bodo is the biggest website of experiences in Ukraine. It offers hundreds of activities, from clay crafting to fly-boarding, which help people to diversify their free time.

Unusually Unusual is a film about a fierce confrontation between two seem-to-be-legendary movie heroes, whose enmity turns into friendship thanks to bodo experiences. The story starts with the opening credits as if it was a retro Hollywood-style spy thriller. The next moment, viewers see a retrofuturistic bunker, where an archetypal villain places a Bondlike hero in a laser deathtrap, preparing to triumph. “So, how are you feeling now, sir?”—the villain asks, waiting for a plea for mercy. 

The hero suddenly cheers up and answers that after all the experiences he tried, he feels “Unusually unusual”. This drives the villain crazy, pushing him to enviously ask where the hero found those experiences. In response, the hero somewhat theatrically shows a bodo box.

We made our film a tribute to Ukrainian video culture of the early 90s, when the greatest way to spend free time was to visit a video club or watch a Hollywood movie at your place (if you were lucky enough to have a personal video player). The range of movies was limited, and dubbing was carried out by amateurs, one of the most productive among whom had a specific style that remained a symbol of that era.

So to offer the YouTube viewers and the Instagram scrollers new experiences from bodo website, we utilized the idea of a confrontation between a classic movie villain and a Bondlike hero. We gave a nod to early James Bond series by using naive camera movements, exaggeratedly make-believe props, split-screen, and legendary amateur dubbing style. All this to inspire people to finally try something new and discover unusual experiences.

Since this film is an homage to the first Bond episodes, we aspired to use only practical effects and physical scenery. So 95% of the set was built for real on stage with just a pinch of post-production.

Among others, the challenge was to show the grandeur of the villain’s lair, which could serve as a reference to ‘Goldfinger’ and ‘Moonraker’ Bond movies, yet to keep the set slightly theatrical—just like it was back then. To enhance the 60s movie styling and imitate the rear projection, we used green screen, while filming the hero’s memories (especially noticeable in motorcycle and flyboard scenes). We used chipboard and plywood to assemble vintage computers. The rock was built with a wooden base, polyurethane foam and fabric, which was stone painted. And the green “mask” on the villain was a silicone makeup, slightly retouched to smooth out the wrinkles.