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Short film from Turkish Airlines: First to the Gate

Turkish Airlines, the global carrier that flies to more countries than any other airline, has launched a new short film produced in partnership with Zach King. The four-minute film, titled First to the Gate, features the famous illusionist and filmmaker in a race through Istanbul Airport as he competes with his co-star, JJ Carroll, for a window seat on their flight. Along with King, a crew of 90 people worked to create the film, which was produced in just four days. Directed by both Jadon Gauthier of WonderBox Entertainment, and King, the film is a fast-paced, exciteful adventure. Through a series of dynamic camera movement, creative effects, visual illusions and a dose of comedy, the film captures the audience’s imagination and showcases the state-of-the-art airport facilities, modern architecture, and Turkish Airlines’ Business Lounge offerings, all photographed with a sleek cinematic tone by director of photography Sean Conte. Turkish Airlines Chairman of the Board and the Executive Committee, Prof. Dr. Ahmet Bolat stated; “As an innovation airline, we’re passionate about providing a platform to showcase and support the work of forward-thinking creators like Zach King. This partnership is a nod to our spirit of collaboration, and an exciting asset that captures the grandeur of our beautiful hub, Istanbul Airport and the essence of the Turkish Airlines brand, in a creative and entertaining way.” Digital illusionist Zach King said; “Turkish Airlines Business Lounge is excellent and I’ve never had such good food in an airport lounge before. I’m glad we had to show it off in the film because I think it really actually helps the production value of the short we are filming.” This film is the second collaborative project between Turkish Airlines and King, who previously helped produce a safety video for the carrier. A fan of Istanbul’s unique charm, the meeting point of East and West, amalgamation of historic and cosmopolitan, King has visited the destination nearly a dozen times to film multiple projects. His love for filmmaking began at a young age, but he quickly rose to social media fame after publishing some of his short videos featuring “digital magic” via YouTube in the early 2000s. Here’s the film:
YouTube video
And here’s a ‘behind the scenes’ video:
YouTube video

Paul Johnson

Paul Johnson is Editor of A Luxury Travel Blog and has worked in the travel industry for more than 30 years. He is Winner of the Innovations in Travel ‘Best Travel Influencer’ Award from WIRED magazine. In addition to other awards, the blog has also been voted “one of the world’s best travel blogs” and “best for luxury” by The Daily Telegraph.

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3 Comments

  1. So many talented young film-makers pick up experience on these big budget ads that their quality is often far better than your average 2 hour movie.

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