This week's Hotshot sees Dublin-based Blinkink directing duo D.A.D.D.Y. lend a helping hand to the French Red Cross in a head-spinning new spot through TBWA\Paris.

The new spot is made up of a series of scenes showing various Red Cross volunteers helping people to their feet after accidents and illnesses, all stitched seamlessly together in one continuous circling shot.

"The agency presented really great boards at the beginning of the process which really got our joint brain ticking," says D.A.D.D.Y., aka Mike Ahern and Enda Loughman. "We really wanted to have one long shot and while the overall look was always going to have quite a bit of post we really wanted to concentrate and getting the movement of the actors right and have it fluid and have them react to each situation while still hitting their marks."

To sell the concept to TBWA, Ahern and Loughman got down to the nitty-gritty of creating a complete rough of their concept for the shoot. "We worked hard to get a decent, blocked-out pre-viz in CG with positions for each set of actors and a camera move that was not miles from the final one," says Ahern, "This definitely helped us sell the concept to the agency."

As the spot would require repeated takes of precise physical movements, Ahern and Loughman recruited a cast consisting largely of dancers. "As we wanted to focus on these central characters we designed the sets to be de-saturated, only dressing in grey and white tones. Even the extras were painted grey," reveals Loughman.

Working with a static camera, D.A.D.D.Y. eschewed a 360 degree tracking shot in favour of a rotating set. "We wanted to get as much as we could in camera, so we built detailed sets for each scene for the ground plains, rubble and some walls. As we were ending up in slow motion each set had to rotate at great speed - not the greatest acting conditions for a 78-year-old man trying to hit his mark," says Ahern.

Since joining the Blinkink roster in August of last year, D.A.D.D.Y. have helmed spots for PlayStation and promos for Bloc Party and Jape, which received a nomination at the inaugural 2008 MVAs. The duo finished shooting their first short film earlier in the week ("it's about a man who wakes up and discovers his life is being foleyed and scored in front of his very eyes") and is in the middle of developing a TV show. "It's going to be about the greatest and most evil band in the universe. The lead singer is a giraffe…." Keep your eyes peeled - the pilot's being shot this summer.

To view this week's Hotshot, click here.