Walking around director Eddy Chu’s Doritos set can best be described as ‘explosive.’ The three-day, mid-April shoot in downtown Toronto for Hostess’ signature tortilla chip line is an effects-heavy, mega-job. And, although there is little bull, the china shop Radke Films created for the shoot still rings out with the ‘bang, bang, bang’ of shattering crystal and flying breakaway glass.

The shoot actually takes place in two ‘shops’ along King Street East in Toronto’s old town. One store is set up as the china shop while the other, right next door, is acting as the production office. A makeshift terrace overhangs both, housing makeup, cameras and special-effects gear.

Look around the production side and you can see the folks from BBDO and Hostess sitting around a plastic table, watching the monitor. There is a confident nervousness in the air as explosives are planted and stunt people rehearse. With so many safety requirements, both client and agency watch the proceedings with a quiet intensity.

BBDO producer Emma Du Boisson admits the high-action shoot is somewhat foreign to her. ‘[The client] was nervous at the beginning. How are we going to explode everything? How is it going to work? And to be honest, none of us had been through that process before. We hadn’t exploded anything. So it’s an exciting one for us – a huge learning curve. Blowing up windows and blowing up vases, and how you can do it all in camera? Eddy’s been great,’ she says.

Unlike his agency clients, Chu has a lot of experience directing action sequences. It’s clear on set that his confidence and relaxed control are keeping the ball moving. Directions are called in a clear and voluminous voice – but there are no barking orders, no yelling and, at least on the outside, no stress.

According to Radke executive producer Jaime Phair, Chu knew the spot was for him when he saw the creative. ‘Eddy loved the board and said, ‘Let’s do a call,” says Phair.

The board depicts a ‘very exclusive china shop.’ As snooty sales associates mill around, a hairline crack appears in one of the vases. The crack widens and the vase shatters. Looking over, one sales associate sees a crystal decanter explode.

Mayhem ensues as china and crystal displays begin exploding around the store.

As the people in the shop pull themselves off the ground, the spot cuts to the exterior where a young guy, back to the store, chomps Doritos. He inspects the last chip, tosses the empty bag in a garbage bin and bites the chip with a loud crunch. The china shop window explodes, but listening to his Walkman, the young man is oblivious.

The spot cuts to the garbage bin where a title appears and the announcer explains: ‘Doritos. The loudest taste on earth.’

Finally, attention is turned back to the young guy walking away amid shattered glass and car alarms whining in the background.

Special effects guru Laird McMurray of Laird Effects explains that not all the explosions could be realistically accomplished with breakaway glass. ‘Some articles weren’t so easy to duplicate in breakaway, so we’re going to blow up the real thing. That will be with no talent,’ he says.

The talent on set during the breakaway explosions are, in fact, stunt performers. Under the guidance of Tye Codi of Tyco Aviation, the key concern on a commercial like this is safety. ‘We want to make sure the performers are safe,’ Codi says.

Codi goes on to describe the ‘bang, bang, bang’ explosion scene the stunt performers are going to have to act around: ‘You see that pitcher there? It’s candy glass. That’s going to explode – boom. The second beat is a plate that the fellows are setting over here – that’s going to explode. And the third beat is that vase in front of the lens [hanging over the terrace] – that’s going to explode. So it’s going to go ‘bang, bang, bang.”

As Codi rehearses the stunt people, he actually calls ‘bang, bang, bang,’ getting them used to the timing of the explosions and their blocking for the shot. With so many effects involved, it is extremely important to get their actions right the first time. Numerous takes, in a case like this, are impossible.

‘In the sequence of events, that thing explodes and my security guard hits the deck. My other stunt player runs into a corner and stuff continues to explode, throughout the shot. Eddy’s got a really cool shot of this breaking and a bunch of stuff falling down. So it’ll be very, very cool. And it’s all high speed – a John Woo-ish kind of thing,’ Codi says.

When ready to shoot the explosions, everyone, including the client, is asked to wait on the street. Safety concerns had everyone abandoning comfort and craft service for a view from the sidewalk. BBDO writer Craig Redmond is one of those observing from the sidelines.

‘The production has been going amazing. The guys at Radke have really pulled it together,’ says Redmond. ‘Eddy’s been terrific and Jeff [Chadwick, Radke producer] was amazing to get it all done. Originally, we were supposed to shoot two days, but we ended up shooting three to get it all done. So everybody’s been really committed to the project.’

BBDO art director David Houghton is also impressed with Chu’s work. ‘Eddy has taken the specifics of what we wanted to do creatively -he’s just added more humanity to it in terms of who the characters are. And he’s also added a great level of technical ability in terms of how we do the stunts, how we take care of explosions. He’s been fabulous.’

Chadwick’s confidence also stems from a faith in Chu’s power. ‘When you’re exploding things and you’re involving people in stunts, you want to make sure you’ve got it down to a tee. That’s the nice thing about working with Eddy. He’s very precise and knows exactly what he wants. And it’s a real team effort with him. He’s very clear and precise on what he’s going to deliver to the agency.’

The spot is slated to debut nationally in May during the Survivor finale. *