We found the "characters" that would allow Lucas Di Grassi to have meaningful, on-camera interactions rather than just standing in front of traffic.

  1. The "VIP" Logistics

Lucas Di Grassi is a world-class athlete and a UN Ambassador. His time is expensive, and his safety is paramount. We executed a military-grade schedule that moved him effortlessly between gritty landfills, high-tech labs, and chaotic traffic junctions. We managed the "bubble"—ensuring luxury transport and secure green rooms were always available in the middle of Delhi's chaos.

  1. "Invisible" Permitting

Filming environmental degradation can be tricky. We managed the permissions by framing the narrative correctly—focusing on solutions and innovation rather than just "poverty porn." This ensured we got access to sensitive locations without interference.

The Outcome

The resulting documentary, The Race for Clean Air, was released globally to support Formula E's sustainability mission. It didn't just show smog; it showed the fight against it.

We proved that we can handle "purpose-driven" content that requires editorial sensitivity, high-end talent management, and the ability to operate in challenging physical environments.

What The Client Said

"I'm really proud of the film we've made and I want to say a massive thank you to Tony and his amazing local crew who worked their asses off and made us feel hugely welcome."

- Nick Birtwistle, Producer/Director | Little Dot Studios 

Full Documentary Film...

 

Services Provided

  • Editorial Research: Sourcing contributors, scientists, and locations before the shoot.
  • Location Production: Managing the daily schedule and logistics for a VIP talent unit.
  • Permit Management: Securing permissions for filming in public and private spaces in Delhi.
  • Specialized Crew: Providing local sound and camera support to augment the traveling unit.
  • Risk Assessment: Managing health and safety protocols for high-pollution environments.

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